Principles and Techniques of Trauma-Centered Psychotherapy integrates cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, and humanistic methods of trauma treatment into a psychotherapeutic context. Rather than presenting a unique form of intervention or technique, the authors present methods that have been used successfully, some of which are supported by evidence-based research and some by broad clinical experience. This is not a general text, then, but one focused on building competence and confidence in trauma-centered interventions, providing methods that should be readily and widely applicable to clinical practice. The authors recognize that asking a client about the details of a traumatic event is an intimate act that calls upon the therapist to be both compassionate and dispassionate in the service of the client's well-being. Accordingly, the book functions as a guide, instructing and supporting the clinician through this demanding and necessary work. The book has many useful features: The book stresses technique, not theory, and is appropriate for clinicians of any theoretical orientation, including cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic, and sociocultural. Similarly, the book will be useful to a range of clinicians, from psychiatrists and psychologists to social workers, marriage and family therapists, and professional counselors. Dozens of detailed clinical case examples are included that illustrate what to say and what not to say in the wide variety of situations that clinicians are likely to encounter. Down-to-earth strategies are included for setting up the proper trauma-centered frame for the therapeutic work, conducting a detailed trauma history, exploring the effects of the trauma on present-day behavior, and handling the inevitable disruptions in the therapeutic relationship. Valuable features include study questions, which conclude each chapter, and appendices, which provide a template for a consent-to-treatment form, a traumatic life events questionnaire, and a clinical assessment interview. In many long-term therapies, regardless of therapeutic orientation, a moment comes when the clinician or client realizes it is time to engage in a detailed exploration of traumatic events. Principles and Techniques of Trauma-Centered Psychotherapy is for that moment, and its rich clinical transcripts and vast detailed techniques will equip the therapist to embark on that process confidently, humanely, and effectively.
About the AuthorsAcknowledgmentsPreface Chapter 1. The Developing Cultural Context of Trauma-Centered PsychotherapyChapter 2. Axioms of Trauma-Centered Psychotherapy Chapter 3. Establishing the Trauma-Centered FrameChapter 4. Principles of Trauma-Centered PsychotherapyChapter 5. The Four Main TechniquesChapter 6. The First SessionChapter 7. Continuing the Trauma History: Getting the Details and Formulating the Trauma SchemaChapter 8. Conducting Ongoing Treatment: Decoding the Trauma Schema in Current BehaviorsChapter 9. The Gap: When the Trauma Schema Emerges in the Therapeutic RelationshipChapter 10. Long-Term Process in TreatmentChapter 11. Handling the EdgesChapter 12. Working With Clients With Dissociative Identity DisorderChapter 13. Working With Clients With Borderline Personality Disorder Chapter 14. Trauma-Centered Group PsychotherapyChapter 15. Trauma-Centered Couples and Family PsychotherapyChapter 16. Adjunctive MethodsChapter 17. Strains on the TherapistChapter 18. Limits to the Trauma-Centered ApproachChapter 19. ConclusionReferencesAnswers to Study QuestionsAppendix A: Consent to TreatmentAppendix B: Traumatic Life Events QuestionnaireAppendix C: Clinical Interview for Assessment of Trauma HistoryIndex
