The Encyclopedia of Psychological Trauma is the only authoritative reference on the scientific evidence, clinical practice guidelines, and social issues addressed within the field of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder. Edited by the leading experts in the field, you will turn to this definitive reference work again and again for complete coverage of psychological trauma, PTSD, evidence-based and standard treatments, as well as controversial topics including EMDR, virtual reality therapy, and much more.

Trauma is defined as a sudden, potentially deadly experience, often leaving lasting, troubling memories. Traumatology (the study of trauma, its effects, and methods to modify effects) is exploding in terms of published works and expanding in terms of scope. Originally a narrow specialty within emergency medicine, the field now extends to trauma psychology, military psychiatry and behavioral health, post-traumatic stress and stress disorders, trauma social work, disaster mental health, and, most recently, the subfield of history and trauma, with sociohistorical examination of long-term effects and meanings of major traumas experienced by whole communities and nations, both natural (Pompeii, Hurricane Katrina) and man-made (the Holocaust, 9/11). One reason for this expansion involves important scientific breakthroughs in detecting the neurobiology of trauma that is connecting biology with human behavior, which in turn, is applicable to all fields involving human thought and response, including but not limited to psychiatry, medicine and the health sciences, the social and behavioral sciences, the humanities, and law. Researchers within these fields and more can contribute to a universal understanding of immediate and long-term consequences–both good and bad–of trauma, both for individuals and for broader communities and institutions. Trauma encyclopedias published to date all center around psychological trauma and its emotional effects on the individual as a disabling or mental disorder requiring mental health services. This element is vital and has benefited from scientific and professional breakthroughs in theory, research, and applications. Our encyclopedia certainly will cover this central element, but our expanded conceptualization will include the other disciplines and will move beyond the individual.

First published in 1991. In this book, the authors present a new conceptualization of the unique experience of trauma survivors. They offer both a new theoretical model which we call constructivist self-development theory (CSDT) and a description of its application to clinical assessment of and intervention with adult trauma survivors.

How many of your psychiatric patients have a history of severe physical or psychological abuse or other psychological trauma? These patients often present diagnostic dilemmas, get a variety of diagnoses, and frequently prove difficult-to-treat. They may have syndromes that are reminiscent of the post-traumatic sequelae in adults, such as physiological hyperactivity, a sense of loss of control, passivity alternating with uncontrolled violence, and sleep disturbances including nightmares. Investigating the impact of the traumatic event in connection with the development of the disorder is essential to an effective treatment approach. Psychological Trauma provides a basis for understanding human response to trauma. The consequences of specific traumas have usually been described as separate entities. This is the first book to examine human response to trauma as a whole. In this thorough study of the biologic, psychodynamic and social consequences of trauma, separate chapters explore: * The impact of separation from the parental figure on a child's development, including cognitive and neurological disturbances* The psychobiology of traumatic response* Traumatic antecedents of borderline personality disorder* The effect of trauma on the family unit* Amnesia and dissociation as response to trauma* A stress management approach that can be incorporated into the treatment of patients

This volume presents an innovative psychobiological framework for understanding and treating PTSD. A major emphasis is the need to reformulate diagnostic criteria and treatment goals to reflect emerging knowledge about the complex pathways by which trauma disrupts people's lives. Within a holistic, organismic framework, the editors identify 65 PTSD symptoms contained within five (rather than the traditional three) symptom clusters, and spell out 80 target objectives for treatment. Expert contributors then provide detailed presentations of core therapeutic approaches, including acute posttraumatic interventions, cognitive-behavioral approaches, pharmacotherapy, group psychotherapy, and psychodynamic techniques, as well as approaches to working with specific populations, including children, refugees, and the dually diagnosed. The concluding section reviews and synthesizes all case material presented, examining which symptoms are addressed by each of the core approaches, which treatment goals are met, and which clients can most effectively be helped. Combining cutting-edge theoretical exposition with clear-cut recommendations for practice, this is an ideal resource for clinicians, students, and researchers.

Synthesizing insights from psychiatry, social psychology, and anthropology, this important work sets out a framework for therapy that is as culturally informed as it is productive. An international panel of 23 therapists offers contextual knowledge on PTSD, coping skills, and other sequelae experienced by the survivors of traumatic events. Case studies from Egypt to Chechnya demonstrate various therapeutic approaches. Authors explore the balance of inter- and intrapersonal factors in reactions to trauma and dispel misconceptions that hinder progress in treatment.

Renowned scientists and practitioners provide a concise summary of current theory, research, and clinical practice regarding traumatic stress. An integrative biopsychosocial theory of trauma response provides a framework for the book. Chapters consider the frequency and likely mental health consequences of a wide range of traumatic events-including military trauma, violent crime, natural and technological disasters, accidental injury, and torture. This comprehensive reference features state-of-the-art psychosocial and biological treatments and community-based intervention strategies.

In this groundbreaking book, a leading clinical psychiatrist redefines how we think about and treat victims of trauma. A "stunning achievement" that remains a "classic for our generation." (Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., author of The Body Keeps the Score). Trauma and Recovery is revered as the seminal text on understanding trauma survivors. By placing individual experience in a broader political frame, Harvard psychiatrist Judith Herman argues that psychological trauma is inseparable from its social and political context. Drawing on her own research on incest, as well as a vast literature on combat veterans and victims of political terror, she shows surprising parallels between private horrors like child abuse and public horrors like war. Hailed by the New York Times as "one of the most important psychiatry works to be published since Freud," Trauma and Recovery is essential reading for anyone who seeks to understand how we heal and are healed.

In 1996, representatives from 27 different countries met in Jerusalem to share ideas about traumatic stress and its impact. For many, this represented the first dialogue that they had ever had with a mental health professional from another country. Many of the attendees had themselves been exposed to either personal trauma or traumatizing stories involving their patients, and represented countries that were embroiled in conflicts with each other. Listening to one another became possible because of the humbling humanity of each participant, and the accuracy and objectivity of the data presented. Understanding human traumatization had thus become a common denomi nator, binding together all attendees. This book tries to capture the spirit of the Jerusalem World Conference on Traumatic Stress, bringing forward the diversities and commonalties of its constructive discourse. In trying to structure the various themes that arose, it was all too obvious that paradigms of different ways of conceiving of traumatic stress should be addressed first. In fact, the very idea that psychological trauma can result in mental health symptoms that should be treated has not yet gained universal acceptability. Even within medicine and mental health, competing approaches about the impact of trauma and the origins of symptoms abound. Part I discusses how the current paradigm of traumatic stress disorder developed within the historical, social, and process contexts. It also grapples with some of the difficulties that are presented by this paradigm from anthropologic, ethical, and scientific perspectives.

This book offers a critical perspective of the dominant discourses within the field of psychological trauma. It provides a challenge to normative western constructs and unsettles assumptions about accepted notions of universality and the nature of trauma. Traditionally the concept of psychological trauma has been widely accepted within mental health professions. However, in a post-positivist era, the language of mental health is shifting and making room for alternative discourses that include wider contextual influences, such as the impact of sociological, cultural, and technological developments. These wider discourses are illuminated as the authors draw together some of these arguments into one accessible text. Rather than claim definitive answers to the issues raised, readers are invited to engage with the discussions presented in order to position themselves in relation to the range of trauma discourses available.