Healing Trauma: A Pioneering Program for Restoring the Wisdom of Your Body [Paperback]

Peter A. Levine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2008

Researchers have shown that survivors of accidents, disaster, and childhood trauma often endure lifelong symptoms ranging from anxiety and depression to unexplained physical pain, fatigue, illness, and harmful "acting out" behaviors refl ecting these painful events. Today, millions in both the bodywork and the psychotherapeutic fields are turning to Peter A. Levine's breakthrough Somatic Experiencing methods to eff ectively overcome these challenges. Now available in paperback for the first time, Healing Trauma offers readers the personal how-to guide for using the theory Dr. Levine fi rst introduced in his highly acclaimed work Waking the Tiger (North Atlantic Books, 1997), including:How to develop body awareness to "re-negotiate" and heal trauma--rather than relive them. Emergency "first-aid" measures for emotional distress. A 60-minute CD of guided Somatic Experiencing techniques "Trauma is a fact of life," teaches Peter Levine, "but it doesn't have to be a life sentence." Now, with one fully integrated self-healing tool, he shares his essential methods to address unexplained symptoms of trauma at their source--the body--to return us to the natural state we are meant to live in.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter A. Levine received his Ph.D. in medical and biological physics from the University of California at Berkeley, and also holds a doctorate in psychology from International University. During his 35-year study of stress and trauma, he has contributed to scientific and medical publications and served as consultant for NASA's space shuttle project. He has taught at the Hopi Guidance Center, and at hospitals, trauma centers, and pain clinics throughout the world. His bestselling book Waking the Tiger has been published in 13 languages.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Sounds True, Incorporated; Pap/Com edition (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159179658X
• ISBN-13: 978-1591796589
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Personal Health > Stress > Stress Management
  • #61 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age > Mental & Spiritual Healing

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

197 of 204 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Healing Trauma, September 2, 2005

By 

Rebecca Johnson "The Rebecca Review" (Washington State) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Healing Trauma (Hardcover)

If you bring forth that which is within you,
Then that which is within you
Will be your salvation.
If you do not bring forth that
Which is within you,
Then that which is within you
Will destroy you.
~The Gnostic Gospels

What a way to begin a book! While this "riddle" has been unlocked by scholars and they claim it means we should transform through love, unlocking the physiological roots of emotions can be somewhat trying.

How do you heal what you have forgotten? When the trauma has been forgotten, the results can still remain and can slowly destroy you, causing overwhelming emotions that interfere with your daily life.

Survivors of accidents, disasters and traumatic situations of all types can experience anxiety, depression, unexplained physical pains and seemingly unrelated illness. At times suffering can be a doorway to awakening and then it can also be a very dark place that brings debilitating symptoms.

"When people have been traumatized, they are stuck in paralysis-the immobility reaction or abrupt explosions of rage." ~ Peter A. Levine

Through guided somatic Experiencing Techniques, Peter A. Levine brings the reader from a place of disconnection and disharmony to a place of accepting an experience occurred and healing the trauma. This is a Twelve-Phase Program with an Integrated CD.

This CD could be used by anyone who has:

Survived a natural disaster or life-threatening event
Experienced the loss of a loved one
Undergone a recent medical procedure
Witnessed Violence
Endured emotional abuse
Experienced a car accident

If you start reading the book before playing the CD is works better and the feeling of the CD is like a psychologist leading a patient through guided imagery. While the process is supposed to take 7-14 days, you can listen to the CD all at once to find out what will work best for you. The book has lists of descriptions to help you analyze your emotions and there is information on how our bodies react to extremely stressful situations.

Peter A. Levine explains how you can discharge and transform the negative energy and he gives techniques for bringing the nervous system back into balance. Even after just watching violence I think you can become somewhat numb from the shock, so this CD can even help anyone who has been shocked by the realities of our violent planet.

~The Rebecca Review

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Resource for All, January 29, 2008

By 

Karen Caffrey (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Healing Trauma (Hardcover)

As a psychotherapist who has received extensive training in Peter Levine's technique of Somatic Experiencing, I find this book to be a helpful resource for my clients who are working through past trauma. The exercises are simple yet powerful. The text contains a lucid and clear explanation of how the nervous system can store undischarged activation from past events, and the process required to release this activation. The result is a letting go of living in the past and the tremendous freedom of living in the present. I recommend this book very highly to all who are interested in exploring how to heal trauma.

53 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, something for vetwives struggling with Secondary Stress, May 30, 2006

By 

Lydia D. Brewer "Proud Marine Wife" (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Healing Trauma (Hardcover)

Dr. Levine's book is the first and only answer that I've found in four years of searching to the problem of Secondary Stress in the wives of combat veterans suffering from PTSD. With his program, we can finally get real help with the problems we face every day in this tumultuous life of living with PTSD in veterans. If you are a vetwife, buy this book. It will change your life.