Treating Complex Trauma

This forward-thinking volume outlines several approaches to therapeutic treatment for individuals who have experienced complex childhood and adult trauma, providing a novel framework for helping patients with a number of challenging symptoms, with clinical hypothesis testing and solid therapeutic relationships as a vital foundation. Responding to the intense disagreement and competition among clinicians championing their own approaches, the book identifies the strengths and limitations of multiple therapeutic approaches, addressing the need for qualified clinicians to be versed in multiple theories and techniques in order to alleviate suffering in their clients.

• How to choose specific therapeutic methods and when to shift techniques
• The neurobiology of trauma and management of fear
• Cultural and ethnic considerations in trauma treatment
• Addressing avoidance and creating a safe therapeutic environment
• Management of dissociation, substance abuse, and anger

Treating Complex Trauma: Combined Theories and Methods serves as a practical guide for clinicians looking to expand their knowledge of approaches for treating complex trauma. It aims to provide clinicians with options for different therapeutic methods, along with the necessary context for them to select the most effective approach in their treatments.

--Louann Brizendine, MD, Clinical Professor UCSF; author of The Female Brain

Chapter One: The Need for Utilizing Multiple Approaches for Complex PTSD: No Theory Has It All. - Chapter Two: How Trauma Stokes Fear: Considerations in Beginning of Therapy. - Chapter Three: Nurturing the Therapeutic Alliance: Mentalizing and Emotional Safety. - Chapter Four: The Therapeutic Alliance and Maintaining Physical Safety. - Chapter Five: Dissociation: Controversies and Clinical Strategies. - Chapter Six: The Need to Numb: Substance Abuse and Therapeutic Management. - Chapter Seven: When Trauma is in the Body: Managing Physical Concerns. - Chapter Eight: When Fight Impulses Dominate: Managing Anger. - Chapter Nine: Sociocultural Consideration in Trauma Treatment. - Chapter Ten: Vicarious Trauma and Self Care for the Trauma Therapist.