Customer Reviews

Treating PTSD: Cognitive-Behavioral Strategies

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Although the title promises alot, the results are extremely unsatisfying. A colleague recommended this book and I found it to be so general and basic to the practice of treating trauma survivors that I quickly moved on to other titles. In contrast, Jonathan Shay's *Achilles in Vietnam* handles the depth and complexity of the Vietnam warrior in a much more literate and lyrical fashion. Judith Herman's *Trauma and Recovery* places trauma treatment in a better historical context and provides a comprehensive approach to treating survivors. Fay's book is weak in the patchwork feeling to the flow of chapters. For a more comprehensive and strong coverage of cognitive and behavioral treatments, I strongly recommend the fairly recent volume by Victoria Follette and colleagues (*Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies in Trauma*).

I love this book! It offers a comprehensive look at PTSD in combat veterans, domestic violence victims and sexual assault victims. While I worked at Vet Center as a counselor to combat vets, many of the staff highly recommended this book to me. It offers great insight as to what PTSD is, how PTSD develops and how to treat it. At 172 pages, it cannot be not an end-all book. (PTSD treatment manuals written for therapists can be over 400 pages long) but this book is hard to beat for practical information. I love it as a counselor and still recommend it to clients today. You don't have to have a graduate degree to understand it.