What My Bones Know


Book Description

A searing memoir of reckoning and healing by acclaimed journalist Stephanie Foo, investigating the little-understood science behind complex PTSD and how it has shaped her life “Achingly exquisite . . . providing real hope for those who long to heal.”—Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, NPR, Mashable, She Reads, Publishers Weekly By age thirty, Stephanie Foo was successful on paper: She had her dream job as an award-winning radio producer at This American Life and a loving boyfriend. But behind her office door, she was having panic attacks and sobbing at her desk every morning. After years of questioning what was wrong with herself, she was diagnosed with complex PTSD—a condition that occurs when trauma happens continuously, over the course of years. Both of Foo’s parents abandoned her when she was a teenager, after years of physical and verbal abuse and neglect. She thought she’d moved on, but her new diagnosis illuminated the way her past continued to threaten her health, relationships, and career. She found limited resources to help her, so Foo set out to heal herself, and to map her experiences onto the scarce literature about C-PTSD. In this deeply personal and thoroughly researched account, Foo interviews scientists and psychologists and tries a variety of innovative therapies. She returns to her hometown of San Jose, California, to investigate the effects of immigrant trauma on the community, and she uncovers family secrets in the country of her birth, Malaysia, to learn how trauma can be inherited through generations. Ultimately, she discovers that you don’t move on from trauma—but you can learn to move with it. Powerful, enlightening, and hopeful, What My Bones Know is a brave narrative that reckons with the hold of the past over the present, the mind over the body—and examines one woman’s ability to reclaim agency from her trauma.




Healing Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder


Book Description

This book is a clinician's guide to understanding, diagnosing, treating, and healing complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). C-PTSD, a diagnostic entity to be included in ICD-11 in 2022, denotes a severe form of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is the result of prolonged and repeated interpersonal trauma. The author provides guidance on healing complex trauma through phase-oriented, multimodal, and skill-focused treatment approaches, with a core emphasis on symptom relief and functional improvement. Readers will gain familiarity with the integrative healing techniques and modalities that are currently being utilized as evidence-based treatments, including innovative multi-sensory treatments for trauma, in addition to learning more about posttraumatic growth and resilience. Each chapter of this guide navigates readers through the complicated field of treating and healing complex trauma, including how to work with clients also impacted by the shared collective trauma of COVID-19, and is illustrated by case examples. Topics explored include: Complex layered trauma Dissociation Trauma and the body The power of belief An overview of psychotherapy modalities for the treatment of complex trauma Ego state work and connecting with the inner child Turning wounds into wisdom: resilience and posttraumatic growth Vicarious trauma and professional self-care for the trauma clinician It is important for clinicians to be aware of contemporary trends in treating C-PTSD. Healing Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is an essential text for mental health practitioners, clinical social workers, and other clinicians; academics; and graduate students, in addition to other professionals and students interested in C-PTSD. It is an attractive resource for an international clinical audience as we work together to heal, affirm, and unburden clients following this time of shared collective trauma.




The Complex PTSD Workbook


Book Description

A mind-body workbook for healing and overcoming Complex PTSD Those affected by complex PTSD, or C-PTSD, commonly feel as though there is something fundamentally wrong with them—that somewhere inside there is a part of them that needs to be fixed. Facing one's PTSD is a brave, courageous act—and with the right guidance, recovery is possible. In The Complex PTSD Workbook, you'll learn all about C-PTSD and gain valuable insight into the types of symptoms associated with unresolved childhood trauma. Take healing into your own hands while applying strategies to help integrate positive beliefs and behaviors. Discover your path to recovery with: Examples and exercises—Uncover your own instances of trauma with PTSD activities designed to teach you positive strategies. Expert guidance—Explore common PTSD diagnoses and common methods of PTSD therapy including somatic therapy, CBT, and mind-body perspectives. Prompts and reflections—Apply the strategies you've learned and identify PTSD symptoms with insightful writing prompts. Find the tools you need to work through C-PTSD and regain emotional control with this mind-body workbook.




