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n. a form of therapy that uses structured reading material. Bibliotherapy is often used as an adjunct to psychotherapy for such purposes as reinforcing specific in-session concepts or strategies or enhancing lifestyle changes. Carefully chosen readings are also used by some individuals as self-help tools to foster personal growth and development, for example, by facilitating communication and open discussion of problems or enhancing self-concept. (APA Dictionary of Psychology)
Please note that bibliotherapy is meant to supplement, NOT replace, professional help. Please consult a mental health professional before beginning any treatment plan.
Bibliotherapy
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The basic premise of bibliotherapy is that information, guidance, wellbeing and solace can be found through reading. This book draws on the latest international practical and theoretical developments in bibliotherapy to explore how librarians, healthcare providers and arts organizations can best support the health and wellbeing of their communities. There is no standard approach to bibliotherapy. This book considers how different theories apply to different types of bibliotherapy, using case studies to illustrate how particular approaches can be used across a broad range of settings and with a variety of user groups. By focusing on the theoretical basis and history of bibliotherapy, as well as current practice, it helps to identify areas in which bibliotherapy could grow as a field of study and of practice. Bibliotherapy programmes using books to support good mental health are found around the world. The editors and their contributors present examples from public libraries, academic libraries and healthcare settings internationally - including the UK, North and South America, and Australasia. Collaboration and diversity are key themes: engaging in bibliotherapy offers librarians key opportunities to collaborate with partners outside the profession, while engaging with more diverse audiences. The book will be of interest not only to researchers and theorists, but equally to those managing bibliotherapy programmes in health, public and academic libraries. It will also be very useful for healthcare providers and those with an interest in wellbeing more generally.
Reading to Heal
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Amidst the mountain of self-help books, how do we know which ones are right for us? Bibliotherapy can show us! Reading to Heal is the first non-academic book on the topic of bibliotherapy. It is an accessible, useful and engaging resource that informs readers how to choose and use self-help books to deal with their personal issues. The book also gives guidance on how to read fiction and analyze characters and situations as they may relate to our own lives. Divided into two parts, each provides invaluable information for the self-help reader. Part I contains an historical overview and explanation of what bibliotherapy is and how it is useful. This section includes case studies, suggestions and exercises to illustrate how readers can get the most out of the material they read. Part II is arranged in categories -- from parenting to divorce to relationships -- that provide "bookscriptions" for people seeking advice, guidance and inspiration for each particular subject. These bookscriptions show the readers what to look for in a book and how to utilize the information it contains. For the fiction lover, Reading to Heal shows how to analyze the resources of fictional situations to better understand conflict management. Stanley provides case histories and examples of how to apply bibliotherapy to real-life situations, and includes recommendations and questions to stimulate discussion within groups and for self-exploration. A recommended reading list is included at the end of the book.
The Novel Cure
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The Guardian (UK) "An exuberant pageant of literary fiction and a celebration of the possibilities of the novel." A novel is a story transmitted from the novelist to the reader. It offers distraction, entertainment, and an opportunity to unwind or focus. But it can also be something more powerful—a way to learn about how to live. Read at the right moment in your life, a novel can—quite literally—change it. The Novel Cure is a reminder of that power. To create this apothecary, the authors have trawled two thousand years of literature for novels that effectively promote happiness, health, and sanity, written by brilliant minds who knew what it meant to be human and wrote their life lessons into their fiction. Structured like a reference book, readers simply look up their ailment, be it agoraphobia, boredom, or a midlife crisis, and are given a novel to read as the antidote. Bibliotherapy does not discriminate between pains of the body and pains of the head (or heart). Aware that you’ve been cowardly? Pick up To Kill a Mockingbird for an injection of courage. Experiencing a sudden, acute fear of death? Read One Hundred Years of Solitude for some perspective on the larger cycle of life. Nervous about throwing a dinner party? Ali Smith’s There but for The will convince you that yours could never go that wrong. Whatever your condition, the prescription is simple: a novel (or two), to be read at regular intervals and in nice long chunks until you finish. Some treatments will lead to a complete cure. Others will offer solace, showing that you’re not the first to experience these emotions. The Novel Cure is also peppered with useful lists and sidebars recommending the best novels to read when you’re stuck in traffic or can’t fall asleep, the most important novels to read during every decade of life, and many more. Brilliant in concept and deeply satisfying in execution, The Novel Cure belongs on everyone’s bookshelf and in every medicine cabinet. It will make even the most well-read fiction aficionado pick up a novel he’s never heard of, and see familiar ones with new eyes. Mostly, it will reaffirm literature’s ability to distract and transport, to resonate and reassure, to change the way we see the world and our place in it. The Economist "Astute and often amusing . . . a charming addition to any library. Time spent leafing through its pages is inspiring - even therapeutic."
