Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Books

Waking the Tiger : Healing Trauma : The Innate Capacity to Transform Overwhelming Experiences

Peter Levine, Ann Frederick

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 51 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Disappointing Book 2 out of 5 stars.
8 of 12 people found this review helpful.

The fact that the body remembers the psychological injuries inflicted on the mind is not new. What I found very disappointing and almost incredible is the fact that the author draws up a list of possible abuses and puts at the same level the trauma of a painful surgery and the emotional or/and sexual abuse of a child mistreated by her parents for years. The book is simplistic and first of all sends the wrong message to people who carries deep emotional wounds. It is close to the superficial self-help books that claim that they can solve your problems once and for all. This must be untrue given the huge number of books of this kind, all of them promising what they do not deliver. And the reader who needs serious help keeps buying the latest "secret" book that holds all the answers to your problems.

Editorial Review:

Nature's Lessons in Healing Trauma...

Waking the Tiger offers a new and hopeful vision of trauma. It views the human animal as a unique being, endowed with an instinctual capacity. It asks and answers an intriguing question: why are animals in the wild, though threatened routinely, rarely traumatized? By understanding the dynamics that make wild animals virtually immune to traumatic symptoms, the mystery of human trauma is revealed.

Waking the Tiger normalizes the symptoms of trauma and the steps needed to heal them. People are often traumatized by seemingly ordinary experiences. The reader is taken on a guided tour of the subtle, yet powerful impulses that govern our responses to overwhelming life events. To do this, it employs a series of exercises that help us focus on bodily sensations. Through heightened awareness of these sensations trauma can be healed.

Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence--from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror

Judith Herman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 54 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

When Trauma and Recovery was first published in 1992, it was hailed as a groundbreaking work. In the intervening years, Herman’s volume has changed the way we think about and treat traumatic events and trauma victims. In a new afterword, Herman chronicles the incredible response the book has elicited and explains how the issues surrounding the topic have shifted within the clinical community and the culture at large.Trauma and Recovery brings a new level of understanding to a set of problems usually considered individually. Herman draws on her own cutting-edge research in domestic violence as well as on the vast literature of combat veterans and victims of political terror, to show the parallels between private terrors such as rape and public traumas such as terrorism. The book puts individual experience in a broader political frame, arguing that psychological trauma can be understood only in a social context. Meticulously documented and frequently using the victims’ own words as well as those from classic literary works and prison diaries, Trauma and Recovery is a powerful work that will continue to profoundly impact our thinking.

Two Wars: One Hero's Fight on Two Fronts--Abroad and Within

Nate Self

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The Power of Truth 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Of the three books written about the so-called battle of Roberts Ridge, this one has the greatest sensitivity. It's personal! Ranger Capt. Nate Self got caught between the miscalculations of the Navy SEALS, and a fundamental flaw in senior command leadership. Sent on a mission to rescue the SEALS from a snowy 10,000-foot Afghanistan battleground, he lacked basic mission information. He was the uncertain leader on the ground and entering a desperate fight. But he made do. Despite the crash of his helicopter and the vulnerability of his small force, he led his Rangers smartly and with amazing courage and ingenuity Self's story details the circumstances of personal and professional truth and the equal courage and commitment of his Rangers. Destroying an enemy bunker and saving the lives of as many of his own men as he could, incluiding the SEALS, he nonethless became a victim of his circumstances--fear, death, responsibility for others and disregard for his own wounds--overtaken as he would subsequently become by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Honored by the President for his valor, he had to leave the Army to struggle with PTSD and the nation lost one its best young officers. Thus he writes a compelling story of his challenges as a soldier and the challenges of the debilitating stress of a bloody war, all underscored by his faith in himself, his troopers, and his God. A fabulous read.

Editorial Review:

For the first time, Army Ranger hero Nate Self tells his story. Self recounts the Roberts Ridge Rescue mission, the ferocious battles in Afghanistan, and the lone war of attrition that Nate Self has waged against post-traumatic stress disorder. This book will become a go-to book for understanding the long-term effects of the war on terror. Thousands of families are fighting this battle, and Nate Self opens up his whole life--tragedies, successes, failures, and a struggle with suicidal thoughts--to share the facts and to show how his family and his faith pulled him through.

