The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Recovering from Trauma and PTSD: Using Compassion-Focused Therapy to Overcome Flashbacks, Shame, Guilt, and Fear

by Deborah A. Lee DClinPsy, Sophie James, Paul Gilbert PhD (Foreword by)

Overview

Although many people who have survived trauma, abuse, and violent situations understand on a logical level that the traumatic events they experienced were not their fault, shame may still underlie their feelings and fuel post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related psychological difficulties. For example, women who are victims of domestic abuse are often so paralyzed with the stigma of shame associated with their abuse, they don’t seek help. The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Recovering from Trauma and PTSD helps readers reduce the sense of threat they constantly feel and develop a fuller understanding of their reactions to trauma by cultivating compassion for themselves and others. The practical exercises based in compassion-focused therapy (CFT) that are offered in this book help readers gradually confront and overcome trauma-related behaviors. This approach invites readers who have undergone a traumatic experience to develop compassion for themselves and others, a sense of safety, and the ability to self-soothe when difficult memories or emotions arise. Written by an international expert on PTSD treatment, this book will prove to be an essential resource for therapists specializing in the treatment of trauma and anyone in the process of healing from a traumatic experience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781572249752
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	01/02/2013
Series:	The New Harbinger Compassion-Focused Therapy Series
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	548,395
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Deborah A. Lee, DClinPsy, is a consultant clinical psychologist, head of a national treatment center for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Berkshire, UK, and an honorary senior lecturer in clinical psychology at the University College London. Lee has worked with adult survivors of rape, interpersonal violence, and childhood abuse for more than twenty years and specializes in treating shame-based PTSD and complex trauma. She has pioneered the use of compassion-focused therapy with those suffering from shame-based PTSD and complex trauma and widely disseminated her clinical knowledge through writing and delivering clinical workshops in North America and Europe.

Sophie James is a lawyer and writer. After practicing law for over a decade, she changed her career to take up her passion for writing. She has particular interest in writing for the self-help market, and is dedicated to making clinical research and practice accessible to the general population.

 


Paul Gilbert, PhD, is world renowned for his work on depression, shame, and self-criticism, and is developer of compassion-focused therapy (CFT). He is head of the mental health research unit at the University of Derby, and has authored or coauthored numerous scholarly articles and books, including The Compassionate Mind, Mindful Compassion, and Overcoming Depression.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments v

Foreword vii

Preface xi

Part I Understanding Your Reactions to Trauma

1 Understanding your reactions to traumatic life events 3

2 Understanding your responses to traumatic events: Your brain, your motives, and your emotions 17

3 Understanding your trauma memories: Flashbacks, nightmares, and intrusive thoughts 31

4 Understanding shame and self-criticism in relation to traumatic events 45

5 Understanding your need for compassion in your life 61

Part II Developing Your Compassionate Mind Skills

6 Preparing your mind for compassion: Attributes of compassion 79

7 Preparing your mind for compassion: The beginnings of skills development 97

8 Developing your skills to access compassionate feelings 105

Part III Using Your Compassionate Mind to Soothe Your Traumatized Mind

9 Using compassion to understand your life story 129

10 Using your compassionate mind to resolve your shame-filled flashbacks 153

11 Using compassionate letter writing to bring compassion to your trauma story 177

12 Moving on in your life with compassion 187

Useful resources 197

References 199

Interviews

Deborah Lee lives in Oxford, UK.