Compassionate Mind Approach To Recoverin

by Deborah A. Lee

Terrible events are very hard to deal with and those who go through a trauma often feel permanently changed by it. Grief, numbness, anger, anxiety and shame are all very common emotional reactions to traumatic incidents such as an accident or death of a loved one, and ongoing traumatic events such as domestic abuse. How we deal with the aftermath of trauma and our own emotional response can determine how quickly we are able to 'move on' and get back to 'normality' once more. An integral part of the recovery process is not only recognising and accepting how our lives may have been changed but also learning to deal with feelings of shame - an extremely common reaction to trauma. "Recovering from Trauma" uses the groundbreaking Compassion Focused Therapy to help the reader to not only develop a fuller understanding of how we react to trauma, but also to deal with any feelings of shame and start to overcome any trauma-related difficulties.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Mental Health

272 pages, Paperback

First published July 19, 2012

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books was pivotal to taking a compassionate approach to using compassionate lens to treating client trying to manage trauma. As the author beautifully states, "it takes a safe environment to flourish.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finally finished this bloody book. There’s many reasons it took me nearly two years, but one of them was that I just didn’t find it as capitulating or interesting as other books I’ve read on my tRaUmA jOurNeY (body keeps the score I love you). There are some very useful exercises and it’s very very clearly written, because it’s obviously for practical use, and maybe for people approaching this type of therapy completely anew and without a therapist.

[Marco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it is a brilliant book if you are already "on the way". One word of warning: It can be tough to work through without help...

[Hannah Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good and does exactly what it says on the tin. The first half introduces you to basic psychology of the brain, how threat and the amygdala play a key role in trauma, and how patterns of shame and self-blame get people stuck in trauma's aftermath. It also introduces the framework of CFT itself, at which point my personal note was I wished I had read the original framework book - The Compassionate Mind by Paul Gilbert - first, although I don't think it makes a huge amount of difference if you haven't.

The second half of the book takes you through specific exercises and worksheets, which you can choose to do or not depending on what is relevant to you, and you can do these by yourself, with a notebook, or with a therapist. I did it with my mental health journal at hand and found it most helpful to take notes.

A particularly good thing about this is that it is aimed at every day traumas: abuse, muggings, sexual violence etc. You do not have to have been in some major war zone or disaster to find this helpful! It is deliberately broad and encouraging regardless of why you're reading it.

[Sarah Horrigan-fullard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a really tough book to read... not because it didn't make sense or was badly written, but because I find the idea of applying compassion to myself anxiety-inducing and threatening. That's my issue though and there are plenty of parts where you have lightbulb moments... just be prepared not to work through the exercises if you don't feel ready for them.

[kutingtin · Rating 4 out of 5]

uncovering some hidden truths and finally facing the darkness 🖤

hoping the light I have atm is enough ✨🙏🏻

finally facing some deep wounds… 🩹❤️‍🩹

deep breaths, lets do this 😌🤍

learned a lot on how to be more compassionate about my trauma and how to approach it in a less judging way. Though it was hard for me to read some of the case studies because of personal reasons, I tried my best to still do the activities in the book. I am yet to write my compassion letter.. :,)

*thankyou bii Fea for lending me this book 💞

[Leona]

I found this book very repetitive and boring. Boiled down, the message is: breathe deeply, try to relax and picture a beach. Fine, if that works for you, I suppose. This is probably a useful text for people who have not read self-help books before and are just starting to learn about theraputic techniques.

*Pedant alert* - there are some grammatical errors in the text which of course should have been ousted pre-publication.

[Samantha Sinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this and be kind to yourself!

[Karen Broughton · Rating 4 out of 5]

an insightful interesting easy to read. would definitely reccommend.

[Emma Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very helpful book in my line of work

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would recommend as a guide for clinicians but I think quite heavy for a client to go through alone

[Wesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. Highly recommended for any practising mental health clinician of whatever persuasion.