Recovery from Complex PTSD


Book Description

Are you suffering from chronic anxiety, feelings of hopelessness, or uncontrollable emotions? Although PTSD affects 7-8% of people in the world, it remains a relatively taboo subject. When people do talk about it, it's usually restricted to war veterans and victims of child abuse. The truth is, PTSD can manifest in response to any kind of trauma -- but what does this mean for people who have been repeatedly subjected to traumatic events? Recent research has shown that it is possible to recover from nightmarish experiences and live a life that feels happy and secure. You don't have to resign yourself to jumping at shadows and enduring intrusive, negative thoughts that wear you down mentally and physically. By taking the steps to understand why you're experiencing these things, you can begin to unlock the strength you have within you. Instead of struggling to find a sense of worth, you can rewrite the script and engage with yourself compassionately. It can be so easy to judge yourself harshly, but you have to remember this: When you are cruel to yourself, you are inadvertently cruel to the innocent child within you. You may have spent years seeking compassion and validation from others and finding only frustration and despair. However, that doesn't mean you're beyond help. Recovery from complex trauma is a long journey, but the rewards you'll reap along the way will keep you moving forward. In Recovery from Complex PTSD, you will discover: What Complex PTSD is and how it differs from the more commonly known PTSD How to rewrite the narrative of your life to overcome negative self-concept and regain control over your life The Loop of Traumatization: how your brain creates a survival-based narrative that dictates your thoughts and behaviors How understanding the causes of complex trauma can allow you to overcome the fear and pain that accompany distressing experiences What it means when you consistently experience disturbed interpersonal relationships The avoidance techniques you are unconsciously employing in your daily life that protect you but are also keeping you stagnant How you can build an accurate sense of self that isn't formed by the events from your past And much more. You know what helplessness feels like. The paralysis of panic, the loss of control. What it's time for you to learn, is that these feelings aren't forever. You are capable of transforming the way you experience life and in turn, change the lives of the people who care about you most. If you're ready to find your way to a content heart and quiet soul through self-exploration, then scroll up and click the "Add to Cart" button right now.




Transcending Trauma


Book Description

Hope and light are on the horizon to help clients overcome the challenges of healing and releasing the pain of relational trauma. The highly acclaimed Transcending Trauma explores a unique, compassionate, and evidence-based approach to resolving complex and dissociative trauma. In this transformative book Frank Anderson, MD, masterfully details an IFS path to therapy that allows clients to access their inherent capacity for healing - called Self-energy - while also helping them welcome, as opposed to manage, the extreme emotions frequently associated with trauma. Included are clinical case examples, summary charts, current neuroscience research, and personal stories that will enable your clients to reclaim self-connection, experience self-love, and regain the ability to connect with and love others. Designed with clinicians in mind, this book offers a comprehensive map to complex trauma treatment that will enable readers to: - Learn how to stay calm and steady in the presence of extreme symptoms - Discover a different approach to resolving attachment trauma - Gain confidence when addressing shame, neglect, and dissociation - Understand the neurobiology of PTSD and dissociation - Integrate neuroscience-informed therapeutic interventions - Effectively address common comorbidities - Incorporate IFS with other models of treatment




Becoming Trauma Informed


Book Description

Most people accessing mental health and addiction services have experienced trauma. For those working in community services, treatment agencies and hospitals, providing "trauma-informed care" requires an understanding of the effects of trauma, and of how to create programs, spaces and policies that place priority on trauma survivors' safety, choice and control. Becoming Trauma Informed describes trauma-informed practice at the individual, organizational and systemic levels. This multi-authored collection brings together the voices of those who have integrated trauma-informed principles into various mental health and addiction treatment and social service environments, and of the diverse groups with which they work. Becoming Trauma Informed is an important resource for those who are working, or who are planning to work asaddiction andmental healthpractitioners and program and system planners."




