Reconstructing Meaning After Trauma: Theory, Research, and Practice informs actual therapeutic work with clients who present with traumas or other life disruptions by providing clinicians with information on the construction of meaning. It includes material on diverse mechanisms of clinical change and positive-promoting processes. The book covers identifiable treatments and specific lines of research in assisting clients in developing new meaning, such as posttraumatic growth (after sexual assault, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer, destructive natural phenomena, such as hurricanes, and refugee experiences), and finding benefit (in the context of loss—loss of health, or loss of a loved one). - Addresses a specific treatment or line of research - Includes extended case vignettes at the beginning of each chapter - Describes the associated theoretical background for each method - Summarizes the research supporting each mechanism - Concludes with a discussion of future directions for treatment, research, and theory

Repressive regimes, regardless of their nature and geographic location, have a destructive and dehumanizing effect on people’s lives. Oppression and political violence shatter victims’ identities, their relationships, communities and the meaning of their world as a safe and coherent place. However, while some people suffer traumatising long term effects, others become stronger and more resilient, able to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of tragedy. Reconstructing Trauma and Meaning is an invitation to revisit, bear witness and listen to the stories of suffering and healing of survivors of apartheid repression in South Africa. This work is an exploration of the life trajectories of former victims of gross human rights violations during apartheid and their creative ways of reconstructing meaning after trauma. Their life narratives, shaped by social, political and cultural realities, are a valuable contribution to the collective memory of the nation, as an intrinsic part of the continuous process of reconciliation and transformation in South Africa.

Promoting Positive Processes After Trauma targets one of the most damaging effects of trauma, ongoing impairment across the whole of "living." Viewing clients with trauma histories from the perspectives of their shared experiences is the foundation for the application of six strengths and virtues studied by positive psychology: hope, positive emotions, resilience, forgiveness, spirituality and religiosity, and meaning-making. The lived trauma experience of the contributing author illustrates actual means of change - Presents foundational information and newest findings from trauma and from positive psychology - Covers strengths and virtues that can be directly targeted in treatment or used as ancillary treatment goals - Provides further readings suitable for clients and for clinicians - Concludes with an integrative exploration of the organization of positive processes and their integration into portfolios.

Navigating Life Transitions for Meaning explores the central human motivation of meaning making, and its counterpart, meaning disruption. The book describes different types of specific transitions, details how specific transitions affect an individual differently, and provides appropriate clinical approaches. The book examines the effects of life transitions on the component parts of meaning in life, including making sense (coherence), driving life goals (purpose), significance (mattering), and continuity. The book covers a range of transitions, including developmental (e.g., adolescence to adulthood), personal (e.g., illness onset, becoming a parent, and bereavement), and career (e.g., military deployment, downshifting, and retiring). Life transitions are experienced by all persons, and the influence of those transitions are tremendous. It is essential for clinicians to understand how transitions can disrupt life and how to help clients successfully navigate these changes. - Covers cultural transitions, such as immigration and religious conversion - Examines health transitions, such as cancer survivorship and acquired disability - Uses a positive psychology framework to understand transitions - Includes bulleted 'take-away' summaries of key points in each chapter - Provides clinical applications of theory to practice

Adults in your church, small group, or other Christian organization are silently suffering the tragic consequences of having been sexually abused as children or youth. Why aren't they coming forward for help? Their reluctance may be related to wounds given by the faithful--religious people they trusted, who said things like "well, it wasn't rape" or "it's been thirty years--why is this such a big deal?" Such responses from people with religious authority deepen victims' need to shrink into anxiety, depression, and self-degradation. This book offers you the tools needed to undertake caring ministry to adults suffering in the aftermath of childhood sexual abuse. Once you understand the scientific research on such topics as trauma memory, consequences of abuse, and forgiveness, you will appreciate how caring collaboration can create hope and healing. In these pages every reader will find helpful content that will take you from feeling out of your depth to knowing you are empowered to be an effective companion in God's transforming work in the lives of survivors of abuse.

Trauma, Resilience, and Posttraumatic Growth in Frontline Personnel examines the history, context, nature, and complexity of working in front-line services. Chapters provide a detailed overview of specific mental health models that are applicable both on a day-to-day basis and to disaster and major event response. The book also details elements of mental health responses that have been proven to facilitate coping, minimize risk, and promote both resilience and posttraumatic growth. These strategies include, but are not limited to, peer support programs, mental health education, and psychological first aid. Each chapter incorporates research on PTSD, anxiety, and depression as well as research relating to posttraumatic growth, resilience, connectedness, and belongingness. Trauma, Resilience, and Posttraumatic Growth in Frontline Personnel is a vital guide for those who provide care to trauma survivors as well as for researchers and scholars.

The definitive Handbook of Trauma-Transformative Practice brings together the work of leading international trauma experts to provide a detailed overview of trauma-informed practice and intervention: its history, the latest frameworks for practice and an inspiring vision for future trauma-transformative practice. The Handbook is interdisciplinary, incorporating trauma research, interpersonal neuroscience, the historical and continuing experiences of victims and survivors, and insights from practitioners. It addresses a range of current issues spanning polyvagal theory, the social brain, oxytocin and the healing power of love, and the neuropsychological roots of shame. It also considers trauma through the lens of communities, with chapters on healing inter/transgenerational trauma and building communities' capacity to end interpersonal violence. Furthermore the Handbook makes the case for a new way of thinking about trauma - trauma transformative practice. One which is founded on the principle of working with the whole person and as part of a network of relationships, rather than focusing on symptoms to improve practice, healing and recovery.

