Therapeutic Expression, Learning and Coping
927428
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/My-Personal-Life-History-Book-A-Guided-Activity-Workbook-for-Foster-Children-Their-Families-Case-Workers-and-Teachers/dp/0979084601/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">My Personal Life History Book: A Guided Activity Workbook for Foster Children ( Their Families, Case Workers and Teachers )</a>
This is the only therapeutic, guided activity workbook for children of its kind for which a manual for parents, teachers, primary caregivers and mental health professionals has also been created.  The Personal Life History Book method was developed decades ago to help traumatized foster children. It has been scientifically studied and shown to reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and to help stabilize foster care. All children can potentially benefit from using this book which helps children think about and express their feelings and strengthens coping skills. The workbook is a derivative of the Cornerstone Method of Reflective Network Therapy (See [...] for more information.)  The Children's Psychological Health Center (CPHC, a non profit agency) also provides this and other guided activity workbooks regarding disaster relief to helping agencies for a nominal one dollar fee per copy to reprint this book from a copyrighted pdf file when quantities of 100 or more are required. CPHC's Medical Director made this general comment to help explain why these workbooks help children heal:
"The use of guided activity workbooks shows children that honestly facing the disaster is supported rather than avoided by their teachers and families or emergency caregivers. The use of drawings and encouragement of narrative writing advances a sublimative and witnessing process in which the child feels respected and useful within the child's human network. The child's personal locus of control and sense of personal history are enhanced. The psychological benefit of promoting the concept of shared experience in the child's mind in times of general disaster cannot be overstated. When the adults in their lives concretely acknowledge the complexity and depth of children's traumatic experiences, children are helped to understand that their inner world and their personal history is honored and valued. One cannot discount the therapeutic value of natural empathy and nurturing rescuers may provide to children suffering the aftermath of mass scale trauma. However, the only method I know of capable of reliably providing almost immediate and direct therapeutic relief to such children which is psychoanalytically based (and can help without reliance on such workers' psychological expertise) is the intervention of therapeutic activity workbooks we have made available for this purpose." -Gilbert Kliman , MD
-Terese Reitinger, Friends of Cornerstone, Member
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What should be the purpose of psychotherapy?  To alleviate stress?  Teach improved coping skills?  Change your philosophical outlook on life?  According to this book's author, the current trend toward manualized, quick-fix, cookbook interventions ignores that fact that when people face adversity or undergo life-altering challenges, they don't just want to "adjust" or "cope" - they want help in constructing some rungs of meaning that will enable them to hoist themselves out of the existential muck.  Consistent with this author's orientation toward a philosophical view of the Good Life, she critiques the modern "positive psychology" movement, which sometimes seems like a matter of pasting smiley-faces on distressed patients in order to gag their complaining and save treatment costs.
 Instead, the author offers a philosophically harder, but ultimately richer approach to helping patients deal with both predictable life difficulties and wrenching crises.  At some points, the author seems to forget that profound existential growth is not always the preferred therapeutic outcome in every case - sometimes, people just need symptomatic relief of anxiety or depression, or help with a practical family or job problem - but her approach is a useful corrective to the kinds of existentially sterile short-term interventions often applied cavalierly to serious life dilemmas.  This slim volume, although not the last word on existentially meaningful psychotherapy, is a good place to start.
- Laurence Miller, PhD, International Journal of Emergency Mental Health
4411822
Book Review:Re-Versing the Numbers: A Poetry Workbook for Eating Disorders by Cynthia Blomquist Gustavson.

This book is a gift for individuals and therapists who work with eating disorders. Cynthia Gustavson is an astute social worker and skilled poet who is right on target with exercises that hit their mark. How great to find user-friendly, ready-to-use exercises to tap the expressive and often hidden creativity of individuals wrestling with eating disorders.

