A must-read for investigators and medical professionals dealing with adult or child sexual assault/abuse cases.
599128
Wow! This book is a must-read for anyone in the field of child protection or the investigation of sexual assaults. The authors very clearly outline the ins-and-outs of sexual assault investigations and subsequent prosecutions. I learned a great deal about how sexual assault does... and importantly does NOT... present itself from a physical/medical standpoint. Kudos to authors Michelle Ditton RN and Laurie Gray JD for compiling such an excellent resource tool for investigators, law enforcement, medical professionals, prosecutors and anyone interested in learning more about these investigations.
48044
I found this book extremely helpful in its presentation of the dynamics of psychological abuse, a much ignored phenomenon, and how women react to the abuse.  How patriarchy contributes is addressed, and case studies make it  an interesting read.  Helpful for clinicians, researchers, and the public.
3700740
Dr. Warshak's book is a must read if you are dealing with challenging custody issues related to child dynamics that are changing due to undesirable parental influence.  It clearly helps differentiate what cause/effect could be the root of a concern and assists in navigating the emotional turmoil that can ensue.  Also included in the book are practical ways to help positively influence the children caught in these unfortunate tangles.  It encourages all parties to self check their own behavior.  And it provides insight into the legal system, therapist services and the like.  It's refreshing to find such a resource.  Pass it along to those that could benefit whether it's a parent, professional or even adult child with this history.  It's incredibly insightful.
975224
This is an important book. It should be required reading for every parent of teens. M.J. Rose has written an exceptional book about porn addiction and how it effects its users. We have heard of broken marriages, but not too much about the effect of porn on teen boys and the girls who are involved with them.

Once again, we meet Dr. Morgan Snow and her lover Detective Noah Jordain. That alone would be enough to read this installment of the series, but the underlying story demands we read this book.

Well written, intriquing, and a real page turner. Buy this book.
135804
The Child Safeguarding Policy Guide For Churches And Ministries is a book that every pastor, ministry leader, church administrator and parent should read!

This handbook help churches formulate the policies, procedures and training they need to help ensure safety for the children under their care. The book is also helpful for parents and adults who work with kids as it covers topics such as the warning signs of abuse, how to respond to abuse allegations and care for victims, and the legal implications and requirements for churches and Christian ministries.

While much of the book deals with administrative issues, parents will find information on how predators operate and how to help survivors useful.

I highly recommend this invaluable resource to you!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. However, the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. To read my original review in its entirety, please visit me at Create With Joy.
3736492
This is a must-read for every woman who has been raped, bullied, assaulted, threatened, disrespected or shamed by someone.  Please buy this book for girls and women so they can understand a predator's methods.  Mr. Krakauer's writing is excellent because he breaks down and presents a complicated and highly charged reality.  Sure, some legal stuff is "boring" unless you've been a victim.  He unpacks the painful consequences to women, that after reading, cannot be misunderstood.  It will make every reader re-think their "theories" of rape and assault. Thank you Mr. Krakauer for writing this book.
1614733
I have been recommending this book right and left to professional colleagues since I started reading it (physical therapists, yoga teachers, psychotherapists, clinical social workers, OT, speech therapists, etc).  His research is so important to understand for those who work with the mind or body or both.  It is so fascinating to read that I have a hard time putting it down.

I have also been explaining the concepts to patients.  Previously, when talking to patients about how stress or anxiety related to their physical complaints, it was difficult to get this idea across without the patient thinking I am telling them the pain is all in their head.  Explaining it in terms of Peter Levine's research on the sympathetic nervous system (fight flight or FREEZE) and instinctive trauma releasing mechanisms is generally well received and has already helped many of my patients better connect their mind to body and begin a journey of not only healing the physical but the whole person.
3893984
Books about being a psych patient are legion, but there are far fewer written by MDs themselves. This one is outstanding: thoughtful, reflective, it traces several case histories and shows you what the prescriber is thinking at each step. I found the forensic vignette hard to bear, precisely because it's so well told.

The only thing that puzzles me is the reference on page 62 to a stressed-out woman named Tara who, "not surprisingly ... had already been treated for an ulcer." In my part of the world, we found out three decades ago that ulcers are caused by H. pylori, not - as is evidently still the case in the States - by stress.
741796
Six women tell their true stories of sexual abuse at the hands of those whom they entrusted to care for their souls - their pastors.  But the abuse doesn't stop there - most of them had to deal  with church hierarchy that looked the other way and didn't confront and discipline the perpetrators, much less provide any type of support for the victims.  I challenge church leaders, particularly bishops and superintendents and others in authority over pastors, to read this book and let it be a wake-up call.  There is a great need for church hierarchy to: confront and appropriately deal with pastors who are perpetrators of any kind of abuse; to provide spiritual and emotional support and referral to appropriate services for the victim; to financially assist the victim if necessary.  Nancy Poling has brought to light a subject that has been hidden in the dark for far too long.
Laura Elizabeth Phoenix, RN, Faith Community Nurse
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.
3188829
Though I am not a practitioner, I am immensely interested in healing trauma in my own body and soul, and supporting others in their journeys to heal trauma. This book shows how vital somatic sexual education and bodywork are, and gives practitioners in this field a thorough education on how trauma lives on in the body, and how it can be worked with safely. This is an important book, as trauma is very prevalent in our bodies and society, often times even simply because of the way we treat sex. I look forward to the next release in this series, as I incorporate these valuable teachings and exercises into my own work.
446214
This book is an unexpectedly scholarly work, containing an exhaustive bibliography. The author has done an impressive review of the topic of false recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse. Obviously, this is a delicate issues with passions running high in all people involved: the accused parents, the adult child who recovers memories, and the therapists eliciting the memories. Considering the author's personal history (accused of abuse by his own child) I think he did an amazing job of portraying all sides of this issue.