The Anxious Generation
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THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A Wall Street Journal Top 10 Book of 2024 * A New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book * One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2024 * A TIME 100 Must-Read Book of 2024 * Named a Best Book of 2024 by the Economist, the New York Post, and Town & Country * The Goodreads Choice Award Nonfiction Book of the Year A must-read for all parents: the generation-defining investigation into the collapse of youth mental health in the era of smartphones, social media, and big tech--and a plan for a healthier, freer childhood. "With tenacity and candor, Haidt lays out the consequences that have come with allowing kids to drift further into the virtual world . . . While also offering suggestions and solutions that could help protect a new generation of kids." --Shannon Carlin, TIME, 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on many measures. Why? In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt lays out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental illness that hit many countries at the same time. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. Haidt shows how the "play-based childhood" began to decline in the 1980s, and how it was finally wiped out by the arrival of the "phone-based childhood" in the early 2010s. He presents more than a dozen mechanisms by which this "great rewiring of childhood" has interfered with children's social and neurological development, covering everything from sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, social comparison, and perfectionism. He explains why social media damages girls more than boys and why boys have been withdrawing from the real world into the virtual world, with disastrous consequences for themselves, their families, and their societies. Most important, Haidt issues a clear call to action. He diagnoses the "collective action problems" that trap us, and then proposes four simple rules that might set us free. He describes steps that parents, teachers, schools, tech companies, and governments can take to end the epidemic of mental illness and restore a more humane childhood. Haidt has spent his career speaking truth backed by data in the most difficult landscapes--communities polarized by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the public health emergency faced by Gen Z. We cannot afford to ignore his findings about protecting our children--and ourselves--from the psychological damage of a phone-based life.
Thriving with Anxiety
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Those of us who suffer from anxiety either exhaust ourselves trying to cure it or resign ourselves to a lifetime of fear and worry. What if, instead of fighting our anxiety, we could turn it into a strength? Through nine easy-to-follow strategies, Dr. David H. Rosmarin demonstrates how to harness the power of anxiety to learn about ourselves, deepen our relationships with others, and achieve our deepest goals and dreams.
Untangle Your Anxiety
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Do you struggle to understand your anxiety? Are your days often consumed by worries that have no clear answers? Perhaps you don't feel like your usual self? UNTANGLE YOUR ANXIETY was written by Psychotherapist and Best-Selling Author, Joshua Fletcher (@anxietyjosh), and the owner of Instagram's largest anxiety community, Dean Stott (@DLCanxiety), to help you overcome excessive anxiety. Having both been diagnosed in the past with anxiety disorders, then successfully overcoming them, Josh and Dean have written this honest and powerful self-help book as a reassuring aid in your recovery.
The Invisible Kingdom : reimagining chronic illness
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Drawing on her own medical experience as well as fifteen years of interviews with doctors, patients, researchers, and public health experts, O'Rourke's incisive new work speaks to an urgent subject: the epidemic scale of autoimmune disease in America (even greater with the advent of 'Long Covid') and where we go from here. O'Rourke reveals crucial, subtle complexities about the American struggle with chronic illness and autoimmune conditions, and offers new reasons for hope, as well as a new framework for thinking about infectious disease and autoimmune response going forward.