Subject areas include the most relevant topics for person with eating disorders: understanding the body; understanding one's relationship to food, changing irrational behavior, cognitive therapy in communication skills, and family dynamics. The written exercises that follow each poem serve as catalysts for writing to help individuals to identify, organize, and witness their conflicts. This leads to reflection, problem-solving, and a sense of greater mastery. Therapists will find that using these exercises in session or between visits deepens and accelerates therapeutic progress. At the same time, individuals who choose to use this book without a therapist will find it to be a thought-provoking self-help tool.

Many clinicians consider eating disorders to be a difficult-to-treat disorder. Here is an excellent tool that makes it easier. Every professional working in the area of eating disorders should be aware of this book. The author creates poetry as an artist and then applies it as a therapist. The way to the body (and mind) is through the heart, and through the art form of poetry. Thank-you, Cynthia Blomquist Gustavson.

Sherry Reiter, PhD, Registered Poetry Therapist-Mentor/Supervisor
Director of The Creative "Righting" Center and Author of Writing Away the Demons (North Star Press, 2009)
4477782
This is an excellent book for a college student or anyone with a sincere interest in understanding and/or treating the results of childhood abuse, neglect and trauma. This book was recommended, but not required, for a trauma treatment class that I am taking. I am very glad that I purchased it. It provides a look into the mind and thinking patterns of the repeatedly traumatized child and the very real results of that traumatization in adults and how it impacts daily life.
4550294
As she has previously done with the similarly ephemeral arenas of chaos theory and creativeity, Terry Marks-Tarlow now brings welcome illumination and meaning to the topic of the psychotherapist's clinical intuition.  With recent research developments in the interpersonal neurobiology of attachment and psychotherapy as her underlying assumptive base, Dr. Marks-Tarlow, a psychologist, dancer, yoga teacher and artist, brings her considerable and wide-ranging insight and intellect to demystify the empathic, experiential connection and growth process between patient and therapist.  She considers the contributions of play, humor, developmental imperatives, and imagination, in the unfolding of clinical intuition and key, intuitive episodes in treatment, offering clinical vignettes, original artwork, research findings, and fables to engagingly convey her message.  This is a wonderful contribution to and further application of the literature on interpersonal neurobiology, and will be simultaneously a validating, deepening and expansive experience for psychotherapists and mental health trainees (as well as curious, reflective psychotherapy patients).
4270180
This is a great book that first reviews the many symptoms of anxiety, both physical and emotional, followed by coping strategies for those who experience anxiety. these strategies including a section for tricking you mind into feeling relief instead of anxiety. That is just one of the many coping skills discussed in the book, but one that I found intriguing. There are actually a lot of strategies to choose from so that you can find something that will work for you. In addition to coping skills, there is also a list of natural herbal remedies and dietary changes that can be beneficial for anxiety sufferers, as well as strategies such as working out and relaxation techniques. Many other strategies are discussed so that you are sure to find something that works for you. Medical treatment is discussed if these other techniques are not working for you. A good book if you need relief from anxiety.
4698049
This book is very informative in illustrating the therapeutic task in working with this population of children. It provides many helpful suggestions as well as enhancing our understanding of this clinical population. Overall, a very well written and concise book.
3283423
The instructions in the book give me coping mechanisms to deal with behavior that is not helpful in my personal relationships .
2869297
Dr. Graber not only presents a history of the birth of logotherapy, but demonstrates its symbiotic relationship with pastoral psychology and other interventions that acknowledge the role of the human spirit in healing. Viktor Frankl's Logotherapy gives a thorough overview of Franklian concepts and demonstrates their application in case scenarios. This enables the reader to realize the potential use of logtherapy in practice. In this time of global distress, the book serves as a wonderful introductory text of Frankl's meaning-centered approach to psychotherapy which is inclusive of the spiritual dimension - a balm for our troubled world.
4406790
una exelente rebicion y analisis de la problematica deibada de el usu de drogas y adiciones ,aunque se da una mirada desde la perpectiva social , biologica y farmacologica se hecha de menos un analisis mas acabado y actualisado de la perpectiba del aprendizaje operante , pavlobiano y modelaje
4098091
Yes!  I am really glad this book came out.  As a clinician, I have been hoping for a good "self-help" book for my clients dealing with dysfunctional aggression and anger problems.  The area of anger is so under-represented in applied psychology, and I am glad to see these authors offering a digestible self-help approach using contemporary and effective psychotherapy principles.

