The Scarred Soul: Understanding and Ending Self-Inflicted Violence [Paperback]

Tracy Alderman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1997

It happens whenever a person deliberately and repeatedly cuts or burn themselves, or purposefully hurts themselves in some other way. It's disturbing and dangerous behavior, and so hard to stop that many researchers consider it a kind of addiction. This is the first book written for the victims of self-inflicted violence and the first to teach them what they can do to stop hurting themselves. The Scarred Soul explores the reasons behind the impulse to self-inflicted harm and shows readers how to examine its impact on their lives and take steps to overcome the psychological traps that lead to self-inflicted pain.

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Tracy Alderman, PhD, is a licensed psychologist who lives in San Diego, CA. She is director of research and a core faculty member at the University for Humanistic Studies, an adjunct instructor of psychology at Chapman University, and a staff psychologist for the California Department of Corrections. She consults, lectures, and writes on a variety of topics, including self-inflicted violence.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: New Harbinger Publications; 1 edition (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572240792
• ISBN-13: 978-1572240797
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #87,449 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cutting, December 12, 2004

By 

D. P. Birkett (Suffern, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Scarred Soul: Understanding and Ending Self-Inflicted Violence (Paperback)

This is basically a self-help book. I think it might be a little too scary for a young person just doing a little mild cutting, because it describes some severe chronic cases. It might not be of much help to a professional dealing with a severely mentally retarded or autistic self-mutilator.
I bought it after reading an excellent article by Anthony Bateman in the British Journal of Psychiatry. The proper reference for that is:
Bateman AW (2004) Self-help books on deliberate self-harm. British Journal of Psychiatry 185: 441-442.
Bateman rated it as the best of the bunch. As he says, cutters often get more help off the internet than from books. He recommends a British site, the website of the National Self-harm Network www.nshn.co.uk.
SIV victims often get more help from talking to each other than from therapists or pills. A large part of their distress comes from being ashamed of their addiction and having to hide their scars.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Being a Scarred Soul, December 20, 2001

By 

Michaela Klein "EarthAngel" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Scarred Soul: Understanding and Ending Self-Inflicted Violence (Paperback)

This is the best book I have read on Self Injury and how to deal with it and to eventually stop self injury. This is the book that helped me to finally get a handle on my own self injury patterns and I have now been able to go almost 4 year with self injuring.

I recommend this book to EVERYONE....particualry other self injurers and their loved ones, and also to therapists. I gave a copy of this book to my therapist to use with other clients and she too has found it to be invaluable.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the best book on the subject around!, July 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Scarred Soul: Understanding and Ending Self-Inflicted Violence (Paperback)

I bought this book for myself because I self-injure, and lent it to my therapist, a friend of mine whose daughter self-injures, and friends who know I injure and feel a need to understand. Now I have to order more copies as they want copies of their own. The scarred soul includes the all latest thinking on SIV. It is much more accurate about why people injure, and when and how they can stop than other books I have read on the subject. The writing is clear, direct and accessable. I found it hard to read through only because it so accurately describes the pain I feel. I hope it goes through many editions and becomes a standard work. If you cut or hurt yourself, or care for someone who does, this book can help you 'keep safe'.