The Pain Epidemic
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Internationally-recognized pain expert Don Goldenberg helps readers better understand the intricacies of chronic pain through the lens of personal stories, including his own. One out of three Americans lives with chronic pain. Pain is the number one reason we seek medical care and accounts for 40% of doctor visits. Chronic pain is the most common cause of work loss world-wide. The yearly cost of chronic pain in the United States is between $560-$630 billion, higher than that of heart disease, diabetes and cancer combined. Despite this, physicians and the public are woefully ill-informed about chronic pain. The litany of self-help books available to the public are largely misleading, quick-fix, junk-science. Although there is a major push to better inform primary health-care providers on chronic pain, they have been provided no authoritative treatment of the subject. The Pain Epidemic provides the latest medical information and pathways to better understanding and treatment of chronic pain. Dr. Don Goldenberg, an internationally known expert on pain, here discusses such hot topics as the opioid epidemic, mind/body interactions in chronic pain, and gender bias, as well as the role of cannabis and new potential pain treatment. Interested readers will come away with not only a better understanding of the pain epidemic but of pain itself.ing and treatment of chronic pain. Dr. Don Goldenberg, an internationally known expert on pain, here discusses such hot topics as the opioid epidemic, mind/body interactions in chronic pain, and gender bias, as well as the role of cannabis and new potential pain treatment. Interested readers will come away with not only a better understanding of the pain epidemic but of pain itself.ing and treatment of chronic pain. Dr. Don Goldenberg, an internationally known expert on pain, here discusses such hot topics as the opioid epidemic, mind/body interactions in chronic pain, and gender bias, as well as the role of cannabis and new potential pain treatment. Interested readers will come away with not only a better understanding of the pain epidemic but of pain itself.ing and treatment of chronic pain. Dr. Don Goldenberg, an internationally known expert on pain, here discusses such hot topics as the opioid epidemic, mind/body interactions in chronic pain, and gender bias, as well as the role of cannabis and new potential pain treatment. Interested readers will come away with not only a better understanding of the pain epidemic but of pain itself.
The Psychological and Social Impact of Illness and Disability
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Praise for the Sixth Edition: "Adds an important international perspective on illness and disability. The personal narratives help bring the real world of people who are survivors] to the forefront of the scientific discourse." --Doody's Medical Reviews Now in its seventh edition, this bestselling classic continues to be the most comprehensive and diverse text available on the psychosocial aspects of illness and disability. It is substantially revised to reflect the growing disparity between the haves and the have-nots and incorporates social justice issues throughout the text. In addition to new and updated information integrated throughout the book, the seventh edition features two new chapters addressing social justice in regards to depression and disability, and the psychosocial aspects of grief, death, and dying. Additionally, the text now includes an Instructor's Manual and PowerPoint slides. Combining a mix of seminal work from rehabilitation counseling legends with current theoretical and treatment approaches, the book provides a practical, real-life perspective and offers broad and inclusive coverage of the day-to-day challenges of working with a diverse and marginalized population. Additionally, the text analyzes barriers to enabling patients with disabilities and improving their quality of life. Chapter objectives, review questions, and personal narratives in each chapter facilitate in-depth learning. New to the Seventh Edition: Completely updated to incorporate social justice issues, from the medical and psychosocial aspects of combat trauma to the impact of mental and physical disabilities on immigrants, refugees and asylum-seekers, throughoutIncludes two new chapters addressing Social Justice/Depression and Disability and the Psychosocial Aspects of Grief, Death, and DyingIncludes an Instructor's Manual and PowerPoint slidesEnhanced coverage of topics concerning diverse and marginalized populations, including Women with Disabilities, Sexuality and Disabilities, LBGTQ Issues, Aging with Disabilities, Trauma, and more Key Features: Presents the most comprehensive and diverse coverage of psychosocial aspects of disability of any textEmphasizes the negative impact of societal attitudes and treatment of disabled individuals on their psychological adjustment to disabilityExamines both seminal and current thinking and treatment approachesProvides a bridge between theory and practice with abundant narrativesIncludes objectives and reviews questions in each chapter
The Hilarious World of Depression
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One of Today's Ten Best Inspirational Books, 2020 By the creator and host of the acclaimed mental health podcast Depresh Mode with John Moe "[A] path to deeper understanding and openness, by way of laughter in the dark" ―The New York Times Book Review "Filled with heart, humor and hope." ―People "A funny, honest book." ―Neil Gaiman "Candid and funny and intimate." ―Susan Orlean For years John Moe, critically-acclaimed public radio personality and host of The Hilarious World of Depression podcast, struggled with depression; it plagued his family and claimed the life of his brother in 2007. As Moe came to terms with his own illness, he began to see similar patterns of behavior and coping mechanisms surfacing in conversations with others, including high-profile comedians who'd struggled with the disease. Moe saw that there was tremendous comfort and community in open dialogue about these shared experiences and that humor had a unique power. Thus was born the podcast The Hilarious World of Depression. Inspired by the immediate success of the podcast, Moe has written a remarkable investigation of the disease, part memoir of his own journey, part treasure trove of laugh-out-loud stories and insights drawn from years of interviews with some of the most brilliant minds facing similar challenges. Throughout the course of this powerful narrative, depression's universal themes come to light, among them, struggles with identity, lack of understanding of the symptoms, the challenges of work-life, self-medicating, the fallout of the disease in the lives of our loved ones, the tragedy of suicide, and the hereditary aspects of the disease. The Hilarious World of Depression illuminates depression in an entirely fresh and inspiring way.
My Depression : a picture book
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Liz Swados takes readers on a journey that is achingly familiar to the thousands who suffer from depression and equally poignant for those who do not. Readers feel the weight of her struggle to keep her condition a secret; laugh with her about the strange effects of the new drugs; empathise with the little things that sometimes trigger a massive relapse (the change of seasons, professional rejection); and watch as she tries to overcome the long-term effect of the suicides of her mother and brother.
You Are Not Alone
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Written with authority and compassion, this is the essential resource for individuals and families seeking expert guidance on diagnosis, treatment, and recovery, featuring inspiring, true stories from real people in their own words. Millions of people in the United States are affected by mental illness every year, and the Covid-19 pandemic only further exposed the shortcomings of the American mental health system. Too many are confused, afraid, and overwhelmed, with many asking themselves the same questions: What does it mean when different doctors give me different diagnoses? What if my insurance won't cover my treatment? Will I ever feel better? Families and friends are often left in the dark about how best to help their loved ones, from dealing with financial and logistical issues, to handling the emotional challenges of loving someone who is suffering. You Are Not Alone is here to offer help. Written by Dr. Ken Duckworth with the wisdom of a psychiatrist and the vulnerability of a peer, this comprehensive guide centers the poignant lived experiences of over 125 individuals from across the country whose first-person stories illustrate the diversity of mental health journeys. This book also provides Practical guidance on dealing with a vast array of mental health conditions and navigating care Research-based evidence on what treatments and approaches work Insight and advice from renowned clinical experts and practitioners This singular resource--the first book from the National Alliance on Mental Illness--is a powerful reminder that help is here, and you are never alone.
Disability Visibility
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A groundbreaking collection of first-person writing on the joys and challenges of the modern disability experience- Disability Visibility brings together the voices of activists, authors, lawyers, politicians, artists, and everyday people whose daily lives are, in the words of playwright Neil Marcus, "an art . . . an ingenious way to live.". Edited by MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellow Alice Wong "Shares perspectives that are too often missing from such decision-making about accessibility."-The Washington Post According to the last census, one in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some are visible, some are hidden--but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together an urgent, galvanizing collection of personal essays by contemporary disabled writers.There is Harriet McBryde Johnson's "Unspeakable Conversations," which describes her famous debate with Princeton philosopher Peter Singer over her own personhood. There is columnist s. e. smith's celebratory review of a work of theater by disabled performers. There are original pieces by up-and-coming authors like Keah Brown and Haben Girma. There are blog posts, manifestos, eulogies, and testimonies to Congress. Taken together, this anthology gives a glimpse of the vast richness and complexity of the disabled experience, highlighting the passions, talents, and everyday lives of this community. It invites readers to question their own assumptions and understandings. It celebrates and documents disability culture in the now. It looks to the future and past with hope and love.
