Looking At Trauma

Looking at Trauma: A Tool Kit for Clinicians is an easy-to-use, engaging resource designed to address the challenges health care professionals face in providing much-needed trauma psychoeducation to clients with histories of childhood trauma. Developed by trauma therapists Abby Hershler and Lesley Hughes in collaboration with artist Patricia Nguyen and biomedical communications specialist Shelley Wall, this book presents twelve trauma treatment models accompanied by innovative and engaging comics. The models help clinicians provide practical information about the impacts of trauma to their clients—and support those clients in understanding and managing their distressing symptoms. Topics covered include complex posttraumatic stress disorder, emotion regulation, memory, relationship patterns, and self-care. Each chapter features step-by-step instructions on how to use the treatment models with clients; practical educational tips from experienced clinicians in the field of childhood trauma; interactive trauma education comics; a foundational framework focused on care for the provider; and references for further study. Intended for use in therapeutic, clinical, and classroom settings, this book is a valuable resource for all healthcare workers. In particular, social workers, psychotherapists, spiritual care providers, nurses, occupational therapists, psychologists, primary care physicians, and psychiatrists will find this tool kit indispensable.

Dr Paulsen's narrative and 100 cartoons assist therapists and clients to understand trauma and dissociation, from giving a voice to disowned parts of self, to stabilizing and detoxifying memories.

ÿI developed renewed faith in the power of psychotherapy after I attended a Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR) course in 2011. It opened many doors for me as I began to understand the impact of previously overlooked, objectively minor traumatic incidents on psychological disorders and problems. This article is about the application of this powerful tool over the entire spectrum of psychological problems and disorders and how this brings about impressive and permanent change. The optimal use of this tool in psychotherapy requires a shift in epistemology in which we begin to view mental health through a trauma lens. The definition of psychological trauma can vary. From a TIR perspective, trauma can be defined as any incident that had a negative physical or emotional impact on an individual. This is a very subjective issue as the something could be perceived as traumatic by one individual, but as commonplace and harmless by another. The important thing is the emotional and physical impact the incident had on the individual, its subjective impact. The reason it is so important to view trauma in the broadest way possible is because it explains the chronic mood states of our clients as well as how subconscious intentions and automatic emotional responses affect their current lives. These will be explained below. Traumatic incidents, when understood in the broadest sense possible, have a massive effect on our neurobiology, emotional states and behavioral patterns. Therefore, they can be seen as the driving force behind almost all psychological problems and disorders. When I say traumatic incidents ?in the broadest sense possible,? I refer to the everyday incidents of trauma that are objectively perceived as minor, such as an embarrassing comment by a teacher, conflict with a friend, breaking your mother?s expensive vase, etc. It involves an understanding of how the emotional knocks we take on a daily basis affect our neurobiology and continue to have an impact on us in later life. The understanding of subconscious intentions, automatic emotional reactions and responses and chronic mood states are so crucial when it comes to looking at mental health through a trauma lens. Minor and major psychological and physical trauma involves a complex description of the effects on the brain. This article includes detailed case studies including specific incidents such as birth trauma and jealousy and rage. We will look in detail at how trauma results in Goleman?s ?Amygdala Hijacking? and how we can help the client break destructive cycles. I also explain why sheer willpower is insufficient to change behavior in the face of traumatic restimulation.ÿ Additionally, the article explains how TIR avoids re-traumatization even as clients revisit past incidents.

Originally published by Viking Penguin, 2014.

Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors integrates a neurobiologically informed understanding of trauma, dissociation, and attachment with a practical approach to treatment, all communicated in straightforward language accessible to both client and therapist. Readers will be exposed to a model that emphasizes "resolution"—a transformation in the relationship to one’s self, replacing shame, self-loathing, and assumptions of guilt with compassionate acceptance. Its unique interventions have been adapted from a number of cutting-edge therapeutic approaches, including Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems, mindfulness-based therapies, and clinical hypnosis. Readers will close the pages of Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors with a solid grasp of therapeutic approaches to traumatic attachment, working with undiagnosed dissociative symptoms and disorders, integrating "right brain-to-right brain" treatment methods, and much more. Most of all, they will come away with tools for helping clients create an internal sense of safety and compassionate connection to even their most dis-owned selves.

This beloved bestseller—over 180,000 copies sold—has helped caregivers worldwide keep themselves emotionally, psychologically, spiritually, and physically healthy in the face of the sometimes overwhelming traumas they confront every day. A longtime trauma worker, Laura van Dernoot Lipsky offers a deep and empathetic survey of the often-unrecognized toll taken on those working to make the world a better place. We may feel tired, cynical, or numb or like we can never do enough. These, and other symptoms, affect us individually and collectively, sapping the energy and effectiveness we so desperately need if we are to benefit humankind, other living things, and the planet itself. In Trauma Stewardship, we are called to meet these challenges in an intentional way. Lipsky offers a variety of simple and profound practices, drawn from modern psychology and a range of spiritual traditions, that enable us to look carefully at our reactions and motivations and discover new sources of energy and renewal. She includes interviews with successful trauma stewards from different walks of life and even uses New Yorker cartoons to illustrate her points. “We can do meaningful work in a way that works for us and for those we serve,” Lipsky writes. “Taking care of ourselves while taking care of others allows us to contribute to our societies with such impact that we will leave a legacy informed by our deepest wisdom and greatest gifts instead of burdened by our struggles and despair.”

ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Our earliest experiences shape our lives far down the road, and What Happened to You? provides powerful scientific and emotional insights into the behavioral patterns so many of us struggle to understand. “Through this lens we can build a renewed sense of personal self-worth and ultimately recalibrate our responses to circumstances, situations, and relationships. It is, in other words, the key to reshaping our very lives.”—Oprah Winfrey This book is going to change the way you see your life. Have you ever wondered "Why did I do that?" or "Why can't I just control my behavior?" Others may judge our reactions and think, "What's wrong with that person?" When questioning our emotions, it's easy to place the blame on ourselves; holding ourselves and those around us to an impossible standard. It's time we started asking a different question. Through deeply personal conversations, Oprah Winfrey and renowned brain and trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry offer a groundbreaking and profound shift from asking “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?” Here, Winfrey shares stories from her own past, understanding through experience the vulnerability that comes from facing trauma and adversity at a young age. In conversation throughout the book, she and Dr. Perry focus on understanding people, behavior, and ourselves. It’s a subtle but profound shift in our approach to trauma, and it’s one that allows us to understand our pasts in order to clear a path to our future—opening the door to resilience and healing in a proven, powerful way.

While there are many different approaches to healing trauma, few offer a wide range of perspectives and options. With innovative insight into trauma-related difficulties, Jasmin Lee Cori helps you: Understand trauma and its devastating impacts Identify symptoms of trauma (dissociation, numbing, etc.) and common mental health problems that stem from trauma Manage traumatic reactions and memories Create a more balanced life that supports your recovery Choose appropriate interventions (therapies, self-help groups, medications and alternatives) Recognize how far you’ve come in your healing and what you need to keep growing Complete with exercises, healing stories, points to remember, and resources, this is a perfect companion for anyone seeking to reclaim their life from the devastating impacts of trauma.