I have a dear friend who "recovered" a memory of parental sexual abuse. She now believes she was unintentionally mislead by her therapist, and that this memory didn't in fact occur. Her family has been destoyed. Her parents divorced over the issue, and her two siblings are angry and estranged. Yet no one - not her, not the therapist, not her family - ever meant to cause harm. And yet, so much harm was done....

The author makes it clear he's in no way defending  actual abuse of children. The book is about memories of abuse later found to be false. If you don't believe it can happen, read "Witness for the Defense" by Elizabeth Loftus.

My only beef is that he was very hard on recovery groups, which can be of enormous assistance to survivors of abuse. Not all groups encourage survivors to stay stuck in the abuse mindset. Good groups help empower survivors but the author lumps them together.
665896
The severe abuse described in this book is horrific and will be too graphic for some people to stomach.  However, for survivors of severe, systematic child abuse, this book may be a godsend.  The author describes her healing and recovery from the abuse with clarity and grace.

Anne A. Johnson Davis had wonderful Sunday school teachers and school teachers, and was loved unconditionally by her mother before the abuse started.  These factors may have given her a spiritual edge that kept her more sane than many other ritual abuse survivors.  Anne's descriptions of the ritual abuse and mind control methods she endured make it easy to understand why many other Ritual Abuse survivors end up as drug addicts, or with severe dissociative disorders.

Fortunately, Anne had a good therapist who did not make suggestions or guide her memories, but only helped her pick up the pieces and sort through them.  Furthermore, Anne's parents wrote confessions which substantiated all of her allegations and even provided extra details that Anne couldn't have known.  Her siblings also wrote letters that corroborated her story.

The FMSF review of Anne's book asks why she didn't pursue a criminal suit against her parents, because the FMSF people want to believe that Ritual Abuse doesn't exist.  Anne's parents did settle with her out of court to pay for some of her therapy expenses.  Yes, Anne does have a huge amount of corroborating evidence, and might have been able to see them convicted and imprisoned.  But Anne explains very clearly that church officials and law enforcement officials had already taken steps to protect other children from her parents.  If Anne had focused on revenge and criminal charges, then she wouldn't have had the time to focus on reconnecting with her birth father and his family, and on her own spiritual and emotional recovery, which she so lovingly describes in her book.

This book is a must read for all survivors of extreme, systematic child abuse, and is a must read for anyone who has ever doubted the reality of the existence of abusive satanic cults.
3719650
Beautifully written and extensively researched, this is a "must-read" for anyone interested in the epidemic of obesity/illness/stress in our children and society, and particularly anyone who has suffered childhood trauma themselves.  As a clinician in an impoverished part of San Francisco, Dr. Burke Harris is a first-rate observer of the problem and a perfect advocate for change!  The book is engaging -- a great read for those casually interested and those looking for an in-depth study.
1294925
I loved this book because it quotes so many case studies; the author is an expert in the field of childhood trauma and other complex traumas. She is readable and easy to understand even though the topic is so complex. I think anyone with an interest or history of complex trauma will learn so much from this author.
3256110
I am a psychiatrist, and have spent my career in community and hospital mental health. Destroying Sanctuary (a sort of sequel to the most-read book in my office, Creating Sanctuary, by Sandy Bloom) tells the story of my professional life. The book is many things - history, statistics, story, text - but it is the organizational behavior part of the book that hooks me. The authors re-cap state-of-the-art thinking about exposure to trauma and its effects in order to apply the same thinking to organizations. The authors eloquently explain why organizations behave as they do when they've been under stress or are in crisis. Workplace violence, bullying, secrecy, authoritarianism, mistrust, gossip, burnout, low morale, and ultimate failure - they explain it all. This is our lives - any of us who have worked in the public sector. And it is the lives of everyone in the social sector - childrens protective services, disability services, aging adult services - and there is something both reassuring and horrifying to see ourselves and our organizations so explicitly described. Everyone I know who has read this book believes that somehow the authors were privy to the organization in which they have served. You will too.
183213
Vidmar's work here provides a perspective on the medical malpractice debate that is not well-understood by many - including some researchers and scholars in the field.  The book is supported by solid research (at times addressing shortcomings in previous work in this area).  Without question, an important contribution to the field. Highly recommended.