Divergent Mind
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AUDIBLE EDITOR'S PICK A paradigm-shifting study of neurodivergent women--those with ADHD, autism, synesthesia, high sensitivity, and sensory processing disorder--exploring why these traits are overlooked in women and how society benefits from allowing their unique strengths to flourish. As a successful Harvard and Berkeley-educated writer, entrepreneur, and devoted mother, Jenara Nerenberg was shocked to discover that her "symptoms"--only ever labeled as anxiety-- were considered autistic and ADHD. Being a journalist, she dove into the research and uncovered neurodiversity--a framework that moves away from pathologizing "abnormal" versus "normal" brains and instead recognizes the vast diversity of our mental makeups. When it comes to women, sensory processing differences are often overlooked, masked, or mistaken for something else entirely. Between a flawed system that focuses on diagnosing younger, male populations, and the fact that girls are conditioned from a young age to blend in and conform to gender expectations, women often don't learn about their neurological differences until they are adults, if at all. As a result, potentially millions live with undiagnosed or misdiagnosed neurodivergences, and the misidentification leads to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and shame. Meanwhile, we all miss out on the gifts their neurodivergent minds have to offer. Divergent Mind is a long-overdue, much-needed answer for women who have a deep sense that they are "different." Sharing real stories from women with high sensitivity, ADHD, autism, misophonia, dyslexia, SPD and more, Nerenberg explores how these brain variances present differently in women and dispels widely-held misconceptions (for example, it's not that autistic people lack sensitivity and empathy, they have an overwhelming excess of it). Nerenberg also offers us a path forward, describing practical changes in how we communicate, how we design our surroundings, and how we can better support divergent minds. When we allow our wide variety of brain makeups to flourish, we create a better tomorrow for us all.
Year of the Tiger
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NATIONAL BESTSELLER . ONE OF USA TODAY'S MUST-READ BOOKS . This groundbreaking memoir offers a glimpse into an activist's journey to finding and cultivating community and the continued fight for disability justice, from the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project "Alice Wong provides deep truths in this fun and deceptively easy read about her survival in this hectic and ableist society." -Selma Blair, bestselling author of Mean Baby In Chinese culture, the tiger is deeply revered for its confidence, passion, ambition, and ferocity. That same fighting spirit resides in Alice Wong. Drawing on a collection of original essays, previously published work, conversations, graphics, photos, commissioned art by disabled and Asian American artists, and more, Alice uses her unique talent to share an impressionistic scrapbook of her life as an Asian American disabled activist, community organizer, media maker, and dreamer. From her love of food and pop culture to her unwavering commitment to dismantling systemic ableism, Alice shares her thoughts on creativity, access, power, care, the pandemic, mortality, and the future. As a self-described disabled oracle, Alice traces her origins, tells her story, and creates a space for disabled people to be in conversation with one another and the world. Filled with incisive wit, joy, and rage, Wong's Year of the Tiger will galvanize readers with big cat energy.
Inside Out : portrait of an eating disorder
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"Every day, meal by meal, millions of people suffer from eating disorders. I am one of them." Nadia Shivack was fourteen years old when she met Ed, her eating disorder. Sometimes like an alien in her body, sometimes like a lover, Ed was unpredictable and exciting, but ultimately always dangerous and destructive. At an inpatient unit unit of a hospital where she was taken for treatment, Nadia wrote and drew on napkins after meals in order to keep the food in and calm the outrageous voices in her head. These pictures, together with others drawn on notebook paper and a variety of other surfaces, tell an unflinchingly honest story of a woman's lifelong battle with anorexia and bulimia. Raw, brave, and brilliant, Nadia's journey takes readers to the intimate corners of these misunderstood diseases. You will never think about eating disorders in the same way again.
