The PTSD Survival Guide for Teens


Book Description

Your trauma doesn’t need to define you. In The PTSD Survival Guide for Teens, trauma specialist Sheela Raja—along with her teen daughter Jaya Ashrafi—offers evidence-based skills to help you find strength, confidence, and resilience in the aftermath of trauma. If you’ve experienced trauma or suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the world can seem like a very frightening place. You may even question your own deeply held beliefs, as well as the motives of others. It’s important for you to know that you aren’t alone, and there isn’t anything wrong with you. Many teens have suffered traumatic events, and there are solid skills you can learn that will help you recover. So, how can you begin healing and start building the life you were always meant to lead? In this compassionate guide, you’ll find skills based in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help you tackle anxiety and harmful avoidance behaviors; manage negative emotions; cope with flashbacks and nightmares; and develop trusting, healthy relationships—even if your trust in others has been shaken to the core. You’ll also learn more about the diagnosis and symptoms of PTSD and understand what kind of help is available to you. Whether you’ve been diagnosed with PTSD or are simply living with the aftereffects of a traumatic event, you shouldn’t have to suffer alone. This book will help you to find strength within so you can move forward. This book has been selected as an Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Book Recommendation—an honor bestowed on outstanding self-help books that are consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles and that incorporate scientifically tested strategies for overcoming mental health difficulties. Used alone or in conjunction with therapy, our books offer powerful tools readers can use to jump-start changes in their lives.




The Resilient Teen


Book Description

“Well researched and up to date, including the acknowledgement of teens’ struggles with the Covid-19 pandemic.... Belongs on every young adult’s bookshelf.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred) 10 powerful skills to help you manage stress, bounce back from difficult situations, and rewire your brain for happiness and success! Being a teen today is stressful. That’s why you need real tools to help you cope with all of life’s challenges—from small stressors like homework, social media, and dating to serious trauma resulting from bullying, school shootings, violence, and now—pandemics. The key to dealing with all of these difficult events is resilience—the ability to recover from setbacks or trauma, and forge ahead with emotional strength. The best thing about resilience is that it can be learned. This book will help you learn how to be resilient, so you can weather life’s storms and reach your goals. In The Resilient Teen, psychologist, teen expert, and trauma specialist Sheela Raja offers ten skills grounded in key principles from psychology and neuroscience to help you manage difficult emotions, recover from difficult situations, and cultivate a sense of joy—even in the face of setbacks and modern-day stressors. You’ll learn essential strategies for self-care, how to establish a healthy lifestyle, and how to set limits on technology. You’ll also discover how mindfulness can help you deal with stress and challenging emotions in the moment, tips for building better relationships with family and friends, and tools for dealing with disappointment. Most importantly, this book will show you how to increase your own sense of joy, purpose, and meaning—even when things seem less than awesome.




Overcoming Trauma and PTSD


Book Description

If you’ve experienced a traumatic event, you may feel a wide range of emotions, such as anxiety, anger, fear, and depression. The truth is that there is no right or wrong way to react to trauma; but there are ways that you can heal from your experience, and uncover your own capacity for resilience, growth, and recovery. Overcoming Trauma and PTSD offers proven-effective treatments based in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help you overcome both the physical and emotional symptoms of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This book will help you find relief from painful flashbacks, insomnia, or other symptoms you might be experiencing. Also included are worksheets, checklists, and exercises to help you start feeling better and begin your journey on the road to recovery. This book will help you manage your anxiety and stop avoiding certain situations, cope with painful memories and nightmares, and determine if you need to see a therapist. Perhaps most importantly, it will help you to develop a support system so that you can you heal and move forward.




The Sexual Trauma Workbook for Teen Girls


Book Description

The Sexual Trauma Workbook for Teen Girls offers healing, real-life stories from survivors and powerful, evidence-based tools to help you reclaim your life after sexual abuse or trauma. If you’ve been sexually abused or experienced sexual trauma, you may feel confused, angry, ashamed, and unable to move forward emotionally. You're not alone. Like many teens who’ve been abused, you may be tempted to keep the secret locked deep inside and feel uncomfortable discussing your struggles with others. If so, this book can help you find your voice. This empowering workbook will help you move past your trauma and serve as a comforting reminder that you are strong and resilient. Healing is possible—and with healing, comes victory. In this book, you’ll find true stories from other teen survivors, and in reading the stories you’ll find reassurance in knowing you aren’t alone in your experiences. You’ll also find practical and proven-effective strategies and exercises to help promote emotional healing and reclaim your sense of self. Sexual abuse or trauma may be a part of your past, but it doesn’t need to define who you are now. This book will help you as you start on the path toward healing so you can move forward with confidence.




