Journey to Wholeness: Healing from the Trauma of Rape
By Monique Lang © 2000. Published by Learning Publications, Inc. 5351 Gulf Dr., PO Box 1338 Holmes Beach, FL 34218-1338. 167 pages. $19.95. Paperback.
This workbook (8-1/2" x 11") guides women who were raped to process the feelings, thoughts and physical consequences of their experience, through writing, illustration (drawing or cut/paste) and other exercises. It is suggested as a supplement for professional counseling, not a substitute. It may be very helpful for those who live with the raw edges of rape pain.
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If He Is Raped: A Guidebook for Parents, Partners, Spouses and Friends
By Alan McEvoy, Debbie Rollo and Jeff Brookings. Published by Learning Publications Inc., PO Box 1338, Holmes Beach, FL 34218-1338. (800) 222-1525.© 1999. 104 pgs. Paperback. $11.95.
This is a slim book packed with good information on a difficult subject: males raped by males. Whether the victim is a child or a prisoner, whether it's your husband, your friend, or yourself who is suffering, If He Is Raped will answer many of your questions. You'll find excellent guidelines for partners and family members here: help for the immediate aftermath, and a good explanation of long-term effects, as well. Perhaps the most chilling section is devoted to rape in prisons, and how little is done to prevent it. There is guidance here, too, for families and friends of prisoners who may emerge from their ordeal full of shame. Anyone dealing with the issues of sexually-traumatized men should definitely read this book.
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CAPTÏV
By S. Marie ©1998. Published by The Express Press, PO Box 231778, Encinitas, CA 92023, www.captivpoetry.com $10.95 + $2.90 shipping, CA residents add 85cents tax. 83 pgs. Paperback.
This poetry book follows the journey of healing from remembering child abuse to the recovery of hope. S.Marie's creates lucid and vivid images to raise the disturbing question: Why? Why does incest occur? What is a child in such a situation supposed to do? What is it like, to feel the pain and confusion all over again, as an adult? There are no pat answers here, but there is a strong sense of growth and healing to encourage the reader that the struggle to overcome is worth the energy it takes.
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Healing from Childhood Abuse: We have a Voice Now
By Julie Martin's Miracle System © 2000. Order from publisher Julie Martin at PO Box 3852, Costa Mesa, CA 92628-3852. $20 +$3 shipping. 122 pages. Paperback.
Julie Martin subtitles this self-published volume "My sides and their journey back to life. Poems reflecting my many lives." Several different type styles and writing styles are revealed in this book, which reveals a strong Christian faith.
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The Lost Art of Listening: How Learning to Listen Can Improve Relationships
By Michael P. Nichols, Ph.D. © 1995. Published by The Guilford Press, New York. $14.95. 251 pages. Paperback.
If you have been frustrated with the quality of your relationships, especially those closest to you, I heartily recommend this book. Nichols, a family therapist, gives a remarkably clear explanation of how things go wrong in communicating, and supplies ideas on how to change those ineffective patterns.
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The Gift of Fear: And Other Survival Signals that Protect Us from Violence
By Gavin de Becker ©1997. Published by Dell Publishing, New York. $6.99. 420 pages. Paperback.
When tourists were attacked recently in a Uganda adventure camp, many were killed...but a few escaped. When I heard how one couple quietly left their tent at the first sound, and hid in the bush, I thought immediately of the lessons in this book. De Becker's primary message is trust your instincts and he goes on to describe case after case where acting on the basis of an instinctive fear saved lives. This is an important lesson for readers of MV. Survivors of childhood abuse are often paralyzed by fears, some of them no longer justified, but others that are real threats. By learning to distinguish between fear that protects, and unwarranted fear that limits our lives, we can move more confidently into the world of healthy living.
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Clear Your Past, Change Your Future
By Lynne D. Finney, J.D., M.S.W. © 1997. Published by New Harbinger Publications, 5674 Shattuck Ave., Oakland CA 94609. 184 pgs. $12.95. Paperback.