The Psychology of Eating
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With its primary focus on the psychology of eating from a social, health, and clinical perspective, the second edition of The Psychology of Eating: From Healthy to Disordered Behavior presents an overview of the latest research into a wide range of eating-related behaviors Features the most up-to-date research relating to eating behavior Integrates psychological knowledge with several other disciplines Written in a lively, accessible style Supplemented with illustrations and maps to make literature more approachable
The Psychology of Eating Disorders
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Offers a clear, concise, up-to-date introduction to eating disorders for students in the health professions This is a concise, accessible introduction to eating disorders for undergraduate and graduate students in psychology, as well as those specializing in health education and nutrition. Easy to read and grounded in DSM-5 definitions and the most up-to-date research, the text is designed for students in the health professions as well as health professionals seeking a basic understanding of the challenges associated with their diagnoses and treatment. Written by a licensed psychologist and certified eating disorders specialist, the book describes what eating disorders are and are not, who is likely to develop them, and signs and symptoms of specific disorders. It discusses biological, medical, psychological, interpersonal, and socio-cultural risk factors, and helps the reader to identify those who are at risk for experiencing an eating disorder and how to refer them for evaluation. Scenarios reflect the wide spectrum of people who suffer from eating disorders including young and old, male and female, and athlete and non-athlete. Uniquely, the book also covers the range of reactions someone--including treatment providers--can have to an individual diagnosed with an eating disorder. The text also delivers strategies for treatment and prevention, with overviews of their effectiveness. Print version of the book includes free, searchable, digital access to its entire contents. Key Features: Provides an easy-to-read introduction to the full range of eating disordersDiscusses risk factors and warning signs of eating disordersDiscusses evidence-based treatment approaches and preventionConsiders long-term effects of eating disordersIncludes illustrative narratives of diverse individuals with EDsAuthored by a certified eating disorders specialist
The AfterGrief
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A validating new approach to the long-term grieving process that explains why we feel "stuck," why that's normal, and how shifting our perception of grief can help us grow--from the New York Times bestselling author of Motherless Daughters "This is perhaps one of the most important books about grief ever written. It finally dispels the myth that we are all supposed to get over the death of a loved one."--Claire Bidwell Smith, author of Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief Aren't you over it yet? Anyone who has experienced a major loss in their past knows this question. We've spent years fielding versions of it, both explicit and implied, from family, colleagues, acquaintances, and friends. We recognize the subtle cues--the slight eyebrow lift, the soft, startled "Oh! That long ago?"--from those who wonder how an event so far in the past can still occupy so much precious mental and emotional real estate. Because of the common but false assumption that grief should be time-limited, too many of us believe we're grieving "wrong" when sadness suddenly resurges sometimes months or even years after a loss. The AfterGrief explains that the death of a loved one isn't something most of us get over, get past, put down, or move beyond. Grief is not an emotion to pass through on the way to "feeling better." Instead, grief is in constant motion; it is tidal, easily and often reactivated by memories and sensory events, and is re-triggered as we experience life transitions, anniversaries, and other losses. Whether we want it to or not, grief gets folded into our developing identities, where it informs our thoughts, hopes, expectations, behaviors, and fears, and we inevitably carry it forward into everything that follows. Drawing on her own encounters with the ripple effects of early loss, as well as on interviews with dozens of researchers, therapists, and regular people who've been bereaved, New York Times bestselling author Hope Edelman offers profound advice for reassessing loss and adjusting the stories we tell ourselves about its impact on our identities. With guidance for reframing a story of loss, finding equilibrium within it, and even experiencing renewed growth and purpose in its wake, she demonstrates that though grief is a lifelong process, it doesn't have to be a lifelong struggle.
