Treating Psychological Trauma and PTSD

Precise and relevant, a comprehensive review of the history, theory, and treatment of PTSD….I find this an essential text in my graduate counseling course.–James Halpern, PhD, Department of Psychology, State University of New York at New PaltzWilson, Friedman, and Lindy define the theory of PTSD treatment with authority and clarity. Readers will appreciate how well the volume integrates the scientific, intellectual, and ethical principles for choosing effective clinical interventions. As much a ‘why to’ as a ‘how to’ book, this is a volume to be owned by all serious PTSD scholars and practitioners.–Frank M Ochberg, MD, former Associate Director, National Institute of Mental HealthThe perennial request of trauma practitioners is ‘Give me something I can use–something practical!’ This text defines the major themes of recovery across populations and relates these goals to specific interventions and techniques. Adding the areas of attachment/intimacy and interpersonal relationships and self/identity and life course development to the ‘basic three’ of PTSD (intrusion, avoidance, physiological symptoms) fills in previously missing gaps. This is one of the first volumes to address PTSD treatment from a non-unitary perspective, acknowledging that traumatic responses exist on a continuum and presenting treatment goals that apply to all aspects of the disorder. It is a great step forward and a ‘must read.’–Mary Beth Williams, PhD, LCSW, CTS, coauthor of Life after TraumaThe construct of PTSD and its underlying theory have been challenged by recent advances in research and practice. This book makes a daring attempt to redraw the picture, representing a sort of conceptual avant-garde. Using the construct of allostatic load, the book offers new theory and clinical approaches. The reader will find novelty, excitement, controversy, and much food for thought.–Arieh Y. Shalev, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah University Hospital, Israel - An authoritative volume that should be on the required reading list for any serious course on trauma, stress, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), victimology, or abnormal psychology or clinical psychology practicum….It broadens the reader’s perceptions of psychopathology and provides a much-needed lens for understanding both catastrophic trauma and the inevitable, pervasive, smallerbut commontrauma that goes unrecognized in everyday life.[Chapters] are informed by the latest theory and clinical research and describe a broad array of effective interventions and fine-tuned treatment goals. –Psychiatric Services, 1/15/2004ƒƒ This scholarly and lucid book offers a comprehensive, ‘state-of-the-art’ schema for the treatment of multiple aspects of psychological trauma….Will positively affect trauma research and treatment over the next decade. –International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 1/15/2004

Precise and relevant, a comprehensive review of the history, theory, and treatment of PTSD….I find this an essential text in my graduate counseling course.–James Halpern, PhD, Department of Psychology, State University of New York at New PaltzWilson, Friedman, and Lindy define the theory of PTSD treatment with authority and clarity. Readers will appreciate how well the volume integrates the scientific, intellectual, and ethical principles for choosing effective clinical interventions. As much a ‘why to’ as a ‘how to’ book, this is a volume to be owned by all serious PTSD scholars and practitioners.–Frank M Ochberg, MD, former Associate Director, National Institute of Mental HealthThe perennial request of trauma practitioners is ‘Give me something I can use–something practical!’ This text defines the major themes of recovery across populations and relates these goals to specific interventions and techniques. Adding the areas of attachment/intimacy and interpersonal relationships and self/identity and life course development to the ‘basic three’ of PTSD (intrusion, avoidance, physiological symptoms) fills in previously missing gaps. This is one of the first volumes to address PTSD treatment from a non-unitary perspective, acknowledging that traumatic responses exist on a continuum and presenting treatment goals that apply to all aspects of the disorder. It is a great step forward and a ‘must read.’–Mary Beth Williams, PhD, LCSW, CTS, coauthor of Life after TraumaThe construct of PTSD and its underlying theory have been challenged by recent advances in research and practice. This book makes a daring attempt to redraw the picture, representing a sort of conceptual avant-garde. Using the construct of allostatic load, the book offers new theory and clinical approaches. The reader will find novelty, excitement, controversy, and much food for thought.–Arieh Y. Shalev, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah University Hospital, Israel - An authoritative volume that should be on the required reading list for any serious course on trauma, stress, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), victimology, or abnormal psychology or clinical psychology practicum….It broadens the reader’s perceptions of psychopathology and provides a much-needed lens for understanding both catastrophic trauma and the inevitable, pervasive, smallerbut commontrauma that goes unrecognized in everyday life.[Chapters] are informed by the latest theory and clinical research and describe a broad array of effective interventions and fine-tuned treatment goals. –Psychiatric Services, 1/15/2004Æ’Æ’ This scholarly and lucid book offers a comprehensive, ‘state-of-the-art’ schema for the treatment of multiple aspects of psychological trauma….Will positively affect trauma research and treatment over the next decade. –International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 1/15/2004

John P. Wilson, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at Cleveland State University. An internationally recognized expert on PTSD, he is the past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. He is the coeditor of [ital]Assessing Psychological Trauma and PTSD/ital and [ital]Countertransference in the Treatment of PTSD/ital. Matthew J. Friedman, MD, PhD, before retiring in 2022, was founder and Director of the National PTSD Brain Bank; Senior Advisor to the National Center for PTSD, where he served for 24 years as Executive Director; and Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Psychiatry at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. He worked as a clinician and researcher for over 50 years, and has approximately 360 publications, including 29 books. Jacob D. Lindy, MD, is a training and supervising analyst at the Cincinnati Psychoanalytic Institute. For 27 years he has adapted psychoanalytic clinical theory to the special circumstances of the trauma survivor. He is the past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and has just completed 5 years as Director of the Cincinnati Psychoanalytic Institute. His publications include [ital]Countertransference in the Treatment of PTSD/ital.