It's a good read.  I recommend it for people dealing with anger issues in their life, and also for counselors.
2099868
Insightful and therapeutic. This book taught me to embrace my shortcomings, face my fears, trust in hard work and let go of everything else.
925962
Adult Coloring Book: Stress Relieving Patterns -- Enchanted Forest Coloring Book for Adults
As a behavioral therapist one thing I do is help people who are struggling on some level learn to use effective, and positive, coping skills. Whether people are coping with any of a variety of psycho-social stressors, the stress of battling addiction, or coping with a significant change in circumstances  learning to effectively cope with things in a way that doesnt negatively impact physical health, state of mind, or functioning  is a prime goal in therapy. After the primary triad is addressed (diet, sleep, exercise) we typically work on the all-important second tier  social supports and leisure/recreation. I encourage my clients to spend a small amount of time each week dedicated to building a small but reliable social support system and also to spend a larger amount of time each week in a solitary enjoyable activity. A year or two ago I started to recommend coloring to my clients  it has taken off with my client base, as well as with my friends, as the most preferred relaxation tool in their arsenal of coping skills. The Johanna Basford coloring books are my new favorite books for using in therapy with my clients. These books offer an immersive relaxing leisure activity that is creative, non-threatening, and end-product-productive. The high-quality pages are beautifully designed, creatively illustrated, and inspiring.

I received the Johanna Basford Enchanted Forest Coloring Book at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review and love sharing this wonderful relaxation/coping strategy with my clients!
3950003
One in six. According to statistics shown within this book, the ratio of men who have been forced to face child sexual abuse is 1 in every 6. Perhaps even more disturbing than that is my own suspicion that nearly 100% of those young boys who have grown up with this scar will never find healing from this tragedythis was true of me until I read Naming Our Abuse. With the goal of exploring their stories for the benefit of others, the authors of this volume tell the terrible tale of their own livesfrom past abuse to their contemporary process and progress of healing. As the subtitle aptly relays: following these men in their stories, and in their prescribed coping methods, is a path toward healing.
This path is initially shown by means of the mediated mentorship this book provides. As the reader continues through the four divisions of the book, they are brought through the process of exploration that the authors experienced themselves. The four divisions are further divided into subsections, one for each writer. With the creative use of this pattern the reader is able to hear the story of what made these men survivors of male sexual abuse, how that has characterized or corrupted different parts of their lives, what their steps toward healing have been, and how their continued healing is being lived out. In each of these sections, the reader encounters the raw, painful, and potentially-redemptive truth of what it means to be a survivor of male sexual abuse. This resource is a great aid to men as they are prompted to examine the life behind them and prepare for the life ahead, rather than continue to run from their scars.
 The blend of practical application with the authors narratives is a helpful aspect of the book. These coping method sections are drawn from the authors own experiences in therapy and reflection upon their healing processes. While the narrative flow provides comradery, the Naming Your Abuse sections (pages 4548, 7276, 103107, 141145) allow the reader to move from the passengers seat of the authors lives into the drivers seat of their own narrative. Having the coping methods or narrative alone would have left the work incomplete: either too clinical and prescriptive without a compassionate perspective; or compassionate, but lacking in experience and wisdom in helping others. However, Naming Our Abuse is much needed mix: a walking with, and being guided by men who have already begun the path of healing.
The narrative portions allow the reader to be reminded of his own abuse (or the abuse suffered by a loved one) by being drawn into a heartbreaking story, but the readers are not left there. Readers are introduced to questions and ideas to consider through these coping methods, which will help abuse survivors to process things which may have been left dormant, but not dead, for decades. This work provides immensely helpful hooks upon which readers can hang various attributes of themselves (i.e., personality characteristics, psychosomatic conditions, tendencies toward certain actions), and this helps to form a grid through which the readers own exploration of their abuse and its ramifications can begin. As disgusting as sexual abuse is, reading this book allows for a sense of normalization for the survivor of male sexual abuse, which will lead to healing by bringing the gross events and effects of the survivors life from the darkness of shame, fear, hurt, and unanswered questions into the light.
 In summary, this short volume is a lifeline to male sexual abuse survivorsespecially those who have not yet taken the time, effort, and emotional energy to consciously consider the abuse they suffered, nor the past and current impact this had had on their life. Bringing a sense of mutual support as well as applicaable care and guidance in healing from male sexual abuse, this book is a must for any who seek to minister to a survivor of male sexual abuse even if that survivor is yourself.
2796944
The essays in this book offer very general summaries on various aspects of the therapy profession with a few them focusing on how the work of healing could be advanced. Disappointingly, there's only one interpretation included in the entire book, but I think it's a good one:  "You seem to live your life as though you are apologizing all the time." pg 140  This seems to relate to the issue of the unconscious/hidden guilt or "unconscious crime" a child takes in when a parent blames him for the problems his parents are having.  When a parent gets openly or passive aggressively annoyed with their child's needs, how else is the child supposed to feel other than guilty?  A young child extends so much love and trust (attachment) to their parents that in order to preserve the connection, he will believe that he's at fault and then out of desperation split off the pain, related the burden, into his unconscious.  When the person grows up, he can examine what had happened and work on correcting the belief.  Although parents have positive intentions for their children, they may get stuck or bogged down by their acquired coping mechanisms adopted when they themselves were children.