Anxiety: the Missing Stage of Grief
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With this groundbreaking book, discover the critical connections between anxiety and grief--and learn practical strategies for healing, based on the Kübler-Ross stages model. If you're suffering from anxiety but not sure why, or if you're struggling with loss and looking for solace, Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief offers help and answers. As grief expert Claire Bidwell Smith discovered in her own life--and in her practice with her therapy clients--significant loss and unresolved grief are primary underpinnings of anxiety. Using research and real life stories, Smith breaks down the physiology of anxiety, providing a concrete explanation that will help you heal. Starting with the basics questions--"What is anxiety?" and "What is grief?" and moving to concrete approaches such as making amends, taking charge, and retraining your brain, Anxiety takes a big step beyond Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's widely accepted five stages to unpack everything from our age-old fears about mortality to the bare vulnerability a loss can make us feel. With concrete tools and coping strategies for panic attacks, getting a handle on anxious thoughts, and more, Smith bridges these two emotions in a way that is deeply empathetic and profoundly practical.
It's Grief : the dance of self-discovery through trauma and loss
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In It¿s Grief, Edy Nathan examines the emotional and devastating impact of loss and trauma. It identifies the intricacies of the dark and unfamiliar effects on the self. The book illuminates how the brain holds the complex circuitry of grief. It then provides choices to help deal with the complexity of grief. It¿s Grief unravels the mysterious dimensions of this journey with a clarity that transforms grief into one of life¿s great teachers.
A profound read, It¿s Grief: The Dance of Self-Discovery through Trauma and Loss, offers a unique approach to the personal ebb and flow of the passages and endings that occur and exist on a soul level. The grief experience is as individual as a fingerprint. Edy introduces the Eleven Phases of grief; they move into and out of one another based on one¿s distinct needs, and do not need to adhere to a specific timeline or order to be understood or used. They are based on who you are in your grief. Once you identify how you interact with the world ¿ as an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert, the tools that help you help yourself become more abundant and clear.
Bodies and Barriers : queer activists on health
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The contributors to Bodies and Barriers look for tangible improvements, drawing from the history of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and from struggles against health care bias and discrimination. At a galvanising moment when LGBT people have experienced great strides in lived equality, but our health as a community still lags, here is an indispensable blueprint for change by some of the most passionate and important health activists in the LGBT movement today.
Headcase : LGBTQ writers & artists on mental health and wellness
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Headcase is a groundbreaking collection of personal reflections and artistic representations illustrating the intersection of mental wellness, illness, and LGBTQ identity, as well as the lasting impact of historical views equating queer and trans identity with mental illness. The pieces offer personal views from both providers and clients, often one and the same, about their experiences. In the anthology, readers will access the inner thoughts of an array of individuals, including: a therapist with dual status who also happens to be transgender and practicing in the Midwest; a lesbian writer and psychotherapist recounting her mother's experience with forced institutionalization, shock therapy, and "conversion therapy" in the 1950s; a queer illustrator presenting unique glyph illustrations that represent a panoply of identity-related questions and answers; an award-winning gay male writer discussing his struggle with depression publicly for the first time; and a trans activist of color writing about surviving madness in the inner city and how his community of mental health and social justice youth activists help each other thrive. Several contributors also document the difficulty of navigating flawed health care systems that limit affordable access to genuinely affirming, effective services. Cultural norms and barriers to accessibility have an enormous impact on the quality of care available to LGBTQ communities. Traversing boundaries of race and ethnic identity, age, gender identity, and socioeconomic status, Headcase should appeal to LGBTQ communities and, specifically, LGBTQ mental health consumers and their friends, families, and comrades.
The Remedy : queer and trans voices on health and health care
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The Remedy invites writers and readers to imagine what we need to create healthy, resilient, and thriving LGBTQ communities. This anthology is a diverse collection of real-life stories from queer and trans people on their own health-care experiences and challenges, from gay men living with HIV who remember the systemic resistance to their health-care needs, to a lesbian couple dealing with the experience of cancer, to young trans people who struggle to find health-care providers who treat them with dignity and respect.
