Growing Beyond Survival: A Self-Help Toolkit for Managing Traumatic Stress [Paperback]

Elizabeth G. Vermilyea (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 2007

Growing Beyond Survival is a self-management workbook, which teaches skills that empower survivors to take control of and de-escalate their most distressing trauma related symptoms. Developed with input from survivor advocates in Maine, New York, and Maryland, and with the support of the Departments of Mental Health in the states of Maine and New York, this self-help toolkit is both comprehensive and flexible. This versatile workbook can be used as an independent self-help program, in the context of individual therapy, or in a group setting. It teaches trauma survivors to recognize, contextualize, and understand distressing dissociative and posttraumatic reactions. It also creates a structure in which to learn and practice skills for self-regulation of the troublesome thoughts, feelings, and impulses related to traumatic experiences. Rather than simply offering "band aid"-type crisis intervention, this self-paced program empowers survivors with an understanding of where the symptoms come from and why. By learning a variety of interventions, skills, and techniques, survivors are able to select and make use of different "tools" for different self-regulation purposes.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Elizabeth Vermilyea offers trauma survivors a wealth of practical coping strategies in the context of a clinically sound rationale. Growing Beyond Survival integrates concrete techniques for regulating emotions into a systematic approach for enhancing self-awareness. The book's encouraging and supportive tone gives survivors much-needed permission to engage in self-care. Trauma therapists also will find the book a useful resource from which they can glean many tips for helping their clients with self-regulation." --Jon G. Allen, Ph.D., Helen Malsin Palley Chair in Mental Health Research, The Menninger Clinic Immediate Past Editor, Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic

"I plan to use Growing Beyond Survival in conjunction with my own therapy. My therapist has also reviewed the book and said it would be an excellent companion in our work together. Although some of these skills are not new to me, I have only seen or heard of them piecemeal. I look forward to using them to aid my healing process. I'd like to thank Elizabeth Vermilyea and Sidran for giving survivors such important tools for healing." --K W, Maine

About the Author

Growing Beyond Survival was developed in part and extensively field tested at Trauma Disorders Programs at Sheppard Pratt Hospital in Baltimore. The author, Elizabeth Vermilyea, led symptom management groups at Sheppard Pratt for several years. She currently provides training for Sidran Institute on topics related to traumatic stress.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Sidran Press; 1 edition (March 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886968098
• ISBN-13: 978-1886968097
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #373,380 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Manual for learning Trust and Coping after trauma, August 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Growing Beyond Survival: A Self-Help Toolkit for Managing Traumatic Stress (Paperback)

Easy to understand guidebook with exercises and great explanations. Helps traumatized people and those with PTSD to learn coping skills and to develop trust. The author points out that trust is essential before the person can start to heal or learn better ways to handle relationships and the problems of everyday life. Geared more towards people who were abused as children or adults in relatioships, it still has many useful tools and lessons for people with Combat PTSD. Probably most useful in combination with group or one on one therapy.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique skills workbook empowering survivors, January 10, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Growing Beyond Survival: A Self-Help Toolkit for Managing Traumatic Stress (Paperback)

Growing Beyond Survival is a unique skills workbook empowering survivors to take control of (and de-escalate) their most distressing trauma related symptoms. This self-regulation toolkit is comprehensive, flexible, and can be used independently as a self-paced, self-help program, or in the context of individual or groups therapy. Elizabeth Vermilyea offers a variety of expressive, containment, and visualization techniques that trauma survivors can draw upon to recognize, contextualize, and understand distressing dissociative and post-traumatic reactions. Growing Beyond Survival enables trauma survivors to understand where their symptoms come from and why, as well as become able to select and make use of different coping tools and strategies for self-regulation and resolution purposes. Very highly recommended as a personal and professional trauma stress reduction reference library.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars really helpful, June 28, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Growing Beyond Survival: A Self-Help Toolkit for Managing Traumatic Stress (Paperback)

This is one of the best self-help books for trauma because it teaches useful skills. I'd recommend it to anyone who is struggling with nightmares, flashbacks, spacing out, etc. It's more for child abuse survivors, but I think the exercises would work for any kind of trauma. My therapist likes it too, and we work on these skills together.