Doing research on the impact of traumatic experiences can be both heartening and heart-rending. People and situations are encountered that would touch the hardest of hearts, and others are met who inspire with their tenacity and strength to go on. Psychological trauma and adaptation to traumatic events is without question a truly fascinating and important field. You don’t have to look hard to find stories of stress and trauma. Crisis and catastrophe happen with remarkable regularity. Yet the attributes that help or hinder people when they meet misfortune are not well understood. In this chapter contemporary models and definitions of trauma are reviewed. And research that shows us that traumatic experiences are shaped by social and political factors is briefly considered to highlight the relevance of social sciences and social psychology, specifically to the study of trauma, as they offer a set of analytical tools. This allows us to unravel the social and political processes that matter to how people cope with adversity, which leads to a conclusion that emphasises that a social psychological perspective on trauma is useful and necessary.