Re-Write : a trauma workbook of creative writing and recovery in our new normal
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Attachment theory-based treatments including depth psychology, somatic psychology, holistic therapy, and EMDR are becoming even more popular and desired both by clinicians, health systems and the patients they care for. Up until recently, cognitive behavioral therapy and medication management were the mainstay for trauma informed care, although we are witnessing a demand for a more somatic, holistic, and therefore deeper level of treatment to target attachment injury and change/rewrite the trauma narrative. This book provides the response and tools to meet this current need. Due to the pandemic, lockdowns and significant changes in our stability, the economy, sense of belonging, and community there is a heightened level of triggering which has resulted in multi factorial trauma responses. The devastating traumatic impact spans nations, ages and socio-economic statuses. Unfortunately, Domestic violence, child abuse, substance use, medical trauma, self-injury, suicide, and violence turned outwards have all increased significantly in the past two years. This workbook focuses on the healing journey of the trauma survivor, utilizing easy to use methodologies for long lasting effects. It includes various exercises, writing prompts, coping mechanisms, soothing techniques with the intention of allowing the person to create an individualized experience. This empowers the person to go in the order they choose, experiment with different techniques from different modalities and fine the ones that meet their needs the best. The authors also addresses generational trauma, societal trauma as well as trauma at the family and individual level and can be used in conjunction with a clinical treatment plan, or by the end user. This workbook employs practical strategies using evidence-based methodologies, with psychological theory within a human centered design framework.
Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma
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Traumatic experiences leave a "living legacy" of effects that often persist for years and decades after the events are over. Historically, it has always been assumed that re-telling the story of what happened would resolve these effects. However, survivors report a different experience: Telling and re-telling the story of what happened to them often reactivates their trauma responses, overwhelming them rather than resolving the trauma. To transform traumatic experiences, survivors need to understand their symptoms and reactions as normal responses to abnormal events. They need ways to work with the symptoms that intrude on their daily activities, preventing a life beyond trauma. Dr. Janina Fisher, international expert on trauma, has spent over 40 years working with survivors, helping them to navigate the healing journey. In Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma, she shows how the legacy of symptoms helped them survive and offers: Step-by-step strategies that can be used on their own or in collaboration with a therapistSimple diagrams that make sense of the confusing feelings and physical reactions survivors experienceWorksheets to practice the skills that bring relief and ultimately healing
What My Bones Know : a memoir of healing from complex trauma
by
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A searing memoir of reckoning and healing by acclaimed journalist Stephanie Foo, investigating the little-understood science behind complex PTSD and how it has shaped her life "Achingly exquisite . . . providing real hope for those who long to heal."--Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, NPR, Mashable, She Reads, Publishers Weekly By age thirty, Stephanie Foo was successful on paper: She had her dream job as an award-winning radio producer at This American Life and a loving boyfriend. But behind her office door, she was having panic attacks and sobbing at her desk every morning. After years of questioning what was wrong with herself, she was diagnosed with complex PTSD--a condition that occurs when trauma happens continuously, over the course of years. Both of Foo's parents abandoned her when she was a teenager, after years of physical and verbal abuse and neglect. She thought she'd moved on, but her new diagnosis illuminated the way her past continued to threaten her health, relationships, and career. She found limited resources to help her, so Foo set out to heal herself, and to map her experiences onto the scarce literature about C-PTSD. In this deeply personal and thoroughly researched account, Foo interviews scientists and psychologists and tries a variety of innovative therapies. She returns to her hometown of San Jose, California, to investigate the effects of immigrant trauma on the community, and she uncovers family secrets in the country of her birth, Malaysia, to learn how trauma can be inherited through generations. Ultimately, she discovers that you don't move on from trauma--but you can learn to move with it. Powerful, enlightening, and hopeful, What My Bones Know is a brave narrative that reckons with the hold of the past over the present, the mind over the body--and examines one woman's ability to reclaim agency from her trauma.