Trauma Systems Therapy for Children and Teens, Second Edition


Book Description

"For too many traumatized children and their families, chronic stressors such as poverty, substance abuse, and family or community violence--coupled with an overburdened care system/m-/pose seemingly insurmountable barriers to treatment. This empowering book provides a user-friendly blueprint for making the most of limited resources to help those considered the "toughest cases." Evidence-based strategies are presented for effectively integrating individualized treatment with services at the home, school, and community levels. Written in an accessible, modular format with reproducible forms and step-by-step guidelines for assessment and intervention, the approach is grounded in the latest knowledge about child traumatic stress. It has been recognized as a treatment of choice by state mental health agencies nationwide"--




The Teenage Brain


Book Description

A New York Times Bestseller Renowned neurologist Dr. Frances E. Jensen offers a revolutionary look at the brains of teenagers, dispelling myths and offering practical advice for teens, parents and teachers. Dr. Frances E. Jensen is chair of the department of neurology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. As a mother, teacher, researcher, clinician, and frequent lecturer to parents and teens, she is in a unique position to explain to readers the workings of the teen brain. In The Teenage Brain, Dr. Jensen brings to readers the astonishing findings that previously remained buried in academic journals. The root myth scientists believed for years was that the adolescent brain was essentially an adult one, only with fewer miles on it. Over the last decade, however, the scientific community has learned that the teen years encompass vitally important stages of brain development. Samples of some of the most recent findings include: Teens are better learners than adults because their brain cells more readily "build" memories. But this heightened adaptability can be hijacked by addiction, and the adolescent brain can become addicted more strongly and for a longer duration than the adult brain. Studies show that girls' brains are a full two years more mature than boys' brains in the mid-teens, possibly explaining differences seen in the classroom and in social behavior. Adolescents may not be as resilient to the effects of drugs as we thought. Recent experimental and human studies show that the occasional use of marijuana, for instance, can cause lingering memory problems even days after smoking, and that long-term use of pot impacts later adulthood IQ. Multi-tasking causes divided attention and has been shown to reduce learning ability in the teenage brain. Multi-tasking also has some addictive qualities, which may result in habitual short attention in teenagers. Emotionally stressful situations may impact the adolescent more than it would affect the adult: stress can have permanent effects on mental health and can to lead to higher risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression. Dr. Jensen gathers what we’ve discovered about adolescent brain function, wiring, and capacity and explains the science in the contexts of everyday learning and multitasking, stress and memory, sleep, addiction, and decision-making. In this groundbreaking yet accessible book, these findings also yield practical suggestions that will help adults and teenagers negotiate the mysterious world of adolescent development.




The Anxiety Survival Guide for Teens


Book Description

Do you have problems with anxiety? The Anxiety Survival Guide for Teens is a much-needed, go-to guide to help you finally break free from the worry and ruminations that can get in the way of reaching your goals. If you have anxiety, your fears and worries can keep you from feeling confident and independent. Teen milestones such as making friends, dating, getting good grades, or taking on more mature responsibilities, may seem much more difficult. And if you're like countless other anxious teens, you may even avoid situations that cause you anxiety altogether—leaving you stuck in a cycle of worry and avoidance. So, how can you take control of your anxiety before it takes control of you? Based in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), this book helps you identify your "monkey mind"—the primitive part of the brain where anxious thoughts arise. You’ll also be able to determine if you suffer from generalized anxiety, phobias, social anxiety, panic and agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or separation anxiety. Full of powerful yet simple cartoon illustrations, this book will teach you practical strategies for handling even the toughest situations that previously caused you to feel anxious or worried. If you’re ready to feel more independent, more confident, and be your best, this unique book will show you how.




Meditations for Healing Trauma


Book Description

Post-traumatic stress isn’t your fault. Many people suffer traumatic events, which can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and debilitating symptoms. This evidence-based book delivers easy-to-use mindfulness skills that can be used as needed to alleviate symptoms and promote healing. Some people heal naturally after they experience a traumatic event, but some trauma lasts and can develop into PTSD, with symptoms like depression, anxiety, panic, flashbacks, difficulty sleeping, or losing interest in life. You may find yourself on the sidelines, disengaged from your own life, with little sense of who you are and how to relate to others. The body, heart, and mind are all profoundly affected by trauma; in this way it can live on, causing a serious disconnect and a state of imbalance in which you’re always in survival mode. How do you move on? This book is designed to target the most common symptoms of post-traumatic stress and PTSD, providing mindfulness-based practices to help relieve your symptoms and increase self-compassion. Offering meditations for reconnection with your body, heart, mind, and life, this guide presents a unique, evidence-based way to heal the disconnects and help you re-engage. Instead of getting stuck reliving your trauma or worrying about it happening again, these mindful meditations will ground you in the present moment and enable you to better cope with unpleasant thoughts and feelings as they arise—and then let them go. With Meditations for Healing Trauma, you’ll explore your experience of post-traumatic stress and learn how the healing power of mindfulness can free you from suffering and bring back connection and balance to your life every day. This book will help you cultivate a wise mind and heart for regaining peace and well-being in the present moment—anytime, anyplace.




Beyond the Blues


Book Description

Despite what you might have been told, the feelings of sadness and hopelessness you may be struggling with are probably not "just a phase" or "something you'll grow out of." As many as 20 percent of people your age have symptoms of serious depression, yet many teens and even many adults don't recognize the signs. Only half of depressed teens get the help they need to overcome these feelings. If you're feeling depressed, this workbook offers things you can do, both on your own and with a counselor, to feel better.




The PTSD Workbook for Teens


Book Description

If you have traumatic memories from an extremely upsetting, stressful, or painful experience in your life, you are not alone. In fact, many young people have been exposed to traumatic events. As a result, you might have lingering flashbacks, trouble sleeping, or a constant feeling that you are in danger. These are common symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Based in cognitive behavioral therapy, this user-friendly workbook for teens with PTSD and other trauma-related difficulties will help you work through your experience and make sense of your thoughts and feelings. The book includes worksheets and activities to help you reestablish a sense of safety, gain control over your emotions, make peace with your traumatic experience, and reconnect with a positive sense of self. If you are ready to start recovering from traumatic memories and take back your life, the PTSD Workbook for Teens will show you the way.