Post Traumatic Success: Positive Psychology & Solution-Focused Strategies to Help Clients Survive & Thrive

by Fredrike Bannink

Overview

Resiliency-focused approaches to managing trauma.

This is a book to help clients to transform what happened to them to make them better instead of bitter.

The first book on trauma to combine the theory and practice of positive psychology and solution-focused brief therapy with traditional approaches, this book veers away from a focus on pathology (what is wrong with clients and how to repair the worst) to a focus on what is right with them (and how to create the best)—that is, from post traumatic stress to post traumatic success.

The three R’s of post traumatic success are: Recovery, Resilience and enRichment (post traumatic growth) - concepts depicted by the bamboo plant on the book’s cover. Trauma professionals will learn what it takes to help more survivors benefit more substantively from therapy and how to support their clients in developing longer-term resilience. By practicing the skills in this book, they can increase their clients’ self-efficacy and self-esteem, and make psychotherapy shorter in time, more cost effective and more lighthearted for their clients and themselves.

Written for all professionals and students working with trauma survivors (both adults and children) and their families and friends, it equips readers with practical direction for adopting a more positive approach and expanding their range of available techniques. Over a hundred exercises, thirty-three cases, and forty stories are presented to illustrate and help incorporate this new approach into practice.

It’s about time to turn the tide on treating trauma by shifting the focus from reducing distress and merely surviving to building success and positively thriving.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393709704
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	10/13/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
File size:	663 KB

About the Author

Fredrike Bannink, MDR, is a clinical psychologist trained in solution-focused coaching and solution-focused mediation. She is the author of many publications on solution-focused therapy, solution-focused interviewing, and mediation, and a trainer for mental health team of Doctors Without Borders. She is based in the Netherlands.

Table of Contents

Preface xi

Ten Lessons From the Bamboo xv

Acknowledgments xviii

Part 1 Theory 1

Chapter 1 Post Traumatic Stress 2

Chapter 2 Post Traumatic Success 14

Chapter 3 The Positive Focus 38

Part 2 Applications 65

Chapter 4 Creating a Context for Change 66

Chapter 5 Focus on Goals 90

Chapter 6 Focus on What Works 111

Chapter 7 Focus on Progress 140

Chapter 8 Homework Suggestions 188

Chapter 9 Follow-Up Sessions 215

Chapter 10 Post Traumatic Success in Children 254

Part 3 Social Resilience 283

Chapter 11 Positive Relationships 284

Chapter 12 The Future of Post Traumatic Success 317

Chapter 13 Frequently Asked Questions 326

Appendix A Protocols for the First Session 339

Appendix B Protocol for Finding Exceptions 341

Appendix C Protocol for Follow-Up Sessions 344

Appendix D Exceptions journal 345

Appendix E Externalizing the Problem 347

Appendix F Changing Perspectives 348

Appendix G Questionnaire to the Referrer 349

Appendix H Session Rating Scale (SRS) 350

Appendix I Certificate of Success 351

References 352

Websites 369

Index 372

About the Author 397

Editorial Reviews

"[A]n engaging read that encouraged me to consider new ways of working that have, partly deliberately and partly inadvertently, already crept into my practice. Whether an initial sceptic like myself, or already an advocate of working with Positive Psychology and Solution-Focused approaches, Bannink’s book will help initiate, develop, and consolidate both established and fresh ways of working for both new and experienced therapists alike."

Contemporary Psychotherapy

"Posttraumatic growth is one of the fascinating and inspiring themes within positive psychology. Bannink describes eloquently how positive psychology and solution-focused strategies can assist clients in coping successfully with traumatic events. A practical guide I highly recommend."

Prof. dr. Ernst Bohlmeijer

"[A] comprehensive guideline with hundreds of exercises, stories, cases, summaries, and interventions that could be implemented into clinical practice. . . . [M]ainly intended for professionals and students . . . family and friends of trauma survivors who like to integrate a more positive approach could find this book very helpful. The practicality of the book and the step-by-step guidelines allow anyone who reads the book to understand and implement the approaches."

Somatic Psychotherapy Today

"[A]n engaging book. Bannink is versatile in drawing stories and exercises from multiple cultures . . . . The book is easy to read and is packed full of practical ways to be a useful clinician and a positive influence on your client’s futures. . . . [A]lso a useful text for people responsible for human resource departments, those charged with supporting people in emergency services including aid agencies and the military where exposure to potentially traumatic events is inherent in the work-role, and for those who train or teach others to be instrumentally and emotionally useful to others."

British Journal of Guidance & Counselling

"As a therapist and practitioner myself, I found Bannink’s book to be a must-read for any therapist — regardless of the population they treat. There is, too, a large and powerful message that Bannink presents: that trauma is everywhere, but so are the solutions. . . . [A] veritable therapist gold mine."

PsychCentral

"Bannink’s Post Traumatic Success is a landmark work, and in my mind the most important book on treating trauma and post traumatic stress disorder in the last 20 years. The book offers a paradigm shift: From thinking about treatment as amelioration of the symptoms by focusing on the trauma — which isn’t always successful and can be a slow, painful process — to focusing on exceptions, strengths and resiliencies so that clients may thrive. Integrating current research in positive psychology and solution-focused brief therapy, the book offers concrete and specific interventions that can be used immediately in clinical practice. I highly recommend this book for new and seasoned therapists alike."

Terry S. Trepper

"The practical approaches you will find in this volume promise to bring the best of positive psychology to those who need it most."

Barbara L. Fredrickson Ph.D. Kenan

"[A] great reference for clinicians. I suspect I will be referencing it quite a bit as I incorporate these ideas into my practice. . . . [A] compelling, easy to read book emphasizing a paradigm shift of treating trauma with positive psychology and solution-focused therapy. . . . Thank you, Fredrike Bannink for your book and positive contribution to the field of treating trauma."

Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy

"As always with Bannink, she has read widely around her topic. The overlap described between Positive Psychology, Solution Focus and other forms of psychotherapy, such as CBT, will be of particular interest to many practitioners. The text highlights the new future-focus being brought into Positive Psychology and includes many tried and tested exercises to increase the client’s resources. The many anecdotes and stories demonstrate the concepts well and add to the readability of the volume. There is something in this book to interest all psychologists and post-modern therapists."

Dr. Alasdair J. Macdonald