Overview
This indispensable book is designed to help practitioners create, initiate, and maintain therapy groups for traumatized individuals. Written by an array of experienced group therapists, the book addresses general aspects of trauma group therapy as well as issues specific to different populations and diagnostic entities.Cogent, practical information is provided on such important topics as screening and selecting members, understanding the impact of trauma on group dynamics, managing the effects of flashbacks, addressing dissociative states, working with countertransference reactions, and dealing with clients' emotional crises. Approaches and strategies are discussed for diverse groups, including survivors of sexual and physical abuse, clients with severe medical illnesses, bereaved children, survivors of catastrophic events in the community, victims of political and ethnic persecution, and those with diagnosed mental disorders in which trauma plays a significant role. Illustrative clinical material is included throughout.
The book contains no figures.
Synopsis
This indispensable book is designed to help practitioners create, initiate, and maintain therapy groups for traumatized individuals. Written by an array of experienced group therapists, the book addresses general aspects of trauma group therapy as well as issues specific to different populations and clinical problems. Cogent, practical information is provided on such important topics as screening and selecting members, understanding the impact of trauma on group dynamics, managing the effects of flashbacks, addressing dissociative states, working with countertransference reactions, and dealing with clients' emotional crises. Approaches and strategies are discussed for diverse groups, including survivors of sexual and physical abuse, clients with severe medical illnesses, bereaved children, survivors of catastrophic events in the community, victims of political and ethnic persecution, and those with diagnosed mental disorders in which trauma plays a significant role. Filled with illustrative case material, the book offers essential insights and tools for therapists, supervisors, and trainees from a range of orientations.
Booknews
Experienced group therapists offer advice to practitioners on creating, initiating, and maintaining therapy groups for traumatized individuals. They address general aspects of trauma group therapy and issues specific to working with different populations and clinical problems. Among those are post-traumatic stress disorder, survivors of sexual or physical abuse, prolonged or terminal illness, children of trauma, and victims of political torture or ethnic persecution. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Editorials
From the Publisher
"Klein and Schermer are brilliant scholars, and their contributions are the glue that unites this sophisticated collection. Chapters offer disparate perspectives on what the editors refer to as 'creating a healing matrix.' In particular, the volume addresses the group's specific power to bring together the dissociated aspects of the traumatized patient's personality by engaging the whole group and its members as mirrors and healing agents. This book is ideal for seasoned clinicians, researchers, and teachers, although novices also might find huge benefit in the liberal use of clinical examples. Bravo to the editors for producing a volume of great value to the group therapy field, with a clarity that is badly needed in the area of healing trauma."--Anne Alonso, PhD, Past President, American Group Psychotherapy Association; Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School"Klein and Schermer have brought together clinicians from diverse perspectives, who present practical and innovative ways of using group treatment in overcoming the impairments caused by a wide spectrum of traumata. All therapists will find important insights in this book. I recommend it to anyone seriously interested in gaining deeper understanding into the manifestations and treatment of trauma in group psychotherapy." --Walter N. Stone, MD, Past President, American Group Psychotherapy Association; Professor of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
"This is a pioneering book. It provides a comprehensive overview of an important clinical area that has not previously been discussed in this kind of depth. The book's strengths are its attention to the clinical needs of survivors of a wide range of traumatic life experiences, the explicit theory base of most chapters, and rich illustrative clinical material in every chapter. This is a must-have manual for therapists who plan to do group therapy with trauma survivors. It is an appropriate text for graduate-level courses in group therapy, as well as a resource for therapists who are currently running groups." --Laurie Anne Pearlman, PhD, Traumatic Stress Institute
"This is a timely, expertly edited volume that provides an in-depth view of the current state of the art. Group approaches for psychological trauma are proving to be of enormous value in treating a variety of traumatic experiences, and this volume should be extremely useful to group clinicians." --Irvin Yalom, MD, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, Stanford University