I am a childhood abuse survivor, author, and therapist, and I am always looking for books to help me better understand the crazy healing process. I have done over two decades of therapy and have been working with clients for over twenty-eight years. In addition, I serve as an expert witness on behalf of plaintiffs who have experienced different types of trauma. Educating myself and getting the perspective from other clinicians and experts has helped me be a better therapist and expedited my therapy process!
This book, by Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD (Viking, September 2014), a bestseller, is probably the most renowned book on childhood trauma. His book changed my life and the way I look at healing from childhood trauma. \
Bessel has received praise from laypeople and professionals for this highly readable book. In it, Kolk emphasizes how the brain understands trauma and how, through different strategies, the brain can rewire itself to filter out thoughts and feelings associated with trauma.
Neuro-feedback, mindfulness, yoga, and play are included in the book to give the reader different methods for how to change the way the brain holds onto trauma. I have raved about Kolk’s title and the authenticity of his writing.
"Essential reading for anyone interested in understanding and treating traumatic stress and the scope of its impact on society." -Alexander McFarlane, Director of the Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies
A pioneering researcher transforms our understanding of trauma and offers a bold new paradigm for healing in this New York Times bestseller
Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der…
This book, by Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce Perry (Bluebird, April 22, 2022) is still a number one best-seller on Amazon. People who experience childhood abuse are at higher risk for physical and mental health disorders in adulthood. Dr. Perry shares scientific insights into the patterns of behavior in adulthood that so many struggle to understand.
Dr. Perry and Ms. Winfrey share numerous examples of how the lingering shame from the past keeps them stuck in their lives as adults. The part I loved the most in this book was how Ms. Winfrey offered how shame debilitates us and holds us back from living full lives in adulthood.
Our earliest experiences shape our lives far down the road, and What Happened to You? provides powerful scientific and emotional insights into the behavioral patterns so many of us struggle to understand.
“Through this lens we can build a renewed sense of personal self-worth and ultimately recalibrate our responses to circumstances, situations, and relationships. It is, in other words, the key to reshaping our very lives.”―Oprah Winfrey
This book is going to change the way you see your life.
Have you ever wondered "Why did I do that?" or "Why can't I just control my…
This book, by Danielle Delaney, PhD. (10-10-10 Publishing, February 2017) is written by a survivor that I connected to after I went public about surviving childhood abuse.
It is a beautifully written book and offers the reader hope in the aftermath of living through horrific abuse experiences as a teenager. Delaney affirms the enormous amount of work and time it takes to recover from traumas like kidnapping and sexual assault.
UNVEIL AN ESSENTIAL & UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE ABOUT HEALING FROM DEEP TRAUMA
You CAN heal ENTIRELY from severe, deep trauma - without needing a lobotomy. Through her first book, Expect Delays, Dr. Danielle Delaney shares with you the traumatic experiences of her assaults, and her journey of recovery and growth into the powerful woman and trauma expert that she is today. Recovery is not a simple path, and you will encounter detours and delays along the winding road. You will discover and uncover knowledge from the first chapter, Demolition, when an unexpected and terror-inducing life event totals you, to the final…
This book integrates neurobiology in understanding trauma, childhood abuse, and dissociation. It offers cutting-edge therapeutic techniques to help me replace my shame, self-loathing, and guilt attached to my abuse as a child.
Fisher integrates multiple strategies, such as sensorimotor psychotherapy, internal family systems, and mindfulness-based therapies, to help survivors replace dissociation with self-love and acceptance—a must-read for anyone struggling to stay present and make connections after surviving childhood abuse.
Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors integrates a neurobiologically informed understanding of trauma, dissociation, and attachment with a practical approach to treatment, all communicated in straightforward language accessible to both client and therapist. Readers will be exposed to a model that emphasizes "resolution"-a transformation in the relationship to one's self, replacing shame, self-loathing, and assumptions of guilt with compassionate acceptance. Its unique interventions have been adapted from a number of cutting-edge therapeutic approaches, including Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems, mindfulness-based therapies, and clinical hypnosis. Readers will close the pages of Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors with a…
This book, by Dan Allender (Nav Press, May 2, 2018), has sold almost half a million copies. It is written specifically for people who work in the ministry and are counseling survivors of childhood abuse.
Dr. Allender offers a compassionate perspective on the psychological effects of abuse and the theological foundations for healing. Through story-telling, Dr. Allender demonstrates numerous examples of compassion as an aid to healing when counseling childhood abuse survivors, which helped me better understand my work with clients who have survived childhood sexual abuse.
For those who have experienced childhood sexual abuse and those who love and care for them, The Wounded Heart offers a tender, compassionate window into the psychological effects of abuse and the theological foundations for healing.
Thirty years ago, with great courage and vision, Dan Allender brought Christians to the table to acknowledge, understand, and help victims heal from their experience of the evil of sexual abuse. His work continues to help victims and those who love them to honestly acknowledge their abuse, understand the unique challenge of repentance for victims of abuse, and learn to love boldly in defiance…
My book focuses on how survivors of childhood abuse can finally break their silence and begin the process of recovery by understanding the impact their abuse history has on their adulthood. Filled with real-life client conversations, along with my own experiences as a patient, this work helps readers stop reliving past abuse and thrive in their recovery. It demonstrates the tremendous hope that can come from having a witness and feeling heard and believed.
Throughout the book, the reader witnesses how adult survivors of childhood abuse can use relationships with therapists, partners, or supportive family members to combat their feelings of shame and guilt. I walk readers through ways survivors can develop trust with others and move through emotions of fear and grief.
My book is fantastical historical fiction about two characters who're wrestling with the monstrosity of their grief.
It takes you into London high society, where Ambrose tries to forget about how much he misses Bennett and how much he dreads becoming as cold as their Grandfather. It takes you to the family's country manor house, where Mattie isolates and old ghosts start to come out of the woodwork.
It's a story about loss and depression; it's a story about friends who don't let you walk through the valley of death alone.
Ambrose Bancroft returns to London society with his younger sister, hoping they'll leave ghosts of memory behind. They have only each other left. While Ambrose attempts to draw Mattie out, dragging her to balls and threatening to seek suitors for her, his sister recoils from his meddling. Finally, when Ambrose compels her to attend art class before she's ready, Mattie paints something horrific enough to banish them from society in public disgrace.
At Linwood Manor, Mattie and Ambrose aren't as alone as they think. Taking advantage of Mattie's desperate need to find freedom, a vanishing room lures Ambrose's sister into…
