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Counselling Skills for Working with Trauma: Healing From Child Sexual Abuse, Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse
Counselling Skills for Working with Trauma is a practical, introductory guide to counselling survivors of child abuse, neglect, rape, sexual violence, sexual trafficking, religious sexual abuse, and domestic abuse.
Written in an accessible style, it provides a comprehensive introduction to complex trauma accompanied by advice on how to create a safe environment in which survivors can learn the skills to restore control over trauma symptoms, to aid healing and post traumatic growth. The book covers all of the key principles including: understanding the role of dissociation in complex trauma; the role of attachment; managing flashbacks, panic attacks, nightmares and dissociation; responding to shame and guilt; managing relationships; and the impact of working with complex trauma. It explores how practitioners can work more effectively with trauma, and offers techniques and skills which can easily be integrated into different therapeutic models.
Featuring highlighted top tips, common pitfalls and a range of exercises, this is an essential guide for all professionals working with child and adult survivors of trauma.
Written in an accessible style, it provides a comprehensive introduction to complex trauma accompanied by advice on how to create a safe environment in which survivors can learn the skills to restore control over trauma symptoms, to aid healing and post traumatic growth. The book covers all of the key principles including: understanding the role of dissociation in complex trauma; the role of attachment; managing flashbacks, panic attacks, nightmares and dissociation; responding to shame and guilt; managing relationships; and the impact of working with complex trauma. It explores how practitioners can work more effectively with trauma, and offers techniques and skills which can easily be integrated into different therapeutic models.
Featuring highlighted top tips, common pitfalls and a range of exercises, this is an essential guide for all professionals working with child and adult survivors of trauma.
328 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
44 people are currently reading
257 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 24, 2025
More woke, dishonest feminist trash that thinks only sexual abuse and women's domestic abuse is "trauma". In the intro it tries to claim this group has a dearth of recovery resources, when in reality this is the only group that has lots of resources and attention already allocated to them, and this book ironically isba further example of that.
Someone experiences CSA a few times and has their experience held above those who experience 100x other forms of abuse, thanks to authors and "professionals" like this. An adult woman who experiences domestic abuse is placed above children who experience various forms of abuse, in this woke hierarchy, despite the research showing the adult experience to typically be less damaging or life-limiting. The reason for this is obvious - because it's the abuse that most often affects women. I feel for anyone who has the misfortune of anyone with other trauma having this woman as a therapist, or for everyone living in societies where these myths are perpetuated by these woke psychiatry and psychology practitioners (ie all of us, in Western societies at least).
Someone experiences CSA a few times and has their experience held above those who experience 100x other forms of abuse, thanks to authors and "professionals" like this. An adult woman who experiences domestic abuse is placed above children who experience various forms of abuse, in this woke hierarchy, despite the research showing the adult experience to typically be less damaging or life-limiting. The reason for this is obvious - because it's the abuse that most often affects women. I feel for anyone who has the misfortune of anyone with other trauma having this woman as a therapist, or for everyone living in societies where these myths are perpetuated by these woke psychiatry and psychology practitioners (ie all of us, in Western societies at least).
August 5, 2025
It’s taken me an age to read but so pleased I did. I felt like the first 1/3 of the book was teaching me to suck eggs - I don’t need to be reminded about respecting autonomy or ethics, it reminded me a lot of the very basic counselling skills manuals which annoyed me. I wanted trauma skills and a deeper understanding of dissociative behaviours. The rest of the book I found really helpful - some great exercises that I will and have employed with clients!
January 26, 2021
Though informative and well structured personally I found it lacked nuance and at times was outdated.
February 7, 2017
The practice info on this was excellent. The only addition I would have asked for was more around structural elements of trauma and how these can be addressed within the counselling context.
July 18, 2014
Excellent reference for working with trauma in counselling. Going to add this one to my clinical library.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews