This book presents an innovative and empathic approach to working with traumatized teens. It offers strategies for getting through to high-risk adolescents and for building a strong attachment relationship that can help get development back on track. Martha B. Straus draws on extensive clinical experience as well as cutting-edge research on attachment, developmental trauma, and interpersonal neurobiology. Vivid case material shows how to engage challenging or reluctant clients, implement interventions that foster self-regulation and an integrated sense of identity, and tap into both the teen's and the therapist's moment-to-moment emotional experience. Essential topics include ways to involve parents and other caregivers in treatment. ÿ

In Rebuilding Shattered Lives, James A. Chu, MD, describes a proven approach to the assessment and treatment of post-traumatic and dissociative disorders developed at the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Program at McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Drawing on his extensive empirical research and more than a decade's clinical experience specializing in treating survivors of severe abuse, Dr. Chu also offers valuable insights into all the major areas of traumarelated symptomatology and provides the most detailed explanation of dissociative theory currently in print. And, with the help of numerous vignettes and case examples, he clearly illustrates common clinical dilemmas encountered when dealing with survivors of severe abuse as well as the most effective techniques for resolving them. Rebuilding Shattered Lives is an important working resource for mental health workers of all levels of experience. Throughout, the writing style is clear, and complex theories are explained with an emphasis on how they provide the conceptual basis for a rational, responsible, and safe approach to treatment.

This insightful guide provides a pragmatic roadmap for treating adult survivors of complex psychological trauma. Christine Courtois and Julian Ford present their effective, research-based approach for helping clients move through three clearly defined phases of posttraumatic recovery. Two detailed case examples run throughout the book, illustrating how to plan and implement strengths-based interventions that use a secure therapeutic alliance as a catalyst for change. Essential topics include managing crises, treating severe affect dysregulation and dissociation, and dealing with the emotional impact of this type of work. The companion Web page offers downloadable reflection questions for clinicians and extensive listings of professional and self-help resources. See also Drs. Courtois and Ford's edited volumes, Treating Complex Traumatic Stress Disorders (Adults) and Treating Complex Traumatic Stress Disorders in Children and Adolescents, which present research on the nature of complex trauma and review evidence-based treatment models.

What makes therapy work? Clearly, the therapeutic alliance is an important component of a successful relationship between therapist and client, but how does it fit into the relationship more broadly conceived? A better question might be "What works with whom and in which circumstances?' In this unique book, master clinicians and psychotherapy researchers examine how technique and the therapeutic relationship are inseparably intertwined. Using a variety of theoretical and research "lenses" and drawing on various models of psychotherapy, including psychodynamic therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, emotion-focused therapy, and brief family therapy, the contributors discuss the factors affecting client outcomes. The link between relationship processes and technique is bought to life in a rich array of engaging case studies that demonstrate how successful therapists negotiate the relationship, make key moment-to-moment decisions, and promote positive change in their clients.

Research shows that the therapeutic relationship can offer a catalyst for healing, helping traumatized clients to make sense of and re-build their lives. This book provides practitioners with expert insight into supporting clients' recovery from trauma by placing the therapeutic relationship at the heart of the therapeutic process: - It explores the role of the therapeutic relationship across a wide range of theoretical perspectives, including humanistic, psychodynamic and cognitive behavioural approaches - It brings together specialists from across the globe to provide practitioners with the latest thinking about client-centred work with trauma - It considers particular aspects of psychological trauma, including posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth This is the first book to combine trauma recovery with the therapeutic relationship. As such it is an important textbook for everyone with an interest in trauma therapy, whether as an aspect of training or of practice.

The essence of "plain old therapy," according to Jon G. Allen, is a mindful relationship between the patient and a trusted clinician who recognizes and understands the patient's trauma and connects with the nature and magnitude of his or her suffering. In Restoring Mentalizing in Attachment Relationships: Treating Trauma With Plain Old Therapy, Allen, a clinical psychologist with widely respected expertise in trauma, makes a research-based case for the virtues of the healing relationship created and nurtured through traditional psychotherapy. Though in recent years therapy has become just one of many treatment options for posttraumatic stress disorder and other trauma-related illnesses, the author argues that it remains the best. The book provides a conceptual framework for treating trauma patients and illuminates relationship factors that are empirically associated with positive outcomes. Patients who have suffered broken and dysfunctional attachments will benefit from its emphasis on trust, compassion, and true connection. Mental health clinicians of diverse theoretical orientations -- be they psychiatrists, psychologists, or social workers, in training or practice -- will benefit from its emphasis on what works, as will their patients.

