Overcoming Trauma and PTSD: A Workbook Integrating Skills from ACT, DBT, and CBT [Paperback]

Sheela Raja PhD (Author), Susan M. Orsillo PhD (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2012

If you’ve experienced a traumatic event, you may feel a wide range of emotions, such as anxiety, anger, fear, and depression. The truth is that there is no right or wrong way to react to trauma; but there are ways that you can heal from your experience, and uncover your own capacity for resilience, growth, and recovery.

Overcoming Trauma and PTSD offers proven-effective treatments based in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help you overcome both the physical and emotional symptoms of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This book will help you find relief from painful flashbacks, insomnia, or other symptoms you might be experiencing. Also included are worksheets, checklists, and exercises to help you start feeling better and begin your journey on the road to recovery.

This book will help you manage your anxiety and stop avoiding certain situations, cope with painful memories and nightmares, and determine if you need to see a therapist. Perhaps most importantly, it will help you to develop a support system so that you can you heal and move forward.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Relying upon the growing body of evidence-based psychological treatments for PTSD, psychologist Sheela Raja assembles a treasure trove of useful exercises and skills for people committed to recovery. This workbook is an invaluable tool to accompany psychotherapy and will prove to be an outstanding complement to existing self-help manuals. Utilizing an integrated framework for promoting behavioral health, Raja’s clinical skill and expertise resounds throughout the text. This is an important reference for patients and clinicians alike.”

—Terence M. Keane, PhD, director of National Center for PTSD in Boston, professor and assistant dean for research at Boston University School of Medicine

“Sheela Raja has produced an excellent resource for the many individuals suffering from emotional consequences of trauma that do not have access to, cannot afford, or prefer not to utilize traditional mental health services. Her book is long overdue in self-help literature. It is grounded in, and supported by, the best available research related to trauma treatment approaches. Readers can rest comfortably knowing that this is the relatively rare book written for trauma survivors that includes techniques proven to be invaluably helpful for countless others suffering from similar difficulties. They can be assured that exercises recommended in this book are bolstered by cutting-edge scientific research. Overcoming Trauma and PTSD is truly an invaluable resource—one that I will use often and recommend highly.”

—Matt J. Gray, PhD, director of clinical training and professor of psychology at the University of Wyoming

“Sheela Raja has written an accessible, clear, and compassionate book that successfully integrates important evidence-based techniques for the treatment of PTSD. She does an excellent job explaining techniques so that people can use them on their own, while also providing important guidance about when (and how) to seek professional help.”

—Holly K. Orcutt, PhD, professor of psychology at Northern Illinois University

About the Author

Sheela Raja, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She completed internship and post-doctoral training at the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Boston, MA, and has published numerous articles exploring the relationship between physical health and traumatic events. Raja has a passion for making evidence-based psychology accessible and is a frequent contributor to various print and national television media outlets.

Foreword writer Susan M. Orsillo, PhD, is professor of psychology at Suffolk University in Boston, and lives in the Boston area with her husband and two children. Orsillo has written and published extensively about mindfulness, anxiety, and psychotherapy, and has been involved in anxiety disorder research and treatment. She is the coauthor of the acclaimed book, Mindfulness and Acceptance-Based Behavioral Therapies in Practice, as well as The Mindful Way through Anxiety.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: New Harbinger Publications; 1 edition (December 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1608822869
• ISBN-13: 978-1608822867
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.5 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Behavioral Sciences > Behavioral Psychology
  • #27 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
  • #52 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Compulsive Behavior

More About the Author

Sheela Raja, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She completed internship and post-doctoral training at the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Boston, MA, and has published numerous articles exploring the relationship between physical health and traumatic events. Raja has a passion for making evidence-based psychology accessible and is a frequent contributor to various print and national television media outlets.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Overcoming Trauma January 30, 2013

By Zahra Jaferi

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Very good for mindfulness and DBT, but you will need Healing Trauma by Peter Levine or some other PTSD workbook for a more thorough product.

Mindfulness from Buddhism helps heal trauma if you can believe in it. I suggest a DBT app also.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical and helpful January 31, 2013

By C. Collins

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is inviting and quite usable. I hope it finds it's way into every library's self-help section. I highly recommend this book both to those who have experienced trauma and to those who love them.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendously helpful November 28, 2012

By matt j gray

Format:Paperback

This book is very well written and insightful. It seeks to help those who don't have time or resources for traditional counseling or pyschotherapy but need help overcoming trauma. I found it to be intuitive, thoughtful and easy to understand. I highly recommend this book!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars well written April 25, 2013

By S. Hochsteter

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

very user friendly and helpful. it take all of the best concepts from empirically validated protocols and integrates them nicely.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it April 23, 2013

By Tammy Diehr

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I just found out that I have PTSD. My DR recommended for me to pick up a copy of Overcoming Trauma and PTSD; A Workbook .... I has helped me to understand so many things.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars great book for clients April 18, 2013

By Ruth Spooner

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is very well written and explains trauma and PTSD symptoms and effects. It a great book for clients to help explain their symptoms and reaction in ways they can relate to. I received a lot of information that i could write in a paper i needed for my masters program and it was very informative it gave plenty of examples to use in therapy.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Overcoming Trauma and PTSD: A Workbook Integrating Skills from ACT, DBT, and CBT November 27, 2012

By Steven Kalisch, PhD

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Dr. Raja has done a masterful job at integrating the core psychoeducational and skills acquisition components of ACT, DBT, and CBT into a most compassionate, clear, and accessible workbook for those individuals struggling with PTSD and Trauma-related conditions. This workbook is a wonderful and empowering resource for both patients and clinicians alike.

5.0 out of 5 stars Well organized, clear, offers choices June 18, 2013

By Dr. Sara Gordon

Format:Paperback

This well-written book is a useful tool for learning about traumatic stress disorders, developing a thoughtful self-assessment, and selecting the most appropriate therapeutic modality. I particularly appreciate the way it offers evidence-based choices, so that the user can steer his or her own way towards resolution. It is engagingly written, with plenty of examples and cases to keep the reader engaged, and offers a compassionate and rationale aide to those who are suffering the fall-out from traumatic life events.