Out of My Mind: Late Night Contemplations About Trauma and Neglect

by Ruth Cohn

A collection of work from Ruth Cohn, MFT. Ruth is a psychotherapist living and practicing in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Ruth has been specializing in work with survivors of trauma and neglect, their intimate partners and families since 1988.

She is a Certified Sex Therapist, certified in Neurofeedback, EMDR, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and Imago Relationship Therapy.

She is also the author of two other books: Working With the Developmental Trauma of Childhood Neglect: Using Psychotherapy and Attachment Theory Techniques in Clinical Practice and Coming Home to Passion: Restoring Loving Sexuality in Couples With Histories of Childhood Trauma and Neglect; and numerous articles on sexuality, trauma and neglect.

Below is an endorsement for Ruth’s book, Working With the Developmental Trauma of Childhood Neglect:

Repairing the profound damage of early abuse, neglect and deprivation is as infinitely complex as the healing of any injury to the human organism. In this beautifully written work Ruth Cohn describes in spellbinding detail the multiple modalities and skills that a therapist needs to bring to the table to make this work possible. She demonstrates the need for a creative use and activation of all our senses, combined with patience, compassion, humility, and hard-earned self knowledge. This book provides clinicians and curious consumers with a roadmap to finding both a voice and a spine. A true guide to healing.

Bessel A. Van der Kolk MD
Founder, Trauma Research Foundation
Professor of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine.
Author, # 1 NYT Best Seller The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

Genres: Nonfiction

70 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 9, 2022

About the author

I came of age as a therapist in the early 1980’s when the recent Women’s Liberation movement had just brought violence against women and children squarely into the public eye. Particularly sexual violence, long taboo was finally becoming exposed. Obviously it has gone in and out of the shadows since then, but that was an important “outing” that rapidly determined the direction of my work as a therapist.

I soon discovered that a vast majority of my clients came to therapy because they found relationship difficult to seemingly impossible. Long compelled by the conundrum of relationship (in part because it had been so difficult for me!) this became my specialty. I began to avidly study trauma, then barely known, as the PTSD diagnosis only came into being in 1980! When the 1990’s brought “the decade of the brain,” I became a dogged student of neuroscience, since trauma affects the ordinary function of brain and nervous system.

It wasn’t long before I learned that sexuality was a massive challenge for the traumatized and set out to add sex therapy to my tool box by becoming a certified sex therapist. Research verified that relationship and sexuality are indeed some of the most hard hit areas for the traumatized. What to do about this became my mission of the last 40 years.

I love my challenging work, continuing to see clients and couples for psychotherapy. I love writing and sharing what I continue to learn, with those too distant to visit, as sadly these problems are world wide.

In my spare time I am an avid bicyclist, baker of sourdough bread, and impassioned maker of artisan cheese. Perhaps my greatest gift as a therapist, is my attitude of undying hope and optimism. I certainly did not always have this. It was a wonderful bi-product of doing lots of personal work like the kind I do with clients now. I live happily in San Francisco with my husband of 31 years. I enjoy hearing from you!

Reviews

[Carrie Poppy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bad

[John Windle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book as it describes a road that I have taken to deal with "trauma" which took me well beyond healing to a deeper understanding of the fundamental insights of Jung. Much of what she writes is on target and will be helpful for people beginning to explore the consequences of trauma. Where I feel she falls short is (a) the book is not very well written and would have benefited enormously from the attention of a professional editor and (b) after opening the door to psychedelic-assisted therapy (which I assume she is practicing herself) she does not demonstrate the depths of insight that can come with judicious guided use of MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, and other medicines. These new practices go far deeper than merely helping to confront and get over PTSD, alcohol and drug addiction, damaging sexual practices, etc. and can (as I can attest from personal experience) lead to individuation through integration at a truly profound level. I suspect Dr. Cohn knows this and I hope she will go much deeper and write "part 2". As Jung observed, it is "by the oppositional conflict and eventual reconciliation of the opposites that the fullness of being is restored within the individual soul."

[Emily Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

reads like a collection of lackluster, aimless blog posts

[Yvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Musings and reflections on therapy and trauma - particularly neglect, but also touching on PTSD. Not intense or in depth but discovered some interesting information that will have me looking further into things.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some good insights, but overall is quite short and mostly didn't bring a lot that was new to the table to me regarding this topic. I, however, have no doubt of the expertise of the author. I simply have read a lot of this before elsewhere.