This book takes a positive approach toward recovering memories. Finney, writing as an abuse survivor as well as a psychotherapist, suggests a self-help process of inner exploration that could be practiced individually by some people who are not in active therapy. She also gives helpful exercises for coping with feelings, nurturing yourself, and even how to resolve issues with people who have died. This seems a good book to read to get yourself unstuck in the healing process.
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Rag Doll A Journey of Healing and Integration
By Alayna © 1997. Published by Mystic Moon Publications, PO Box 252032, West Bloomfield, MI 48325-2032. 106 pgs. $12. Paperback.
This personal-recovery history is written as a series of letters to a friend. In the letters, Alayna explains her process of recovery beginning with her initial suicide attempt, moving through the remembering phase and appearance of alters, and ending with her integration. An afterword by Judith A. Goren, Ph.D., who was Alayna's therapist, does a good job of summarizing the diagnosis and treatment of dissociative disorder. A thoughtful presentation, with enough restraint to avoid freaking out readers...even those unfamiliar with D.I.D.
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Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
By Roger Fisher & William Ury ©1981, 1991 Penguin Paperback, 200 pgs $11.
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Getting Past No: Negotiating Your Way from Confrontation to Cooperation
By William Ury, ©1991, 1993. Bantam, paperback, 189 pgs $9.95.
Negotiating is a learned-skill for people who dissociate. We are much more inclined to disappear when faced with conflict...to be compliant and promptly give in...or else some aggressive part comes out and battles undiplomatically with the "enemy." And heaven knows, internal negotiation is a major hurdle, too. There are a number of very good books on negotiating out there. I like these because they take a respectful view of the adversary...no "stomp 'em flat" as some writers advocate. Isn't it time you put negotiation to work for you?
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Women Living With Self-Injury
By Jane Wegsheider Hyman. Published by Temple University Press. (215)204-1099. www.temple.edu/tempress © 1999. 214 pgs. Paperback. $19.95.
Jane Hyman is a psychologist who has spent nearly ten years learning about women who hurt themselves. Hyman goes beyond the usual problem-solution approach, and helps us understand how these women live in the everyday world...how they work (hiding their scars), cope with their relationships (do they tell their kids?), and, sometimes, recover from the need to harm themselves. There is an extensive chapter on help for recovery, including many interesting self-help techniques. One involves tokens for injury-free days from the Internet! (Send your postal address to llama@palace.net) This is a fascinating book with a rich and diverse perspective on the complexities of self-harm.
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The Verbally Abusive Relationship: How to recognize it and how to respond
By Patricia Evans. © 1992, 1996. Published by Adams Media Company. ISBN-1055850-582-2. 221 pages. $9.95 paperback.
Mostly aimed at women's experiences, this book is excellent for men also. It defines what is verbal abuse, describes different types of verbal abuse, and gives examples. From trivializing of your emotions to abuse disguised as jokes, Evans clearly explains the damage this type of abuse does to the victim. Part Two of the book gives concrete examples of ways to take back your power and how to respond safely to verbal abuse. I found this book very helpful. Eileen
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Radical Healing
By Rudolph Ballentine MD ©1999 Published by Three Rivers Press, NY, 612 pages, $17.00 paperback
There's a lot of info for the money in this book, subtitled Integrating the world's great therapeutic traditions to create a new transformative medicine.
This comprehensive review includes chapters on herbs, homeopathy and use of flowers, identifying your mind-body type, nutrition and detox, energy and consciousness, and much more. It also includes extensive lists of resources for products and services, as well as a self-help outline of treatments for self-diagnosed conditions.
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Looking Inside: Life Lessons from a Multiple Personality in Pictures and Words
By Judy Castelli © 2000 by Castelli Studio Publishing, 211 Buckskill Rd., East Hampton, NY 11937. (631) 329-3813. $19.95 (shipping included) 112 pgs. paperback
You may know of Judy Castelli from her internet site: www.multiple-personality.com or her deceptively simple, wonderful artwork. Her art has been featured in Many Voices several times, most recently on our cover, in August 2000. Judy was diagnosed as schizophrenic for years before she was accurately diagnosed with DID in 1994. Although she was already an accomplished stained glass artist before learning of her dissociation, she has taken her creative art and writing to new levels as she progresses in therapy. Judy says she is almost completely co-conscious now, is no longer suicidal, and has been medication-free for over 4 years. This lovely book of poetic writing and art is an inspiration to people in recovery, and their caregivers.