EMDR: The Breakthrough "Eye Movement" Therapy for Overcoming Anxiety, Stress, and Trauma

Francine Shapiro, Margot Silk Forrest

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Good overview but perhaps a little out of date 4 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

This book is good for having an overview of EMDR and its history. It is not, however, the most current book out there and is also more appropriate for clinicians than for the layman.

Great Explanation of EMDR 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This book is not particularly useful for clinicians. Laypeople who want a clear overview of EMDR will find it in this book by the "discoverer" of the techniques.

Very convincing 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book provides an excellent study of the effectiveness of EMDR--eye movement desensitization and reprocessing--for prospective patients and their families, alike.

No question, the book is very well written, and, as one other reviewer noted, a page turner. As a result, we were seriously considering this method for our child. And we may well consider the idea again in the future.

For the moment, we are pursuing neurobiofeedback, which seems to treat injured portions of the brain very effectively, promoting calm, stability and mood elevation. But in nations and regions where neurobiofeedback is not yet available, EMDR may well provide the next best thing.

My only concern is a report of possible brain injury as a result of this therapy. I have not seen any medical corroboration of that report, however. And it seems that EMDR is now a medically accepted method of treatment, particularly in cases of post-traumatic stress disorder.

This book provides a great introduction to the concepts, and frequently positive results, of such treatment.

Editorial Review:

Hailed as the most important method to emerge in psychotherapy in decades, EMDR has successfully treated psychological problems and illnesses in more than one million sufferers worldwide, with a rapidity that defies belief. In a new introduction, Shapiro presents the new applications of this remarkable therapy and the latest scientific research that demonstrates its efficacy.

Treating Trauma and Traumatic Grief in Children and Adolescents

Judith A. Cohen, Anthony P. Mannarino, Esther Deblinger

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Wonderful Framework for Counseling 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This book was required reading for a postgraduate course for professionals in treating trauma. Excellent resource for the professional counselor - may even be applied to young adults, adults with delayed emotional developmental issues, or developmentally disabled adults. Highly recommended graduated-exposure and appropriate titration to the processing of trauma experiences using an evidence-based practice.

Editorial Review:

This is one of the first books to present a systematic treatment approach, grounded in cognitive-behavioral therapy, for traumatized children and their families. Provided is a comprehensive framework for assessing posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and other symptoms; developing a flexible, individualized treatment plan; and working collaboratively with children and parents to build core skills in such areas as affect regulation and safety. Specific guidance is offered for responding to different types of traumatic events, with an entire section devoted to grief-focused components. Also addressed are ways to tailor treatment to children's varying developmental levels and cultural backgrounds. The authors' approach has been nationally recognized as an exemplary evidence-based program.

War and the Soul: Healing Our Nation's Veterans from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Edward Tick

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Not for everyone, heavy on history but excellent read 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book is heavy on the history of war and its impact on ones own soul but the author makes the connection. Had to keep going, not an easy read, but in the end I felt it was well worth the read. The author documents how our current society lets the warrior down and why they do that. It is not an idea I had considered before but it makes a great deal of sense. You have to stick to it and take your time reading this book and you just might get your soul back. Liked it alot.

Editorial Review:

The war in Iraq is producing psychological casualties at an alarming rate. Nearly 30% of returning soldiers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and the stopgap measures provided by counseling services during and after tour of duty are simply not enough. Arguing that PTSD means far more than we may think, clinical psychotherapist Edward Tick exposes the characteristic devastation of soul that occurs as a result of participation in any warfare. Through case histories and stories, Tick helps us to comprehend the veteran's world from within and traces a path for his/her identity transformation from wounded or disabled veteran to honorable returned warrior. Furthermore, Tick investigates humanity's deep-seated fascination with war, why soldiers from countries like Vietnam do not experience PTSD, and why PTSD might just be our country's soul sickness.

Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character

Jonathan Shay

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 38 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Review of "Achiiles in Vietnam" 5 out of 5 stars.
12 of 14 people found this review helpful.

One of the books I had been planning to read for several months is Dr. Jonathan Shay's groundbreaking work: "Achilles in Vietnam - Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character." I am glad that I finally found the time to acquaint myself with its message. The book is remarkable for several reasons. On its surface, it is one of the most comprehensive examinations of the phenomenon of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among Vietnam veterans. Beneath the surface level, it is a brilliant exposition of the experience of Vietnam veterans in comparison with - and in contrast to - the warriors whose battlefield experiences in Troy are described in Homer's Iliad. To look at the tragedy of what our Vietnam veterans have experienced in returning home from that war through the lens of Homer's epic adds a poignancy and depth that is utterly without peer in my knowledge of PTSD literature.

My reading of this book is both timely and relevant, in light of the ongoing investigation of current conditions and practices of treating veterans returning from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is also timely in that the televised coverage of the conflict in Mesopotamia has ripped open scabs and exposed unhealed emotional and psychological wounds in a large number of Baby Booker generation Vietnam veterans. They are returnign to VA hospitals and clinics in droves.

"Such unhealed PTSD can devastate life and incapacitate its victims from participation in the domestic, economic and political life of the nation. The painful paradox is that fighting for one's country can render one unfit to be its citizen." (Page xx)

Dr. Shay does a masterful job of using his own deep clinical experience of treating veterans at the VA Outpatient Clinic in Boston to lay out a clear and disturbing picture of how the way in which the Vietnam War was waged led to a staggeringly high percentage of returning veterans who are plagued with PTSD. I have enormous respect for the work he has done, for work as an author in sharing his understanding with the wider community. One caveat I must mention is that Dr. Shay clearly has a strong animus against traditional monotheistic religion in general - and the Judeo-Christian tradition in particular. He lays at the feet of organized religion much of the blame for the dire straits that our Vietnam veterans still find themselves. I do not necessarily agree with the conclusions that his philosophical position has led him to make, but with that exception, he lays out lucid and cogent explanations, diagnoses and prescriptions for addressing the troubling issue of persistent PTSD among Vietnam veterans.

An overarching principle that permeates the book is Shay's belief that healing from PTSD can only begin to happen when veterans are empowered to tell the narrative of what they saw and experienced in Vietnam, and that narrative must be communalized among other veterans and then more widely among family, friends and the broader community. For most Vietnam veterans, the conditions have not always existed to foster and to enable such difficult and painful communication. A veteran shares his frustrations in trying to tell others about his Vietnam experiences:

"I had just come back [from Vietnam] and my first wife's parents gave a dinner for me and my parents and her brothers and their wives. And after dinner we were all sitting in the living room and her father said: `So, tell us what it was like.' And I started to tell them, and I told them. And do you know within five minutes the room was empty. They were all gone, except my wife. After that I didn't tell anybody I had been in Vietnam." (Page xxii)

Dr. Shay ends his introduction with a clarion call to his readers to take an active role in the healing that is long overdue and the prevention of future hurt:

"To all readers I say: Learn the psychological damage that war does. There is no contradiction between hating war and honoring the soldier. Learn how war damages the mind and spirit, and work to change those things in military institutions and culture that needlessly create or worsen these injuries. We don't have to go on repeating the same mistakes. Just as the flak jacket has prevented many physical injuries, we can prevent many psychological injuries." (Page xxiii)

A motif that runs throughout this book is the strong belief that everything about the way in which the Vietnam War was fought - by the enemy and by American leaders and policy-makers - violated fundamental assumption of what is right and wrong in the world. This violation of basic assumptions is seen, by Shay and others, as the root cause for many of the psychological problems that attend those who returned from Vietnam as different men than the innocents who had first landed in Southeast Asia.

