Customer Reviews

Healing Trauma: Attachment, Mind, Body, and Brain

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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.

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!

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].

We react to serious mishaps, life altering setbacks, disasters, abuse, and death by going through the phases of grieving. Traumas are the complex outcomes of psychodynamic and biochemical processes. But the particulars of traumas depend heavily on the interaction between the victim and his social milieu.

It would seem that while the victim progresses from denial to helplessness, rage, depression and thence to acceptance of the traumatizing events - society demonstrates a diametrically opposed progression. This incompatibility, this mismatch of psychological phases is what leads to the formation and crystallization of trauma.

This book is a collection of important and incisive insights, by a variety of authors, from different schools of psychology, into the interaction between traumatic processes and attachment modalities and disorders. Indispensable. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".

This is a good book, but a little heady and heavy for someone who isn't in the business. It's worth buying if you are interested in somatic therapy or something outside of talk therapy. Very cutting edge and super interesting.

This is a well written and helpful book. I'd recommend it for mental health professionals.

Other related books that are helpful are:
Principles of Trauma Therapy: A Guide to Symptoms, Evaluation, and Treatment

Treating Complex Traumatic Stress Disorders: An Evidence-Based Guide

Creating Capacity For Attachment

Principles of Attachment Parenting

Attachment-Focused Family Therapy

As a person recovering from Trauma - I have found this book Insightful and Equipping.
Indepth as a read, but powerful content

This book is enlightening and really describes how traumatic events are processed by our brains. There are a lot of technical words, but if you are interested in the subject matter, it's certainly worth purchasing.

An excellent book for all who work with trauma patients. You will find it an excellent resource for your library.

I need something that is written for parents like us that adopted a drug baby, 17 months old when we got her in this case, rejection, that had been sexually abused severely and was a drug baby at birth.
Then the birth father has been in and out of prison her whole life, serving a life sentance for killing a man over drugs, 3 strikes rejection, but loves her, her birth mother was hooking for drugs on Halloween night and had her throat slit by a serial killer, when our daughter was 5, rejected again, and is now, after giving us Hell for most of her life, telling us how much she appreciates us loving her and putting up with her during those hard times, but she still needs help and I have not found anything that I think will help. She, after going through a life of Hell within herself, is now 21, scared of men, is she started practicing being a wiccan at age 12 because of the sister of a friend, paganissm, or in her words she claims to be a witch, all to get even with those who hurt her, even though she was raised with Christian teachings, homeschooled, and very socialised. She is living in a lesbian relationship that she feels protected in but takes her pain out on her girlfriend who is very understanding because her and I have a very close relationship and I hope between the 2 of us, we can reach her. Though I know neither are gay at heart, I understand and love them both very much and have a complete open line of communication with both of them. When she is with us, all she talks about are the guys. We don't provoke it, she just opens up. It's another personality. The most insensitive thing men say to her are that she just hasn't been with the right man yet. She's very insecure a habitual liar, but we do have a much better relationship because we except her for who she is, but I want her to get well.
She has DID and splits off, we never know which person we are dealing with nor does her girlfriend so we both need help to communicate with her. Can anyone help us or recommend a book that would help us in helping our, still, little girl, that comes out often.
She's a beautiful, but co-dependant women and takes abuse from people, mainly her current employers, who humiliate her in public when she is their best and most hard working employee. Please help us to help her. God is our main source for advise and strength. Her girlfriend is also a Christian so we would appreciate you consider that when recommending advise and books. I've ordered some books and threw them away. One was by Levy.
My daughter is fragmented so a book or advise from a Christian stand point would be great. In the mean time I will keep praying and searching. Thank you for your help and prayers.