The solution is to not deny the guilt and let opposite  feelings (reaction formation) mask the real feelings, but to support or make way for the mourning process ("constructive w-allowing") over not having been properly loved to let happen.  Some authors say that hidden guilt is something that can only be managed while others believe that it can be healed while yet others say that it's a combination of the two.  Kristen Neff says that the work of self compassion is the way to go.

If I understand it correctly, Reaction Formation is a "counter-phobic" reaction, and formation, the psyche employs to somehow maintain a thread of connection to the person's actual feelings.  The bully pattern, hormones aside, for example, is a defense cover up mask to express how a person secretly feels by expressing the opposite.  The person with this pattern may be unaware of this as he often uses a Rationalization for his behaviour.  So before "You seem to live your life as though you are apologizing all the time" can be considered, perhaps the layered on top defense first needs to be acknowledged, "You seem to live your life as though you are _________ all the time."  How can victimizers see that they are really just trying to express how unconsciously victimized they feel?  No child is actually guilty for the "invisible crime" they believe they have committed but this awareness needs to be emotionally experienced.

Perhaps one implication of this idea of hidden guilt is how it relates to the high end of the spectrum of alexthymia (personality trait related to the amount of feelings a person allows himself to feel).  It's often been said that if you can feel it, you can heal and "if you can't, you won't."  If those who are high in alexthymia (ie: those who primarily express their feelings through "primitive" defense mechanisms) are "unable" to feel past or present guilt, then the questions seem to be, "How can I support myself to feel and be okay with having feelings move/wave through as needed?  What attitudes can I adopt that will support this?" "What can I learn that will minimize my stress response system/amygdale/PTSD from being triggered?" etc

Although we are all unique, "I am nature's greatest miracle.  Since the beginning of time never has there been another with my mind, my heart, my eyes, my ears, my hands, my hair, my mouth. None that came before, none that live today, and none that come tomorrow can walk and talk and move and think exactly like me. All men are my brothers yet I am different from each.  I am a unique [person].." (Og Mandino), it seems that one more thing we all may have in common is that each of us may be carrying a certain hidden guilt for an "invisible crime" we didn't commit.
3382144
In Mindfulness and Hypnosis, Michael Yapko, explores the similarities between mindfulness meditation and hypnosis, concluding that both transform experience through the power of suggestion.  Neuroscience has shown that both hypnosis and meditation bring about similar neurological changes. Behavioral research shows that both calm anxiety, reduce pain, facilitate healing, and support adaptive behavior.