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Breaking Ritual Silence: An anthology of Ritual Abuse Survivors' Stories
Jeanne Marie Lorena and Paula Levy, Editors. Published by Trout & Sons, Inc., 1504 8-00292 Main St., Gardnerville, NV 89410. © 1998. 244 pages, softbound. $14.95 plus $3 shipping.
Chrystine Oksana, respected author of Safe Passage to Healing wrote the preface for this well-prepared collection of survivor stories. Despite the very graphic nature of this book, a number of the contributors take a hopeful stance in approaching their remembrance of ritualized trauma. Emotions of pain, anger, and frustration expressed are clear and genuine, and the promise of recovery exists.
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The Family Inside: Working with the Multiple
By Doris Bryant, Judy Kessler, and Lynda Shirar ©1992, Norton & Co., NY hardcover, 268 pages. $32.95 US, $39.99 Canada
This book was written by two therapists, Drs Bryant and Shirar, and their client, Judy, who was a multiple. The therapists were Judy's co-therapists, which, in itself, makes the book unusual. Co-therapy is something I've always felt could be a beneficial approach for multiples, who need so much time and support. The authors found it worked well for them. By Jennifer
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Lessons We Have Learned: A Survival Guide
Compiled and published by P.A.R.C.-V.R.A.M.C. 5251 Hwy. 153, #223, Hixon, TN 37343-4910. 133 pgs. $18 per copy $3 S&H US, $5 S&H in Canada.
Written and compiled by nine survivors, this book is about survival tips for Ritual Abuse and Mind Control Victims. The book covers such things as How can I Recover from RA and/or MC abuse? as well as what to tell children, security and safety tips and much more. An entire section is devoted to resources and contacts, such as books, newsletters, organizations, internet addresses etc. This book is a must-read for all RA and MC victims who wish to stay alive and begin to find healing from immensely difficult and sometimes dangerous issues. By Carol R.
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The Magic Daughter
By Jane Phillips. ©1995. Published by Penguin Press. $11.95.
We just finished reading this book and found it to be a bit different from the usual first-person accounts of multiplicity. It is not a dramatic story, filled with past abuses and present-day horror. Instead it focuses on the thoughts and thinking involved in trying to find some measure of stability and compromise that allows her to function from day to day. My thoughts echoed hers and at times, as my thoughts outpaced my reading speed, I found her thoughts echoing mine.
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When I Go to Bed At Night
By Susan Bassett © 1994. Enchanted Susan Productions, PO Box 951, Redmond, WA 98073-0951. $14.95. 42 pages, hardback.
We wanted to let other readers of MV know about a wonderful book that we found. It could be for kids or adults. It's got good illustrations and a great message. It deals with a story of abuse and survival written in an easy-to-read poetry format. It is a very powerful book with a message for survivors of all ages. By Kory, Colleen and the rest
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Healing the Trauma of Abuse: A Woman's Workbook
By Mary Ellen Copeland and Maxine Harris. New Harbinger Publishing © 1999. $14.95.
Skills for coping, self-understanding and self-care worked through from beginning to end, using exercises, activities, relaxation. By Marty R.
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Amongst Ourselves: A Self-Help Guide for Living with Dissociative Identity Disorder
By Tracy Alderman, PhD and Karen Marshall, LCSW. New Harbinger Press. 1998. $14.95
Discusses skills and strategies for living with DID, positive aspects, teaches awareness with parts. Special segment to help therapists and supporters. By Marty R.
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The Family Inside: Working with the Multiple
By Doris Bryant et al. W.W. Norton & Co., 1992. $32.95
A lot of information about how alters are developed, different types of alters and treatment. Study of one person's illness and healing, showing the art and sculpture she created during her healing process. By Marty R.
