Coping with Trauma-Related Dissociation: Skills Training for Patients and Therapists (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology) 1st Edition, Kindle Edition

I can't say enough about this book. I had gotten very discouraged working with traumatized women and addicts. The first client I used this book with had been stuck for some time and was sinking deeper and deeper into despair, hopelessness, panic, anxiety and depression. She was also morbidly obese. After one session with this manual, she began to have hope, she engaged very actively in the treatment. One of the amazing things I see about working with these methods is that memories begin to surface spontaneously, as the client is ready, and within the context of the therapy, they feel safe to process and share the memories. In the case of this particular client, there was a facet of her abuse that haunted her immensely but she couldn't say why. By the third session, a memory had surfaced which explained it, and she was able to cope with it and process it in session. I found it very interesting that the memory surfaced as a movie on a screen with no sounds or smells, which is something the book indicates will happen. This client, as well as others, are enormously reassured and encouraged by the fact that suddenly everything makes sense, they are not the only ones who feel this way, and that there are therapists who have tons of experience working with these symptoms, to the point that they were able to write a book that both explains and offers hope. I also work with a lot of addicts and have become convinced that almost all addicts suffer from DDNOS, and I believe that this treatment should be a part of any successful substance abuse treatment. When I introduce some of these ideas in a group of addicts, I have the full attention of every person, male and female. They start to ask questions an things begin to fall into place for them. This work is so miraculous that I have purchased a pile of books all dealing with Polyvagal Theory, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Viseral Sensory Neuroscience, etc, to further my understanding of how the viscera reacts to trauma, and the role of neuroleptic not and interception in triggering people to have panic, anxiety, and to carry out behaviors such as self harming, eating disorders and substance abuse. Clients are awed to find out that there is an answer to the formerly mysterious monster that controls them and devours them. I am continuing to read and study, and in the meantime I am reaching my clients in a way that I have never been able to before.

I had actual tears of recognition in my eyes after starting this book; six months later, upon completing it, I feel like I have reached a milestone in my recovery from abuse. I felt understood by this book in a way that I never have before with a psychology or therapy text, except for Judith Herman's Trauma and Recovery. This book is absolutely invaluable for someone with complex trauma in childhood, who used dissociation as their main defense mechanism.I am somewhere on the dissociative continuum (I had symptoms resembling DID in adolescence), though it wasn't identified as the source of my mental health problems until mid-adulthood, when I finally sought treatment for sexual abuse and trauma rather than depression alone, and then everything changed for the better. I started reading this as a follow-up to The Stranger in the Mirror (an excellent overview of dissociation), not expecting to get much out of this one, as therapy workbooks tend to be challenging for me. But I found myself highlighting every page.It's a gentler alternative to works that focus on sexual violence (many of which have helped, but those are hard to read when triggered). It's also made grounding and mindfulness exercises more accessible for me, since these are written expressly with a dissociative/traumatized reader in mind. The language, too, is so clear and validating. Some chapters might be more triggering, depending on your experience-- I was surprised that the relational stuff was harder for me-- so personally I recommend skipping a chapter or section if you feel like you're "fighting" with it, then returning to it later on. I had good luck with this approach. And don't be afraid to spend more time on a challenging chapter. You'll get out of the book what you put into it.I wish I had encountered this book years ago, but I'm just so glad to have it now. Best $17 I've ever spent. I want to tell the writers thank you.

If you and your therapist have found your diagnosis to include dissociation, this is an incredibly useful book. I often pined for a practical guide to doing the stuff of daily life in light of my propensity to zone out. I thought I was just a procrastinator- but none of those self-help books came even close to helping. I even thought I had ADD/ADHD and bought some "how to stay organized" books for folks with those issues. When I finally understood that I was dissociating, it felt just like a fancy label and I didn't know what to do to get through the tough times of the day short of "curing" myself. Until one day it occurred to me that there must be ways to work around dissociations even before you can eliminate them from your life. So I googled "self care routine for dissociation" and I found this incredibly helpful manual. And it really is a manual. There are broader ideas as well but I find the minutiae of the instructions very helpful and comforting. It sometimes feels like re-learning how to be an adult, this time without the trauma. Huge thanks to the authors for writing this book.

Really life changing read so far... (not finished yet)... BUT be warned... while reading this is completely changing how I understand myself and some things - it is majorly triggering me. I've definitely sunk into a triggered depression... that is NOT to say anything negative about the book... in fact - shows how powerful the content is... only mention it as a warning for readers because I was completely unprepared for that element and have found myself struggling now without having prepared myself properly to cope.

The book recommends usage with a therapist...I would highly recommend listening to that advice. I started alone and found it incredibly overwhelming. I wouldn't advise using it alone. I think I really needed to feel others have been through this after battling so much ignorance in the mh system and that there were people out there somewhere that took the disorder seriously, the book helped with that a lot. Lots of it is aimed at group work, in the Uk it's hard enough to find professionals that believe in the disorder let alone finding groups to join so I was surprised how heavily focused on group work it is but all adaptable and it's easy to skip over the group bits. I think for therapists an essential tool to know what stages to move through with patients. I wish just one proffessional in every mental health team read this. This is a great workbook, for me it was just important to have support to do it, I know for most with this disorder finding that support is almost impossible, if you go it alone, go slow and make sure to do all the self-care/suicide prevention/self harm prevention before embarking on any of the excercises.

Very informative and well organised and written in an understandable language with little jargon. Useful for both therapists and service users to use collaboratively. Explains what can be often viewed as an untreatable and complex issue in terms and descriptions that make learning about DID easier and accessible to novice and experienced therapists. This will be invaluble to service users in many ways and the structure of the book is useful and educational. I would only say that it describes a mental health problem that can be exposing service users to very difficult issues that are often distressing abd overwhelming and doesn't fully acknowledge the often very difficult experiences that such work can evoke when in therapy.

Working my way through slowly but surely - I was diagnosed with PTSD in 2000 and a lot of my symptoms are of dissociation. Look forward to working through this book to find out more about my symptoms and ways to cope

This is a great book with some good tips and exercises for coping - with or without the help of a therapist. It helps you identify dissociative behaviours and deal with them effectively

What a brilliant and comprehensive book. Its surprising how many mental health practitioners know very little about dissociation and its tragic effects on the person experiencing it. Also people suffering from dissociation can fear judgement if they talk about the strange happenings and symptoms experienced, therefore, sadly, its often missed or overlooked. This is a very helpful, warm, sensitive and supportive book - nobody needs to feel ashamed - thank goodness there are authors like Suzette Boon out there to raise awareness, educate and help people.