In this groundbreaking work, Mark Dworkin, an EMDR teacher, facilitator, and long-time practitioner, explores the subtle nuances of the therapeutic relationship and the vital role it plays in using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) with traumatized clients. Showing how relational issues play a key role in each phase of EMDR treatment, the author provides tools for the therapist to more efficiently apply this method in the treatment of trauma victims and form a stronger and healthier relationship with the patient. A standard reference for all practitioners working to heal the wounds of trauma, this book will be an essential resource for the effective application of EMDR.

Principles and Techniques of Trauma-Centered Psychotherapy integrates cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, and humanistic methods of trauma treatment into a psychotherapeutic context. Rather than presenting a unique form of intervention or technique, the authors present methods that have been used successfully, some of which are supported by evidence-based research and some by broad clinical experience. This is not a general text, then, but one focused on building competence and confidence in trauma-centered interventions, providing methods that should be readily and widely applicable to clinical practice. The authors recognize that asking a client about the details of a traumatic event is an intimate act that calls upon the therapist to be both compassionate and dispassionate in the service of the client's well-being. Accordingly, the book functions as a guide, instructing and supporting the clinician through this demanding and necessary work. The book has many useful features: The book stresses technique, not theory, and is appropriate for clinicians of any theoretical orientation, including cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic, and sociocultural. Similarly, the book will be useful to a range of clinicians, from psychiatrists and psychologists to social workers, marriage and family therapists, and professional counselors. Dozens of detailed clinical case examples are included that illustrate what to say and what not to say in the wide variety of situations that clinicians are likely to encounter. Down-to-earth strategies are included for setting up the proper trauma-centered frame for the therapeutic work, conducting a detailed trauma history, exploring the effects of the trauma on present-day behavior, and handling the inevitable disruptions in the therapeutic relationship. Valuable features include study questions, which conclude each chapter, and appendices, which provide a template for a consent-to-treatment form, a traumatic life events questionnaire, and a clinical assessment interview. In many long-term therapies, regardless of therapeutic orientation, a moment comes when the clinician or client realizes it is time to engage in a detailed exploration of traumatic events. Principles and Techniques of Trauma-Centered Psychotherapy is for that moment, and its rich clinical transcripts and vast detailed techniques will equip the therapist to embark on that process confidently, humanely, and effectively.

Designed for psychotherapists and counsellors in training, An Introduction to the Therapeutic Frame clarifies the concept of the frame - the way of working set out in the first meeting between therapist and client. This Classic Edition of the book includes a brand new introduction by the author. Anne Gray, an experienced psychotherapist and teacher, uses lively and extensive case material to show how the frame can both contain feelings and further understanding within the therapeutic relationship. She takes the reader through each stage of therapeutic work, from the first meeting to the final contact, and looks at those aspects of management that beginners often find difficult, such as fee payment, letters and telephone calls, supervision and evaluation. Her practical advice on how to handle these situations will be invaluable to trainees as well as to those involved in their training.

Creating safety, hope, and secure attachment to transform traumatic memories. What makes trauma therapy effective? The answers might surprise you. While therapists have been bombarded with brain science, hundreds of new models, and pressure to use evidence-based techniques, research has demonstrated that the therapeutic relationship ultimately predicts therapy outcomes. This is especially true for traumatized clients. But, what kind of therapeutic relationship? Forming a secure therapeutic alliance with traumatized clients is tricky. How do you help clients trust you after they’ve been abused, betrayed, or exploited? How do you instill hope and convince clients who’ve been devastated by loss to believe that a better life is possible? In this accessible guide, Courtney Armstrong distills discoveries from attachment theory, brain science, and post-traumatic growth into practical strategies you can use to: 1) build trust and a secure therapeutic relationship; 2) transform traumatic memories into stories of triumph and courage; and 3) help clients cultivate resilience and a positive post-trauma identity. Packed with dozens of scripts, step-by-step worksheets, and inspiring client stories, this book gives you tools for each phase of the trauma therapy process and shows you how to: Engage and motivate clients based on their attachment style Manage trauma-related dissociation, anxiety, and anger Transform traumatic memories so they no longer haunt your client Work with different types of trauma, from sexual abuse to traumatic grief Evoke inner resources for healing and positive emotional states Counter compassion fatigue and burnout so youcan thrive as a therapist Merely talking about a traumatic event is not enough because the parts of the brain where traumatic, implicit memories are stored don’t understand words. Heartfelt, relational experiences catalyze brain change and buffer the impact of trauma. In this book, Armstrong demonstrates that neuroscience is validating what therapists have suspected all along: the brain changes through the heart.