Minding the Body: Psychotherapy in Cases of Chronic and Life-Threatening Illness

by Ellyn Kaschak

Support and empower women who are coping with the pain, fear, and stigma of serious diseaseBeing diagnosed with cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, or fibromyalgia is a traumatic event that takes place at a time when the patient is already feeling physically (and often emotionally) drained. Minding the Body combines feminist and social constructionist approaches to offer an intimate look into the ways a therapist can help clients cope with the pain, fear, and stigma of serious disease.Minding the Body offers an alternative to the reductive view of the mind-body connection and also examines the potential for growth that such experiences often allow. The essays gathered here show how an effective therapist can help the client deal with the painful and difficult emotions that exacerbate illness, while learning the emotional and spiritual lessons illness can teach. Minding the Body presents both theoretical views and personal accounts of illness,

158 pages, Hardcover

First published March 7, 2001