"The moral dependence of the modern soldier on the military organization for everything he needs to survive is as great as that of a small child on his or her parents. One Vietnam combat veteran said: `The U.S. Army [in Vietnam] was like a mother who sold out her kids to be raped by [their] father to protect her own interests.'" (Page 5)

"When a leader destroys the legitimacy of the army's moral order by betraying `what's right,' he inflicts manifold injuries on his men. The Iliad is a story of these immediate and devastating consequences. Vietnam has forced us to see that these consequences go beyond the war's `loss upon bitter loss . . . leaving so many dead men' to taint the lives of those who survive it." (Page 6)

"Veterans can usually recover from horror, fear and grief once they return to civilian life, as long as `what's right' has not also been violated." (Page 20)

In the chapter entitled "Grief at the Death of a Special Comrade," Dr. Shay lays out his premise about the need for communalization of grief:

"Any blow in life will have longer-lasting and more serious consequences if there is no opportunity to communalize it. This means some mix of formal social ceremony and informal telling of the story with feeling to socially connected others who do not let the survivor go through it alone. The virtual suppression of social griefwork in Vietnam contrasts vividly with the powerful expressions of communal mourning recorded in Homeric epic. I believe that numerous military, cultural, institutional, and historical factors conspired to thwart the griefwork of Vietnam combat veterans, and I believe that this matters. The emerge of rage out of intense grief may be a human universal; long-term obstruction of grief and failure to communalize grief can imprison a person in endless swinging between rage and emotional deadness as a permanent way of being in the world." (Pages 39-40)

The author shares several vivid descriptions of those combat veterans who have devolved to a berserk state. He also points out, in contradistinction to the "berserkers," the value of those who experience the horrors of war and yet somehow resist the pressure to become subhuman in their response:

"Gentle people who somehow survive the brutality of war are highly prized in a combat unit. They have the aura of priests, even though many of them were highly efficient killers." (Page 44)

This arresting description of "gentle warriors" makes me think of many friends I know - Renaissance Men who are also patriotic soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines - who have returned from their deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. To be sure, they have returned changed - in terms of their frame of reference and the vast library of memories and experiences they amassed in war. But they have remained essentially unchanged in terms of basic character and temperament. As Shay has indicated in this book, they tend to be individuals who have strong networks of support that they have used as platforms for telling the narrative of their combat experiences. Many began that narrative process even before returning home - through e-mails, Blogs and published articles and books.

In the chapter, "What Homer Left Out," Dr. Shay offers a very helpful and concise summary of the four kinds of traumatic war experiences that lead to PTSD:

"These four clusters are exposure to combat, exposure to abusive violence, deprivation, and loss of meaning and control. The four clusters are all aspects of war trauma, and PTSD symptoms are the lasting results for the veteran after the war." (Page 123)

This is a book that will add value and insight to any individual who is committed to helping veterans - from the Vietnam era and the most recent wars in the Gulf - to find healing and wholeness after experiencing the devastations of war. Those of us, as civilians, who feel we are unqualified to participate in the communal healing that is sorely needed, will find comfort and challenges in the truths that Dr. Shay presents in this seminal work. If we, as a society, fail to respond - pro-actively and with compassion - to the chronic challenge of PTSD and those who suffer from it - it will remain our "Achilles' heel."

Al

Editorial Review:

Dr. Shay has spent the past several years treating Vietnam-combat veterans afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder. He has come to see an overwhelming and undeniable similarity to the experience of soldiers in Homer's Iliad, including Achilles' shrinking moral and social world and his feelings of betrayal and being "already dead."

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing: Basic Principles, Protocols, and Procedures

Francine Shapiro

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Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a innovative clinical treatment for victims of trauma. Since its introduction in 1989, the approach has been taught to over 18,000 clinicians worldwide and has received an enormous amount of media attention. With very positive results emanating from recent studies, EMDR is now the most extensively researched treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and many other applications are also being explored.