The suggestions in mindfulness meditation are about awareness and nonjudgmental acceptance.  The suggestions in hypnosis are about specific behavioral/emotional outcomes.  Yapko proposes that mental health practitioners trained in either meditation or hypnotherapy combine the two practices into a hybrid called Guided Mindfulness Meditation (GMM).  GMM relies on mindfulness meditation to focus attention and calm anxiety, while incorporating hypnotic methods that help clients tap into unconscious skills and underutilized strengths.  Yapko characterizes GMM as a process in which the clinician guides a client's learning and self-discovery, through suggestion.

Yapko devotes much of this book to the nature of therapeutic suggestion and its proper application.  He elevates suggestion to an art as he explores various hypnotic language patterns, as well as the social factors that influence suggestibility. These factors include:
client uncertainty, clinician status, demand characteristics of the therapeutic encounter, client expectations, and the clinician's communication style.

Yapko's genius shines when he describes, in detail, how clinicians can guide clients through the seven experiential stages of hypnosis, from preparing and educating the client to disengagement and reorientation.

Yapko writes on the uses of dissociation and paradox.  He discusses how hypnotic suggestions can shape subjective experience, altering belief and expectations. He applies metaphor and examples throughout to make his points understandable and memorable. He reminds readers that therapy is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor.  Suggestions and communication patterns must be adapted to the needs and characteristics of each individual.

Yapko's writing takes on a philosophical richness as he invites readers to examine their own positions on crucial questions of living such as what is acceptable behavior and what isn't, when it is appropriate to intervene, what is controllable and what is not, what one attends to and what one ignores, what is reality, what is only wishful thinking, and whether victimized thinking is ever justified.  As practitioners, we will, inevitably, communicate our beliefs about such matters to our clients.  Yapko states that the nature of skillfully applied suggestion and its potential to changes lives invites clinicians to question their own beliefs and assumptions in the face of ambiguities inherent in the human condition.

I like the way in which Yapko brings out the deeper meanings and facets of everyday experience as he plumbs the human psyche to reveal its complexities and contradictions. The influences of Milton H. Erickson and Jon Kabat-Zinn are evident throughout this book, yet Yapko's message retains his unique signature in his compassion for the human condition and its common dilemmas.  His solid reputation as an outstanding and prolific writer on the practice, art, science, and philosophy of hypnotherapy continues in this work.
3603289
I am a counselor myself, trained in Family Therapy. This is not the first book of Lowen's that I had read, but when I read it, I realized that I must practice from Lowen's point of view. Most depressed people (and I have been one) are told that their depression is a mental mistake and that they need to 'think better' to feel better. But as Lowen shows, thinking is not the problem. Sure, cognitive distortions arise, but they are the mind's best effort to understand very painful feelings that are real and that also are reflected in the state of the body. When a therapist identifies cognitive distortions as the origin of the problem, the depressed person just starts hiding them, because the 'distortions' are compelling, because they do 'make sense' as far as sensation goes.

Lowen's bio-energetic therapy has benefitted me enormously. It is not for dabblers. Lowen's approach to feeling better makes cognitive and family therapy appear very superficial indeed. Lowen does indeed talk about trends in society, but they are very relevant to depression, because depression is not random, it is the consequence of a state of living which is starved for real pleasure and satisfaction. Both some social and some family trends foist a joyless state of living onto children that carried forward, leads to a major depression.

The fix is not an instant or quick one. It is however, a surprisingly commonsense one-- getting back to the wisdom of sensation and emotion (with body work), protecting one's integrity with legitimate anger, and respecting the role that simple pleasures and satisfactions play in health.