Treating Survivors of Childhood Abuse and Interpersonal Trauma

by Marylene Cloitre, Lisa R. Cohen, Kile M. Ortigo

Now revised and expanded with 50% new content reflecting important clinical refinements, this manual presents a widely used evidence-based therapy approach for adult survivors of chronic trauma. Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR) Narrative Therapy helps clients to build crucial social and emotional resources for living in the present and to break the hold of traumatic memories. Highly clinician friendly, the book provides everything needed to implement STAIR--including 68 reproducible handouts and session plans--and explains the approach's theoretical and empirical bases. The large-size format facilitates photocopying; purchasers also get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials. First edition title: Treating Survivors of Childhood Abuse: Psychotherapy for the Interrupted Life .

New to This Edition
*Reorganized, simplified sessions make implementation easier.
*Additional session on emotion regulation, with a focus on body-based strategies.
*Sessions on self-compassion and on intimacy and closeness in relationships.
*Chapter on emerging applications, such as group and adolescent STAIR, and clinical contexts, such as primary care and telemental health.
*Many new or revised handouts--now downloadable.
*Updated for DSM-5 and ICD-11.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Counselling, Mental Health, Self Help, Social Work

456 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, if seemingly ancient, book with loads of worksheets that are actually useful, information and plans for use in therapy that will actually be helpful... There are things written in this book that anyone in the trauma field should know or does know but somehow have escaped being written down, and I'm thrilled this book was still available when I learned about it. Sadly, the blurbs do it an injustice. It looks very formulaic, but it's meant to be individualized for each person. I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone working with survivors and to survivors themselves. This book won't sit on your shelves holding a retelling of the same tale - it has easily copied worksheets and prompts that will suit a variety of survivors.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a lot of really good tools to use with clients in this book, and an overall plan for working with victims of child abuse, but, although the authors claim that they have tested the process on men, the entire book was written using female pronouns and examples from their original study with women. It was also very repetitive in places, copying and pasting entire passages in some cases (as in, first they would explain it to the reader, then a few paragraphs later, repeat the same explanation word for word, as what the therapist should explain to the client).

[R.]

I read & own the 2nd edition (2020) but that one is not on Goodreads.

[Hannah Grace Cicciari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Also a grad school read, didn’t enjoy this as much as the others

[Jessica Brazeal Slaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was listed as a possible treatment option for trafficking survivors, so read through the manual. I really like the STAIR piece, which is essentially another version of a skills training like DBT. This would work well as a precursor to EMDR for the trauma processing.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great application of acceptance and commitment therapy to PTSD and other trauma-based disorders