Friday, February 11, 2011

The Haunted Self: Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization PDF

Rating: (21 reviews) Author: Onno van der Hart ISBN : 9780393704013 New from $35.12 Format: PDF
Free download PRETITLE The Haunted Self: Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization POSTTITLE from 4shared, mediafire, hotfile, and mirror link

Life is an ongoing struggle for patients who have been chronically traumatized.

They typically have a wide array of symptoms, often classified under different combinations of comorbidity, which can make assessment and treatment complicated and confusing for the therapist.

Many patients have substantial problems with daily living and relationships, including serious intrapsychic conflicts and maladaptive coping strategies. Their suffering essentially relates to a terrifying and painful past that haunts them. Even when survivors attempt to hide their distress beneath a facade of normality—a common strategy—therapists often feel besieged by their many symptoms and serious pain. Small wonder that many survivors of chronic traumatization have seen several therapists with little if any gains, and that quite a few have been labeled as untreatable or resistant.

In this book, three leading researchers and clinicians share what they have learned from treating and studying chronically traumatized individuals across more than 65 years of collective experience. Based on the theory of structural dissociation of the personality in combination with a Janetian psychology of action, the authors have developed a model of phase-oriented treatment that focuses on the identification and treatment of structural dissociation and related maladaptive mental and behavioral actions. The foundation of this approach is to support patients in learning more effective mental and behavioral actions that will enable them to become more adaptive in life and to resolve their structural dissociation. This principle implies an overall therapeutic goal of raising the integrative capacity, in order to cope with the demands of daily life and deal with the haunting remnants of the past, with the “unfinished business” of traumatic memories.

Of interest to clinicians, students of clinical psychology and psychiatry, as well as to researchers, all those interested in adult survivors of chronic child abuse and neglect will find helpful insights and tools that may make the treatment more effective and efficient, and more tolerable for the suffering patient.
Direct download links available for PRETITLE The Haunted Self: Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology) [Hardcover] POSTTITLE
  • Series: Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology
  • Hardcover: 440 pages
  • Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (November 17, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0393704017
  • ISBN-13: 978-0393704013
  • Product Dimensions: 1.4 x 6.5 x 9.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

The Haunted Self: Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization PDF

I must express extreme praise and admiration for the work and eventual understanding the authors of The Haunted Self have so relatively displayed in researching trauma related disorders and maladaptive behaviors. But the amazing thing is they were able to explain it in terms a sufferer can understand. This is not something that happens in research very often. I have been involved in research of some sort all my adult life and know that research produces facts and figures from which decisions and theories can be constructed with a reasonable amount of certainty. The one thing research cannot do is produce empathy and compassion. Being a post-modern theologian as well as an engineer, I know these two expressions can only come from a calling to help humanity. I am a fifty-one year old male who has suffered the agonizing pain of the effects of trauma in many different ways and forms all my life. After reading well over one-hundred and twenty thousand pages of research on my symptoms and problems and theorizing and journaling thoughts, I finally found not only an explanation but compassion and empathy within the pages of this book. I believe this is vital in any therapeutic relationship. Without a shadow of a doubt, the reader can make a therapeutic relationship with this book that can be externalized and extended into their patient therapist relationship. This book is to trauma and mental health as Einstein's theory of relativity is to physics or what the personal computer is to how we view information or, more importantly, what parole is to a prisoner.

I have been treated for many anxiety related symptoms but another symptom would just take its place after treatment. Then the original symptom would reoccur. This cycle has lasted all my life with devastating personal effects.
In THE HAUNTED SELF the authors, Onno van der Hart, Ellert Nijenhuis and Kathy Steele present a theory of structural dissociation that builds upon the work of Pierre Janet and ties together the recent developments in the areas of trauma and dissociation. They build their theory methodically and concisely, tackling the difficult subject of dissociation and its effects on survivors of trauma. Their writing is compassionate and understanding, illuminating their therapeutic skills while at the same time delving into one of the most misunderstood and confounding areas of psychology with clarity and thoughtfulness.

The book is a challenging read, not because of the language, but because of the thoroughness and detail devoted to the construction of the authors' somewhat complex theory. Divided into two sections, the first constructs the theory of structural dissociation itself, with the second section presenting the phase oriented treatment, including examples illustrating the therapeutic processes involved.

The theory the authors present is consistent with recent advances in neuroscience and has the potential to impact the treatment of those suffering from a range of psychological disorders. The authors fully acknowledge and solicit feedback for those parts of their theory that are in need of further research. They also use the work of many others who have extended our knowledge of trauma and dissociation and its treatment over the past century.

Rather than approaching dissociative disorders by only examining the modern theories and developments, they begin with the work of Janet and thus are able to define the sequential breakdown of the personality in the face of traumatic incidences.

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