Trauma: From Lockerbie to 7/7: How trauma affects our minds and how we fight back

by Gordon Turnbull

The Mind Mender is the story of Turnbull’s pioneering work in the field of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and his innovative treatments. Citing case histories, he reveals a human story of victims in desperate need of treatment.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology

372 pages, Hardcover

First published July 7, 2011

Reviews

[Margaret Jones]

Great description of the development of trauma therapy, both in the military and subsequently civilian work. This has been a great intro for me into a new field of work.

[Andrew Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating account of Turnbull's life and work over the years, as he developed his - and the profession's - understanding of post-traumatic stress. His growing understanding that PTSD is not a sickness but, essentially, a survival and recovery process is particularly compelling; and his wisdom is hard-won on the frontline, dealing with service personnel, hostages and victims and witnesses of major traumatic events. I'd have given this 5*s if he had had a better editor...

[Mr P · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Police officer and mountain rescuer of 23 years who has been previously diagnosed with PTSD, this booked helped me make sense of the numerous traumas I have dealt with and understand how they have shaped me. I am so grateful to the author for writing this book as it contributed hugely in my quest to improve my 'dented' mental well-being.

[Ann-marie O'neill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely readable and interesting.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

What did I think? Well, I'm just over half way through at the moment. This book is part-memoir, part introduction to the development of the understanding of trauma, and the presentation is framed very much from an armed-forced perspective.

Professor Turnbull states that: 'PTSD [is] the mind's way of coming to terms with things seen, heard, smelled, sensed and touched that were often too terrible to comprehend' which seems fine as a functional definition. This is preceded by 'my research had led me to believe that in spite of the very real distress experienced by anyone who'd been exposed to a severe trauma, it was in some way designed to be purposeful: by which I meant that it was a condition from which we were specifically supposed to gain knowledge; to learn. In short, it was a lesson in survival.' This appears to be a remarkable statement of faith. I do not subscribe to the that which does not kill you makes you stronger view of the world, for reasons I choose not to share at the moment. The remarks quoted were made in the context of counselling the staff undertaking the clean-up operation at Lockerbie, and I wonder whether it may be sensible to interpret Professor Turnbull's definition in terms of how the hunter-gatherer's cerebral hardware had developed to cope with distressing events in evolutionary history? I'm not sure there's much knowledge to be gained from trying to comprehend the hows and whys and so on of a jet hitting the ground at three-quarters of the speed of sound, as it may not be possible to give meaning to such a horrific event. The subject matter is an important topic to be developed further; the book includes an outline of theoretical descriptions such as the leaky sac, atomic model and pint pot theory.

[Louise Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book - a wing commander (and a professor) studying the way our minds work. It was full of snippets - like bats get lesions on the other end of their lungs from sick humans because they spend so much time upside down! Did you know that gangs of looters turned up at Lockerbie? And full of insight on how our brains cope with trauma.

He was good on the history: Homer and Shakespeare knew all about PTSD. It was written about in the 1800s, how frustrating that it takes so long for ideas to catch on!

It was also interesting to watch the human journey from normal medical wisdom to personal insight, and Prof Turnbull struggles hard to be honest as he moves towards accepting some woo-woo ideas. I didn't know that Candace Pert suggests that the body is the subconscious. That makes a lot of sense to me. It's also true that a lot of therapists just get on and do what works, even if there's no medical studies to back up their hypnosis or finger waggling whatever.

The point is made that studies are not always designed to measure what is useful. He's also clear about how ideas get lost or denied in the establishment. A good read.

[CatAmongThePages · Rating 5 out of 5]

Profound, enlightening, everyone should be reading it. Part autobiography, this tracks Professor Turnbull's reflections and discoveries about Post Trauma and the important realisation that the symptoms are a powerful defence process and not an illness. Put simply, Turnbull describes the incredible capacity of humans (and animals) to cope with trauma. His case studies are fascinating, particularly for me, the Invisible Girl. Whilst I originally started this because I want to work with post trauma as a counsellor, I was also interested in it personally having experienced post trauma symptoms. It certainly helped me understand what was going on and why. The science is friendly, the journey compelling.

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, how great and powerful, yet how fragile the mind is. If I ever suffer a trauma of any sort, Gordon would be the man for me.

[Lam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed parts of this book but at times found it a bit turgid and had to dig deep to persevere. Some interesting parts on how ptsd impacts on people though and generally enjoyed it.

[Sarah-Jane Suddick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating insight into how the human mind works to protect us from severe trauma.

[Jaq · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating book full of stories and a growing understanding of trauma. Informative but it also helped break through a few personal barriers.