Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation

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The book has been helpful for me personally so far. But also - wish this had been available to me when I was an educator, especially when I was working in a high-trauma community. I wish these concepts were available to all caretakers and people in social work fields such as education.

Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Over…

The "buts": why quote Pema Chödrön, who (read in Daniel Shaw: Traumatic Narcissism, and his second book) belongs to a spiritual circle where children were and are sexually abused. No need for that. (also: Alice Miller - she did pioneer work, but severely psychologically abused her son Martin Miller (after her death he wrote a book) that he was on the verge of suicide (Alice Miller "interviewed" the therapist of Martin and did not respect any boundaries, the therapist revealed the contents being told in confidentialiy). TIST is designed for very complex, difficult-to-treat clients; the ones therapists often feel overwhelmed by, and refer to other therapists. As the subtitle “Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation” indicates, a central theme of the book is the phenomenon of dissociation, which is found in so many survivors of trauma.

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This beautifully written, sensitive volume on how to treat the clients that many deem hopeless is a must read for those working with trauma. It will take you to new places and enable you to reach for your clients and find them when they cannot find themselves. Enjoy!" Kenneth A. Frank, PhD, Psychotherapy Integration Training Program, National Institute for Psychotherapies What I find most fascinating about Fisher’s book is the way she shows that people who have experienced complex trauma can progress better in therapy when they have a good understanding of their fragmented personality, what caused it, and what sustains it. This reminds us of a fundamental difference between mental health and other areas of medicine. An operation or pill can work just as well regardless of how well you understand its mechanism. Fisher discusses the ways that dissociation, or alienation, manifests itself in people who have been through extended periods of trauma. She explains a biological mechanism for these symptoms, which makes sense in the light of contemporary neuroscience and the study of human and animal behavior.

Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors - Wob

My method focuses on treating the effects of traumatic events, as opposed to treating the event itself, and on managing unsafe and addictive impulses as trauma-driven rather than manipulative and attention-seeking. We show clients how to use mindful observation to develop a relationship with their feelings, their impulses, and their traumatized parts.

I thought that the course was excellent. Janina was so kind and compassionate and just lovely in her beingness and her presentations. She is clear and so loving in the way she approaches her clients and her students. I learned so much about how to use words and presence to connect more deeply with clients and how to be welcoming and non judgemental, yet effective and connected....slowly but surely working with the legacy of trauma in us all. In this training, you will learn exactly how trauma drives survival responses that re-create the felt sense that these are still desperate times requiring desperate measures, leading to impulsive attempts to fight or flee. TIST provides an easier and more effective way of working with any clients who still suffer from these and other effects of trauma. Best of all, TIST also prevents burn-out by decreasing the stress on YOU to “save the day.” Dissociation is particularly essential when the abuse happens at the hands of a primary caregiver who is also responsible for providing food, shelter, and physical protection. In such a situation, the one experiencing abuse has to learn to function in a dual way, seeing the same person both as a threat and a source of essential goods.