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MOSTLY FOR PROFESSIONALS:
RVIVORS:
Risking Connection: A Training Curriculum for Working with Survivors of Childhood Abuse
By Karen W Saakvitne, PhD, Sarah Gamble, PhD, Laurie Anne Pearlman, PhD and Beth Tabor Lev, PhD © 2000. Published by Sidran Press,
(410)825-8888, www.sidran.org .�5 modules in loose leaf format, over 200 pages. $75.
Risking Connection is said to be the first basic trauma training program for mental health providers in public settings. The program is aimed at personnel working in psychiatric hospitals, community mental health centers, substance abuse programs, domestic violence agencies and virtually any place where adults with a history of childhood trauma are served. Lynn W.
Forgiveness: Theory, Research and Practice
Edited by Michael E. McCullough, Kenneth I. Pargament, Carl E. Thoresen. Published by The Guilford Press, www.guilford.com or 72 Spring St., NY, NY 10012.(800) 365-7006. Hardback, 334 pgs. $35.
Does forgiving one's perpetrators help one heal? How likely is it that those who injure others will admit their deeds and apologize later on? How do various religions apply forgiveness in their theology? Is there a broad social benefit to forgiving and repentance? Here's a book for professionals that attempts to address those questions and more. The writing itself is fairly complex. There are no easy answers here about how to forgive, or even why to forgive. Among the 34 contributors, opinions range widely. It is not a self-help or 'how-to' book, but lays groundwork for research in forgiveness. Lynn W.
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Body Scripture : A Therapist's Journal of Recovery from Multiple Personality
By Barbara Hope © 2000 by Barbara Hope. Published by Wyndam Hall Press, 52857 CR 21, Bristol, Indiana, 46507-9460. $40. 225 pages. Paperback.
Other therapists who are currently struggling with dissociative disorder themselves may be particularly interested in this book, since this subject is rarely discussed in public. In this carefully-written document, Barbara Hope identifies herself as a lesbian, a feminist peace activist, and a social worker as well as a mother.
Her therapy history is extensive and convoluted. Her traumas included ritual abuse, and much later, seduction by one therapist, and the death of the therapist who led her through the initial diagnosis of DID and memory work.
The process of therapy, and the emotional transfers that take place are well detailed. So is the struggle of accepting or denying a cult history. A very readable and interesting book.
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The Couple Who Became Each Other, and Other Tales of Healing from a Hypnotherapist's Casebook
By David L. Calof with Robin Simons ©1996. Published by Bantam Books. 354 pgs. Hardback. $22.95US. $31.95CAN
This is an interesting and readable book about the use of hypnosis to treat a variety of problems: physical, emotional, or typically, both. Calof elaborates on the many mysterious connections between body and mind, and the way hypnotic suggestion, properly conducted, may positively-impact these connections.
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Green Surprise of Passion: Writings of a Trauma Therapist
By Shirley Glubka © 1998 Blade of Grass Press, RFD #1, Box 1358, Stockton Springs, ME 04981. Paperback. 82 pgs.$12.
This is a collection of sensitive prose and poetry by a clinical counselor. Glubka used writing to maintain her balance as she listened to the anguished stories, full of vivid and often terrifying imagery, emotion and pain. Well worth reading.
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Healing Tasks: Psychotherapy with Adult Survivors of Childhood Abuse
By James I. Kepner, PhD. Published by Jossey-Bass Inc., San Francisco.
(415) 433-1767. © 1995. 312 pages. Hardback. $34.95.
The Healing Tasks Model explored in this book by a Gestalt-trained therapist is an alternative to the abreactive techniques which marked trauma treatment in the past decade. It recognizes the developmental problems faced by children who grow up in abusive conditions. Kepner believes healing leads to a growth process, not a cure (as in a disease model of treatment.) Among the tasks he cites as essential are developing support, the ability to self-manage feelings and interactions, mourning losses, and reconsolidating the self. There are also chapters on traumatic memories, changing one's internal perspective of experience, and healing the gap between body and self which frequently occurs in abuse survivors. The writing style is accessible to laypersons, and ideas flow nicely, but the content is directed primarily to treatment providers.
