Customer Reviews

The Body Remembers: The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment

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For 30 years, since a young child, I have suffered from a variety of unexplained problems, self-destructive behaviors and senseless actions. Until now, I have never understand what haunts and controls me. But I recently went to counciling and was diagnosed with PTSD so I purchased this book to learn more about it. There are no words to express the relief and overwhelming "connection" I felt when I started reading. I literally had to lay the book down after every paragraph to give myself a moment to absorb the impact of recognition I experienced when reading about myself. I have since been taking the book to my counciling sessions to discuss my revelations - one at a time. This book has saved my sanity - for once, I am beginning to understand the nameless fears and anxieties that have permeated every aspect of my life and robbed me of any real joy. This book lays down a very understandable framework of PSTD, from the development of the disorder to the healing work to move on. And I'm only on Chapter 4! *If you are a victim, take your time when reading this, it can be overwhelming to try to understand everything at once and I suggest a support system to share your discoveries with - best wishes - you CAN recover from this!!

I recently read Babette Rothschild's (2000) new book "The Body Remembers: The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment" (published by W.W. Norton). In this book Babette does a wonderful job of explaining complex psychobiological processes in easy to understand, digestible bites. This book provides a solid theoretical framework for the close relationship between psychobiology, implicit and explicit memory storage and retrieval, and trauma processing. Babette's book also thoroughly explains the importance of "body memories" in trauma processing and discusses many ways in which to help clients both elicit and integrate dysfunctionally stored cellular memories. By providing a concise, understandable and useful overview of trauma theory, Babette's book serves to help close the learning gap between theory and application. In fact, I have recommended that this book be used as one of the texts for clinical theory classes in the graduate program where I am privileged to teach. I also believe this book would be very helpful to trauma clinicians in general. Accordingly, I will begin recommending this book at all my presentations(and did so for the first time recently). No matter the general theoretical foundation of the clinician (ie: psychoanalytic, CBT, etc.) this book provides valuable information that informs trauma practice. In addition, Babette offers many graphics, charts, case studies, and exercises that could be very helpful in explaining the "trauma response" and trauma therapy to clients, families, students, supervisors, and policy makers. As by now you have no doubt guessed - I highly recommend this book.

Sincerely, Pati Zimmerman, (MSW, Clinical Traumatologist, Ph.D. Student, and adjunct faculty member at Portland State University and Concordia University.)

After more than 20 years treating trauma survivors I all too rarely find a new book from which I really learn something that I can immediately apply to my work. This is such a book. The relationship between the physiological reactions to serious trauma and helpful methods of treatment are detailed in accessible, clear fashion, complete with understandable diagrams and case examples with extensive and relevant transcriptions. Experienced and not-so- experienced clinicians will be delighted to find a minimum of jargon and a humane and well-thought-out attitude throughout.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who has ever wondered why traumatic experiences, such as abuse, can have such a devastating impact on a person's mental health and well-being. This book explains HOW trauma affects the brain and the body, and offers insightful treatment recommendations for how to heal from trauma.
This book is a MUST for any therapist who works with traumatized clients!

It's *very* good because it's so physiological and common-sensical. As a survivor of nine years of direct and indirect abuse, I say, no book I've read on post-traumatic stress describes it so accurately. Although the symptoms are anxiety-related, it is really a memory problem, not of "repressed" memory (there's no such thing), but of intense psycho/physiological reactions triggered by the feeling that the trauma never ended. Post-traumatic stress means the trauma isn't yet a memory - it's still feels like here and now, instead of there and then. Undoing the trauma means disarming the triggers, so that it becomes no more than a bad memory.

My interest in reading this book stems from the psychotherapeutic work I am currently doing (as a client, working with a psychotherapist) to remember my own childhood trauma and learn how to rework these memories into clear consciousness and healthier emotional responses. I have just begun this work and, as is my tendency, I went to Amazon to see what was out there that I could read to educate myself about what trauma is and, most importantly, how to heal it.

