Series Overview:
Clinical psychologist, Dr Paul D’Alton, interviews four very different survivors of trauma about how they found or developed the resources – physical, emotional, social and spiritual – to enable them, not only to survive, but flourish, after seemingly catastrophic experiences.
At some stage, all of us experience trauma: bereavement, injury, separation, betrayal, illness, addiction, misfortune or crime. Some people never recover from these experiences; others discover or develop the resilience to re-build their lives. Dr Paul D’Alton has made that resilience the focus of his professional career. In his work as a clinical psychologist at St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, he helps cancer sufferers to come to terms with their illness, in order to live as full and fulfilling lives as possible.
Episode 1:
Geraldine Lavelle was in her prime of her life – in her mid-twenties, with a first class honours degree in neuro-science, a loving relationship and a good job. Her life changed when she suffered a catastrophic spinal injury in a road accident, which left her with very limited movement and sensation below the shoulders. Incredibly, she has since re-built her life and independence and, in the process, become an inspirational and influential role model.
About Dr. Paul D’Alton:
Dr Paul D’Alton is a clinical psychologist at St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, and an Associate Professor at UCD. He is also a former President of the Psychological Society of Ireland and a regular contributor to RTÉ Radio 1’s Drivetime. In this series, Dr D’Alton talks to four very different survivors of trauma about how they have found courage, strength and hope in what, to many, would seem to be hopeless situations.
Survivors begins on Tuesday 1st October at 11.15 PM on RTÉ One.