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Coping with Trauma: A Guide to Self-Understanding
By Jon G. Allen, PhD. Published by American Psychiatric Press, Washington D.C.,(800)368-5777. © 1995. 385 pages. Hardback. $23.95.
Dr. Allen is the senior staff psychologist for the Trauma Recovery Program at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, KS. One can't quarrel with the copious material presented here, which attempts to be relevant to the broad spectrum of traumatic experience: from weather catastrophes to wars to violent crime, sexual abuse and incest. Allen highlights problems of childhood attachment as a predominant factor of an individual's response to trauma. Trauma treatment is broadly discussed, using examples. I didn't find the book's structure or explanation particularly accessible. The frequent footnotes refer to sources only, with no summary. Physiological responses and research studies are cited frequently, with much technical detail. There's a lot of useful information here, but it's heavy going, so be prepared.
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Images of Me: A Guide to Group Work with African-American Women
By Sherlon P. Pack-Brown, Linda E Whittington-Clark, and Woodrow M. Parker. Published by Allyn & Bacon,160 Gould St., Needham Heights MA 02194-2310. © 1998. 286 pgs. Hardback. $35.95 plus $6.59 shipping. 1-800-278-3525 or www.abacon.com
Although this book is not specifically about dissociation, it is interesting in a number of ways. The authors are all African-American Ph.D.'s and experienced counselors as well as academicians. Images of Me is centered around a series of groups developed by two of the authors, groups that aim to help African-American women explore the complex impact of racism and gender on their lives. This book is among the first to address the counseling needs of one of our country's most neglected and underserved populations.
As such, it will be especially useful to mental health professionals who want to better-understand their African-American clients.
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The Dissociative Child: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Management (2nd Edition)
Edited by Joyanna L. Silberg, Ph.D. Foreword by Richard P. Kluft, M.D. © 1996, 1998. Published by Sidran Press, Lutherville, MD. (410) 825-888 or www.sidran.org. 400 pgs. $45 paperback.
I was very impressed with this book. It's not just well-organized and comprehensive. It's also largely understandable to lay readers. Silberg and her contributing authors repeatedly stress the value of dealing with dissociation early, preferably before adolescence. Silberg states that children living with DID parents had outcomes just as positive as those in non-dissociative households. This may be important information for DD parents with good parenting skills who face custody battles.This book is a must for clinicians working with families or children, and a wise investment for every dissociative parent. In her preface to the 2nd edition, Silberg also brings up the interesting view that dissociative disorders, while usually caused by what the average person would call severe trauma, may sometimes appear in people without objectively-severe trauma histories. Her thought is that individual perception of pain or distress may sometimes lead to the extreme avoidance that underlies dissociation.
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Rebuilding Shattered Lives: The Responsible Treatment of Complex Post-traumatic and Dissociative Disorders
By James A. Chu, M.D. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., NY. © 1998 $47.50. 271 pages. Hardback.
A must-read for clinicians, especially those who have skipped the last few ISSD conferences and may not be current with today's treatment theory. Dr. Chu is head of the Trauma and DD program at Boston's McLean Hospital, and teaches at Harvard Medical School. Chu clarifies the transformation of treatment for dissociation in the past few years, via such factors as expanded research, the impact of managed care, and the controversial subjects of memory and iatrogenesis related to D.I.D. symptoms and diagnoses.
While he clearly takes the view that early trauma causes most dissociative disorders, Chu doesn't claim that all dissociation, or even D.I.D., is 100% trauma-based. While stating there is no proof that D.I.D. can be created in adults who are not already dissociative or have trauma histories, he says patients with lesser degrees of dissociation can be pushed into a D.I.D.-like presentation by naive or overzealous therapists. Chu also explains that the field's early emphasis on abreaction, or 'reliving and reframing' abusive events, was patterned on treatment of adult-onset PTSD, where flooding the patient (usually a combat veteran) in a very-supportive environment often yielded positive results. That approach doesn't work with many people who are dealing with histories of child abuse, he says, partly because the vast support network is not in place for people who, because of their early trauma, do not have a lot of skill in building healthy relationships. Although there were some successes, for many who endured abreaction after abreaction (led by their well-meaning therapists) the unfortunate result was increased pain, loss of functioning, and retraumatization without symptom relief. Chu maintains that abreaction, if used, must be delayed until a very strong therapeutic relationship and outside supports are well in place. This can take years to develop, and cannot be rushed in a vain attempt to rapidly cleanse a system of past abuse issues. Hospitals, today, should be a place for safety and stabilization, but not for exploration and abreaction. The inpatient settings must not become an arena for flight from impasses in outpatient therapy or for reenactment of abuse, or a substitute for learning to live in the world, (The Appendix includes the Dissociative Experiences Scale, a most-useful diagnostic tool). LW
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Betrayal Trauma: The Logic of Forgetting Childhood Abuse
By Jennifer J. Freyd. ©1996. Published by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. 232 pages. Hardback. $24.95.