Restoring the Shattered Self


Book Description

Many counselors are not adequately prepared to help those suffering from complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). In this updated text, Heather Davediuk Gingrich provides an essential resource for Christian counselors, ably integrating the established research on trauma therapy with insights from her own thirty years of experience and an understanding of the special concerns related to Christian counseling.




The PTSD Workbook


Book Description

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an extremely debilitating anxiety condition that can occur after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal. Although many know that this mental health issue affects veterans of war, many may not know that it also affects victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, natural disasters, crime, car accidents and accidents in the workplace. No matter the cause of their illness, people with PTSD will often relive their traumatic experience in the form of flashbacks, memories, nightmares, and frightening thoughts. This is especially true when they are exposed to events or objects that remind them of their trauma. Left untreated, PTSD can lead to emotional numbness, insomnia, addiction, anxiety, depression, and even suicide. In The PTSD Workbook, Second Edition, psychologists and trauma experts Mary Beth Williams and Soili Poijula outline techniques and interventions used by PTSD experts from around the world to offer trauma survivors the most effective tools available to conquer their most distressing trauma-related symptoms, whether they are a veteran, a rape survivor, or a crime victim. Based in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the book is extremely accessible and easy-to-use, offering evidence-based therapy at a low cost. This new edition features chapters focusing on veterans with PTSD, the link between cortisol and adrenaline and its role in PTSD and overall mental health, and the mind-body component of PTSD. This book is designed to arm PTSD survivors with the emotional resilience they need to get their lives back together after a traumatic event.




The Comprehensive Resource Model


Book Description

Traditional methods employed in psychotherapy have limited effectiveness when it comes to healing the psychological effects of trauma, in particular, complex trauma. While a client may seem to make significant breakthroughs in understanding their feelings and experiences on a rational level by talking with a therapist, this will make no difference to their post-traumatic symptoms if the midbrain is unable to modulate its activity in response. The Comprehensive Resource Model argues for a novel therapeutic approach, which uniquely bridges neuroscience and spirituality through a combination of somatic therapy, traditional psychotherapy, and indigenous healing concepts to provide effective relief to survivors of trauma. The Comprehensive Resource Model was developed in response to the need for a streamlined, integrative therapeutic model; one which engages a scaffolding of neurobiological resources in many brain structures simultaneously in order for clients to be fully embodied and conscious in the present moment while processing their traumatic material. All three phases of trauma therapy: resourcing, processing, and integration are done simultaneously. Demonstrating a nested model and employing brain and body-based physiological safety as the foundation of healing, chapters describe three primary categories of targeted processing: implicit and explicit survival terror, ‘Little T Truths’, and ‘Big T Truths’, all of which contribute to thorough healing of complex trauma and an expansion into higher states of consciousness and embodiment of the essential core self. This book describes the development and benefits of this pioneering new approach to trauma therapy. As such, it will be of key interest to academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of psychiatry, psychotherapy, psychology and trauma studies. It will also appeal to practising therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, and to others involved in the treatment or management of patients with complex trauma disorders.




The Practical Guide for Healing Developmental Trauma


Book Description

A practical step-by-step guide and follow-up companion to Healing Developmental Trauma--presenting one of the first comprehensive models for addressing complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) The NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM) is an integrated mind-body framework that focuses on relational, attachment, developmental, cultural, and intergenerational trauma. NARM helps clients resolve C-PTSD, recover from adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and facilitate post-traumatic growth. Inspired by cutting-edge trauma-informed research on attachment, developmental psychology, and interpersonal neurobiology, The Practical Guide for Healing Developmental Trauma provides counselors, psychotherapists, psychologists, social workers, and trauma-sensitive helping professionals with the theoretical background and practical skills they need to help clients transform complex trauma. It explains: The four pillars of the NARM therapeutic model Cultural and transgenerational trauma Shock vs. developmental trauma How to effectively address ACEs and support relational health How to differentiate NARM from other approaches to trauma treatment NARM's organizing principles and how to integrate the program into your clinical practice