I highly recommend this book for both survivors of trauma and the mental health professionals who work with them.

I easily read this book during a long weekend. The text, although written by a mental health professional, is quite accessible even to the layperson, and has a number of examples throughout that are used to illustrate the author's points.

The book itself is divided into two main sections: Theory and Practice. Both are important to understanding the current ways we comprehend and treat trauma, based on the latest advances in the neurosciences that allow us to know better our own minds. Much of Rothschild's work hinges on the ways that the mind-body-emotions work together in experiencing, comprehending, and even storing in memory trauma that we experience. This is important, because the practice/treatment section of the book is also based on the same mind-body-emotions connection. So you must to some extent accept the mind-body-emotions framework to see the value of this book.

I do accept this framework, although not exclusively or primarily.

The second half of the book is equally rich and helpful, including a number of body-based (somatic) tools and techniques that anyone can use to begin to manage responses to trauma (and they are numerous and frequently very subtle) and then slowly start to examine the original sources of that trauma. Besides being based on or in the body, many of these techniques are also cognitive-behavioral in nature, so one must be willing to accept that set of theory as well.

Rothschild also goes into some detail about what somatic techniques can work immediately in the course of a therapy session, and these techniques could just as easily be used by the therapist as by the client. Since my therapist does not work much with somatic or cognitive behavioral techniques, I have asked that we do so, using some of the techniques in this book. (Yes, you can tell your therapist what will or might work best for you in the context of your therapy.) Equally helpful and insightful are sections that focus specifically on the interpersonal relationship clients have with their therapists in the context of therapy, a little discussed topic among professionals and never discussed among clients who often don't know what to expect during the course of therapy.

All in all, a good source of information for someone who is ready to face trauma in his/her life and wants some helpful tools for this journey.

After 26 years of thinking, "I should be over it", I now know its part of my body, not just my brain. I remember yelling out loud, THATS IT, and thinking I felt better immediately. I wasn't a loser, basket case mental job, but "my body remembers". I gave the book to my therapist, hoping she can help others. I actually contacted author to thank her, and she has a new book in the process. Thank you, Babette.........buy it, or I will let you borrow it:)

As a survivor who struggles with a vast array of symptoms associated with Complex PTSD, this book was a Godsend for me. I have been able to understand what is happening to me physically when I have flashbacks, anxiety attacks and what causes triggers that send me into states of dissociation. And just understanding what is taking place has helped me control these episodes more effectively and more quickly than I have ever been able to prior.

I gave this book to my therapist who has in turned passed it on to other clients, it has been an enormous help.

I am so grateful to have come across this book and highly recommend it to anyone who deals with trauma, whether as a therapist or as a trauma survivor.

To me this is one of the pioneering books of body-centered psychotherapy. Well-written, insightful with meaningful case examples. It shines, it teaches, and it directs therapist in their work in profound life-changing ways. I work with traumatized children and integrate animal assisted therapy - and this book has been re-read multiple times and applied in my work.
Kate Nicoll,MSW

This book takes the mystery out of mind-body treatment of trauma therapy. It brings together diverse treatment methodologies and offers clear examples of how to integrate them usefully, compassionately and successfully.

For professionals who practice talk- or behavior-oriented therapy, Rothschild offers (1) a wonderfully concise argument for including the body in trauma recovery therapy and (2) simple, careful and deeply effective ways to integrate somatic therapy into their current approaches to working with clients who suffer from the effects of trauma--either recent, past or even long past. Since so many clients have at least a component of past trauma in their lives (underlying whatever brought them to therapy in the first place), this book should be on every therapist's reference shelf...and READ! Rothschild's stress on safety--and especially how to employ theory always in the service of the client's safety--is fantastic.

For lay people who have a basic acquaintance with psychology and psychotherapy, it offers a broad understanding of the wide but still-developing field of trauma therapy, and could help many people (1) finally decide to get effective professional help and (2) choose a competent, appropriate therapist for that purpose.