Jennifer Freyd is a professor of psychology at the University of Oregon. For the past decade she has pursued research on memory and, since 1991, began to develop her understanding of betrayal trauma. She is the daughter of the founders of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation. But this book is not a personal polemic against the FMSF, or an angry response to her parents' intrusion into her adult decisions. Instead, she summarizes much current memory research, then discusses in careful, reasoned language, the processes that may lead to abuse memories being forgotten or only partially remembered for years. Freyd's Betrayal Theory proposes that the trauma most likely to be forgotten are not necessarily the most painful, terrifying or overwhelming ones...but the trauma in which betrayal is a fundamental component.
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Memory, Trauma Treatment, and the Law
By Daniel Brown, Alan W. Scheflin, and D. Corydon Hammond. © 1997, Published by W. W. Norton. 816 pgs. $100 in US, $130 in Canada. Hardback.
You might think, faced with an 816-page book put together by two psychologists (Brown and Hammond) and a lawyer (Scheflin) that you'd have a dull, jargon-laden doorstop. Not so. This is a highly-readable volume packed with useful information for clinicians, researchers, attorneys...and laypersons interested in the legal ramifications of memory and abuse. If I were a therapist treating trauma survivors, I would definitely buy this book and write it off as a business expense. $100 for possible prevention is cheap when you consider what lawsuits cost.
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Treatment of Offenders with Mental Disorders
Edited by Robert M Wettstein. Published by Guilford Press, 72 Spring St., New York, NY 10012 (800) 365-7006. ©1998. 438 pages, hardbound. $45.
I mention this book primarily because of its extensive chapter on the treatment of sexual offenders. This portion, prepared by Howard E.Barbaree and William L. Marshall, both Ph.D.'s from Ontario, Canada, runs some 63 pages, including five full pages of references. As an attempt to evaluate often-conflicting forms of treatment for perpetrators of major sex crimes (such as rape and child abuse), the work is careful in its disclaimers. The authors note that perpetrators who continue to deny their offense may not be accepted into treatment programs, and some evaluations count only those offenders who don't drop out. This selectivity may yield good outcomes only because the people willing to enter and complete the programs were initially less likely to reoffend. Treatments discussed include organic approaches (ie, methods to reduce sexual urges by chemical or physical means), cognitive-behavioral therapies, and nonbehavioral psychotherapy. Both institutional and community-based programs are discussed. This book also includes a separate chapter on community-based forensic treatment which may be of interest and help to those professionals working with sexual offenders.
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I Never Told Anyone This Before: Managing the Initial Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse Re-Collections
By Janice D. Gasker, DSW. © 1999 by The Haworth Press Inc. (800) 429-6784 US/CAN. Elsewhere (607) 722-5857. Hardback. 172 pgs. $29.95.
(You may receive a 20% discount if you ask!)
This book presents useful ways to reframe and bypass the false memory syndrome controversies in therapy where child sexual abuse memories are revealed. To put it much more crudely than she does, Gasker's approach essentially says that both sides of that debate are subject to error... and that the real issue for professionals is not the innate truth or falsehood of disclosed memories, but How might we use our clients' memories of traumatic events to enhance the quality of their lives? She cautions professionals who get caught up in judging and condemning families of clients. Take away a client's family, dysfunctional as it may be, and with what, with whom, will you replace it? That good question is too often overlooked.
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