EMDR is a time-efficient, comprehensive methodology for the treatment of the disturbing experiences that underlie many pathologies. An integrated model that draws from behavioral, cognitive, psychodynamic, body-based, and systems therapies, EMDR provides profound and stable treatment effects in a short period of time. Comprising an eight-phase treatment that includes the use of eye movements or other left-right stimulation, EMDR helps victims of trauma reprocess disturbing thoughts and memories. Although current knowledge of neurobiology does not provide a definitive explanation, a number of physiological studies are being carried out and theoretical suggestions have been put forth that link its effects to REM sleep, dual attention, and/or bihemispheric involvement.

This authoritative volume reviews research and development; discusses theoretical constructs and possible underlying mechanisms; and presents protocols and procedures for treatment of adults and children with a range of presenting problems. Among the many clinical populations for whom the material in this volume is applicable are survivors of sexual abuse, crime, and combat, as well as phobia sufferers. To facilitate the learning process, detailed descriptions and transcripts guide the clinician through every stage of therapeutic treatment, from client selection to the administration of EMDR and its integration within a comprehensive treatment plan.

This volume is essential reading for all clinicians and researchers interested in treating victims of trauma. The extensive and detailed exposition of each phase of treatment and myriad applications make it an invaluable handbook for experienced EMDR clinicians as well as those new to the approach. Accessibly written, it also serves as a text for advanced students of clinical psychology.

Traumatic Stress: The Effects of Overwhelming Experience on Mind, Body, and Society

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Highly clinically relevant 5 out of 5 stars.
21 of 21 people found this review helpful.

As a 2nd year psychiatry resident, I only recently discovered this text, however, am finding it incredibly helpful in understanding my patients. Although there are currently no plans for an updated edition (per the publisher as of November 2005), the material is still very relevant as far as the developmental effects of traumatic stress. I would highly recommend this to anyone who works with patients with PTSD.

Editorial Review:

Now in paperback, this bestselling classic presents seminal theory and research on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Together, the leading editors and contributors comprehensively examine how trauma affects an individual's biology, conceptions of the world, and psychological functioning. Key topics include why certain people cope successfully with traumatic experiences while others do not, the neurobiological processes underlying PTSD symptomatology, enduring questions surrounding traumatic memories and dissociation, and the core components of effective interventions. A highly influential work that laid the foundation for many of the field's continuing advances, this volume remains an immensely informative and thought-provoking clinical reference and text. A new preface to the paperback edition situates the book within the context of contemporary research developments.

Invisible Heroes: Survivors of Trauma and How They Heal

Belleruth Naparstek

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Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

If you or someone you love has suffered a traumatic event, you know the devastating impact it can have on your life and your spirit. Life-threatening accidents, illnesses, assaults, abusive relationships—or a tragedy like 9/11—all can leave deep emotional wounds that persist long after physical scars have healed. Survivors become “invisible heroes,” courageously struggling to lead normal lives in spite of symptoms so baffling and disturbing that they sometimes doubt their own sanity.

Now there is new hope for the millions affected by posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Drawing on more than thirty years’ experience as a therapist and on the most recent cutting-edge research, Belleruth Naparstek presents a clinically proven program for recovery using the potent tool of guided imagery. She reveals how guided imagery goes straight to the right side of the brain, where it impacts the nonverbal wiring of the nervous system itself, the key to alleviating suffering.

Filled with the voices of real trauma survivors and therapists whose lives and work have been changed by this approach, Invisible Heroes offers:

• New understanding of the physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral effects of PTSD, who is most susceptible, and why symptoms can get worse rather than better with time

• Important insights into how the brain and body respond to trauma, why conventional talk therapy can actually impede recovery, and why the nonverbal, image-based right brain is crucial to healing

• A step-by-step program with more than twenty scripts for guided-imagery exercises tailored to the three stages of recovery, from immediate relief of anxiety attacks, flashbacks, nightmares, and insomnia, to freedom from depression and isolation, to renewed engagement with life

• A helpful guide to the best of the new imagery-based therapies, and how to incorporate them into an overall recovery plan

Belleruth Naparstek concludes with the inspiring words of survivors who have found their way back to peace, purpose, and
a deep joy in living. Her compassionate, groundbreaking book can lead you and
those in your care to the same renewal and healing.


From the Hardcover edition.