Healing Trauma: Attachment, Mind, Body, and Brain [Hardcover]

Daniel J. Siegel (Editor), Marion Solomon (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393703967 | ISBN-13: 978-0393703962 | Publication Date: January 2003 | Edition: 1

Born out of the excitement of a convergence of ideas and passions, this book provides a synthesis of the work of researchers, clinicians, and theoreticians who are leaders in the field of trauma, attachment, and psychotherapy.

As we move into the third millennium, the field of mental health is in an exciting position to bring together diverse ideas from a range of disciplines that illuminate our understanding of human experience: neurobiology, developmental psychology, traumatology, and systems theory. The contributors emphasize the ways in which the social environment, including relationships of childhood, adulthood, and the treatment milieu change aspects of the structure of the brain and ultimately alter the mind.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Daniel J. Siegel, MD, is an internationally acclaimed author and award-winning educator and is currently a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine where he is a co-investigator at the Center for Culture, Brain, and Development and is co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center. His books include Healing Trauma, The Healing Power of Emotion, The Mindful Brain, The Mindful Therapist, Trauma and the Body, Pocket Guide to Interpersonal Nuerobiology, and more. He lives in Santa Monica, California.

Marion Solomon, Ph.D., is a lecturer at the David Geffen School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry at UCLA, and Senior Extension faculty at the Department of Humanities, Sciences and Social Sciences at UCLA. She is also director of clinical training at the Lifespan Learning Institute and author of Narcissism and Intimacy, co-author of Short Term Therapy For Long Term Change, and co-editor of Countertransference in Couples Therapy and Healing Trauma.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 350 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (January 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393703967
• ISBN-13: 978-0393703962
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #21 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
  • #33 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Family Relationships > Dysfunctional Relationships

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brainy and well worth it, February 22, 2005

By 

S. Marriott (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Healing Trauma: Attachment, Mind, Body, and Brain (Hardcover)

This is a scholarly collection of essays from leading theorists in the field of attachment and neurobiology. It provides an exciting, in-depth overview from various perspectives from the inner workings of the brain, to the development of the social mind, to what it all mean for clinicians. There is both theory and practical advice. The last several chapters are particularly relevant to psychotherapists in the field working with individuals with trauma. The down side of the book is that some of the early chapters are somewhat rhedundant and heady, necessarily so in the science presented, but definately overlapping. However, I'd strongly recommend it for all clinicians wanting to stay abreast of the exciting developments in this area. I use it in supervision groups I lead for therapists, for example.
It is also a strong follow up to Seigel's The Developing Mind.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We need more of these!, April 27, 2009

By 

BookWorm - See all my reviews

This review is from: Healing Trauma: Attachment, Mind, Body, and Brain (Hardcover)

Healing Trauma is composed of a great collection of essays from leading authors in the field. As the interest in trauma and its effects on human brain and psyche increased over the past three decades, considerable diversity in research, theory, and practice has emerged. As a result, especially complex trauma literature became somewhat confusing for professionals and students who are new to the field. The essays in this book not only reflect the latest "state of affairs," but also demonstrate the evolution of the theories that help provide a template to put other diverse texts in perspective.
Perhaps a more important strength of this important book is the way it walks the reader through a more complete understanding of trauma. More often than not, we tend to explore one primary aspect of the phenomenon in question. We usually lack interest, emphasis, and as a result, information about other, less popular aspects. Healing Trauma is able to speak to the trauma-relevant information and theories in the neurobiology, development/attachment, and clinical psychology/psychotherapy fields. Therefore, the reader is not only able to understand the epidemiology of trauma aftermath from these diverse perspectives, but also an invaluable understanding for the nature and process of change through psychotherapy is made available. While very important psychotherapy directions and suggestions are provided, through these deeper and more complete conceptualizations for both epidemiology and psychotherapeutic change, clinicians will find that they are able to be more creative in their work upon reading this book. Finally we are beginning to have a meaningful understanding for what happens in the brain throughout lifespan in consideration of individual-environment interactions, which has direct implications for what happens in our therapy rooms!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Theoretical Overview, February 2, 2009

By 

Christopher J. Alexander, Ph.D. "Christopher ... (Rio Rancho, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Healing Trauma: Attachment, Mind, Body, and Brain (Hardcover)

A lot of clinicians who work with attachment and trauma issues fail to understand the theoretical basis behind their approaches. Without getting too bogged down in theory, this collection of chapters provides the reader with a good understanding of the psychology and biology of traumatic responses, as well as how to treat them.

You've got top names in the field writing these chapters: Daniel Siegel, Mary Main, Allan Schore, Bessel van der Kolk, and Marion Solomon. It explores the research on attachment and trauma in-depth, so some readers might find this overwhelming. This is also a book for providers, not so much for parents.

Christopher J. Alexander, Ph.D. [Author: 'Diagnosis, Assessment, and Treatment of Foster and Adopted Children; A Guide for Parents and Practitioners,' 2009].