Museum memorialization has long been about politics, design implications, and visitor experience--rarely focused upon the people mired in commemorating the dead. Profound challenges confront those who memorialize mass trauma at memorial museums. Listening to the voices of those called to do this work enables insight into the critical role they play in preserving and disseminating history's most painful narratives, expanding views of recovery from mass trauma, and revealing the value in the profession. As an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow at the National September 11 Memorial Museum, Dr. Stephanie Arel recognized costs--psychological, spiritual, and physical--aligned with responding to mass trauma and participating in communal recovery. The impact of bearing witness at memorial museums emerged in the lives of workers. To explore the phenomenon, she visited Auschwitz, interviewing those who remember the Holocaust's horrors while resisting its infiltration in their personal lives. The immensity of honoring the dead for others inspired additional sojourns in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cambodia, Israel, South Africa, and the United States. She discovered dimensions of pride and care evident in those who honor memory: the capacity of workers to address reverberating political tensions, while tending to visitor needs; the passion workers have for giving voice to the voiceless who died during traumatic events, while offering care and support to the survivors; and the reality that reassembling the fragments of mass trauma is not for the weary, but instead emerges as a calling and a vocation. Bearing Witness places value on what workers do, opening space for workers' testimonies to be heard for the first time and creating a global community of and for these workers, who have otherwise never been given a platform to speak about their experiences. The interviews reveal the entanglement of politics with commemoration, the sacredness of remembering, and the multidimensional aspects of care, transforming the reader's understanding of humanity forever.

“This book should be read by everyone working in a helping profession.” Laura Burns, Training Lead for Hostage and Crisis Negotiation (2017-2020) and Inspector, Police Scotland, UK “This is a superb book in every single respect: beautifully written, relevant, supportive and providing an accessible framework for all those in the helping professions to develop and enhance relationships with people.” Professor Andrew Reeves, Professor in Counselling Professions and Mental Health, University of Chester, UK “This is an excellent resource for anyone who requires an element of embedded counselling in a professional capacity.” Dr William N. Scott, Lecturer in Biomedicine, Atlantic Technological University, Ireland Embedded Counselling in the Helping Professions offers a practical framework for understanding how frontline human service practitioners can respond effectively to the emotional support needs of those around them, by incorporating counselling skills and knowledge into their everyday professional work. Taking a broad, interdisciplinary perspective, McLeod and McLeod provide comprehensive coverage of key areas of practice that can lead to improved outcomes for service users, including: • Capitalising on how embedded counselling complements and builds on other interventions and forms of support • Developing skills and activities for facilitating helpful counselling episodes that enable clients to move forward in their lives • Using evidence from research studies to enhance practice • Designing caring services that promote positive practitioner values and attributes, and take account of organisational challenges and opportunities • Ongoing personal reflection, supervision and consultation to consolidate learning and awareness. As well as tackling critical reflections and enforcing ethical practice this new book helps human service practitioners to make sense of frequently occurring client issues including crisis, trauma, emotional pain, life transitions, bereavement and loss, and behaviour change. Embedded Counselling in the Helping Professions is essential reading for all students entering the human service field. It also acts as a valuable continuing professional development resource for qualified and experienced practitioners and for managers and policy-makers who are committed to creating caring and responsive organisations. Julia McLeod is Lecturer in Counselling at Abertay University, Dundee, UK. She has been a counselling trainer and tutor with students from many different backgrounds, as well as having extensive experience as a therapist and supervisor. John McLeod is Emeritus Professor of Counselling at Abertay University Dundee, UK and Visiting Professor at the Institute for Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy in Dublin, Ireland. A leading figure in the field of counselling and psychotherapy research, his recent work has focused on the development of a flexible, pluralistic approach to therapy.

The only comprehensive text to focus on trauma, stress, crisis, and disaster counseling from a clinical practice perspective This overarching text, intended both for mental health practitioners-in-training and for practicing clinicians, focuses on the impact of stress, crisis, trauma, and disaster on diverse populations across the lifespan as well as on effective treatment strategies. The second edition is newly grounded in a "trauma scaffold," providing foundational information that therapists can build upon, step-by-step, to treat individuals affected by more complex trauma events. This resource newly addresses the mental health implications of COVID-19, which has had an enormous impact on multitudes of people since the beginning of the pandemic, its repercussions likely to continue for some time into the future. The text also is updated to provide the most recent diagnostic information regarding trauma in the DSM-5. Two new chapters address the confluence of crises related to anthropogenic climate change and the effects of mass violence. This unrivalled resource emphasizes stress management and crisis intervention skills as important building blocks for working with more complex issues of trauma and disaster. It underscores the idea that trauma must be approached from multiple perspectives and in multiple dimensions encompassing individual, community, societal, and systemic implications along with multicultural and diversity frames of reference. The text integrates the latest findings from neuropsychology and psychopharmacology with an emphasis on Polyvagal Theory. Additionally, the text highlights the importance of clinical supervision in trauma care and examines ethical dimensions and the need for self-care among trauma counselors. Purchase includes digital access for use on most mobile devices or computers. New to the Second Edition: Reconceptualizes the text with the concept of a "Trauma Scaffold" as a foundation upon which to understand and develop treatment for increasingly complex trauma events Addresses the COVID-19 pandemic and its profound effect on the mental health of vast numbers of people Includes two new chapters on the confluence of crises related to anthropogenic climate change and the effects of mass violence Includes PowerPoint slides to accompany an updated Instructor's Manual Key Features: Delivers both introductory and advanced clinical information addressing complex trauma Addresses trauma from a bioecological framework with emphasis on trauma-informed practices, multicultural pluralism, diversity, and social justice Considers neurobiological responses to trauma with new research and the contributions of Polyvagal Theory Examines individual, familial, community, society, and systemic understandings of stress, crisis, trauma, and disaster Includes a wealth of resources for further study, text boxes, and case studies to reinforce learning