Journey to Wholeness: Healing
from the Trauma of Rape
By Monique Lang © 2000. Published
by Learning Publications, Inc. 5351 Gulf Dr., PO Box 1338 Holmes
Beach, FL 34218-1338. 167 pages. $19.95. Paperback.
This workbook (8-1/2" x 11") guides women
who were raped to process the feelings, thoughts and physical
consequences of their experience, through writing, illustration
(drawing or cut/paste) and other exercises. It is suggested as
a supplement for professional counseling, not a substitute. It
may be very helpful for those who live with the raw edges of rape
pain.
[Back to list]
If He Is Raped: A Guidebook
for Parents, Partners, Spouses and Friends
By Alan McEvoy, Debbie
Rollo and Jeff Brookings. Published by Learning Publications Inc.,
PO Box 1338, Holmes Beach, FL 34218-1338. (800) 222-1525.©
1999. 104 pgs. Paperback. $11.95.
This is a slim book packed with
good information on a difficult subject: males raped by males.
Whether the victim is a child or a prisoner, whether it's your
husband, your friend, or yourself who is suffering, If He Is
Raped will answer many of your questions. You'll find excellent
guidelines for partners and family members here: help for the
immediate aftermath, and a good explanation of long-term effects,
as well. Perhaps the most chilling section is devoted to rape
in prisons, and how little is done to prevent it. There is guidance
here, too, for families and friends of prisoners who may emerge
from their ordeal full of shame. Anyone dealing with the issues
of sexually-traumatized men should definitely read this book.
[Back to list]
CAPTÏV
By S. Marie ©1998. Published by The Express Press, PO
Box 231778, Encinitas, CA 92023, www.captivpoetry.com
$10.95 + $2.90 shipping, CA residents add 85cents tax. 83 pgs.
Paperback.
This poetry book follows the journey of healing from remembering
child abuse to the recovery of hope. S.Marie's creates lucid and
vivid images to raise the disturbing question: Why? Why does incest
occur? What is a child in such a situation supposed to do? What
is it like, to feel the pain and confusion all over again, as
an adult? There are no pat answers here, but there is a strong
sense of growth and healing to encourage the reader that the struggle
to overcome is worth the energy it takes.
[Back to list]
Healing from Childhood Abuse:
We have a Voice Now
By Julie Martin's Miracle System © 2000. Order from publisher
Julie Martin at PO Box 3852, Costa Mesa, CA 92628-3852. $20 +$3
shipping. 122 pages. Paperback.
Julie Martin subtitles this self-published
volume "My sides and their journey back to life. Poems reflecting
my many lives." Several different type styles and writing
styles are revealed in this book, which reveals a strong Christian
faith.
[Back to list]
The Lost Art of Listening:
How Learning to Listen Can Improve Relationships
By Michael P. Nichols,
Ph.D. © 1995. Published by The Guilford Press, New York.
$14.95. 251 pages. Paperback.
If you have been frustrated
with the quality of your relationships, especially those closest
to you, I heartily recommend this book. Nichols, a family therapist,
gives a remarkably clear explanation of how things go wrong in
communicating, and supplies ideas on how to change those ineffective
patterns.
[Back to list]
The Gift of Fear: And
Other Survival Signals that Protect Us from Violence
By Gavin de Becker ©1997.
Published by Dell Publishing, New York. $6.99. 420 pages. Paperback.
When tourists were attacked recently
in a Uganda adventure camp, many were killed...but a few escaped.
When I heard how one couple quietly left their tent at the first
sound, and hid in the bush, I thought immediately of the lessons
in this book. De Becker's primary message is trust your instincts
and he goes on to describe case after case where acting on the
basis of an instinctive fear saved lives. This is an important
lesson for readers of MV. Survivors of childhood abuse are often
paralyzed by fears, some of them no longer justified, but others
that are real threats. By learning to distinguish between fear
that protects, and unwarranted fear that limits our lives, we
can move more confidently into the world of healthy living.
[Back to list]
Clear Your Past, Change
Your Future
By Lynne D. Finney, J.D.,
M.S.W. © 1997. Published by New Harbinger Publications, 5674
Shattuck Ave., Oakland CA 94609. 184 pgs. $12.95. Paperback.
This book takes a positive approach
toward recovering memories. Finney, writing as an abuse survivor
as well as a psychotherapist, suggests a self-help process of
inner exploration that could be practiced individually by some
people who are not in active therapy. She also gives helpful exercises
for coping with feelings, nurturing yourself, and even how to
resolve issues with people who have died. This seems a good book
to read to get yourself unstuck in the healing process.
[Back to list]
Rag Doll A Journey
of Healing and Integration
By Alayna © 1997. Published
by Mystic Moon Publications, PO Box 252032, West Bloomfield, MI
48325-2032. 106 pgs. $12. Paperback.
This personal-recovery history is
written as a series of letters to a friend. In the letters, Alayna
explains her process of recovery beginning with her initial suicide
attempt, moving through the remembering phase and appearance of
alters, and ending with her integration. An afterword by Judith
A. Goren, Ph.D., who was Alayna's therapist, does a good job of
summarizing the diagnosis and treatment of dissociative disorder.
A thoughtful presentation, with enough restraint to avoid freaking
out readers...even those unfamiliar with D.I.D.
[Back to list]
Getting to Yes: Negotiating
Agreement Without Giving In
By Roger Fisher & William Ury ©1981, 1991 Penguin Paperback,
200 pgs $11.
[Back to list]
Getting Past No: Negotiating
Your Way from Confrontation to Cooperation
By William Ury, ©1991, 1993. Bantam, paperback, 189 pgs $9.95.
Negotiating is a learned-skill for
people who dissociate. We are much more inclined to disappear
when faced with conflict...to be compliant and promptly give in...or
else some aggressive part comes out and battles undiplomatically
with the "enemy." And heaven knows, internal negotiation
is a major hurdle, too. There are a number of very good books
on negotiating out there. I like these because they take a respectful
view of the adversary...no "stomp 'em flat" as some
writers advocate. Isn't it time you put negotiation to work for
you?
[Back to list]
Women Living With Self-Injury
By Jane Wegsheider Hyman.
Published by Temple University Press. (215)204-1099. www.temple.edu/tempress
© 1999. 214 pgs. Paperback. $19.95.
Jane Hyman is a psychologist who
has spent nearly ten years learning about women who hurt themselves.
Hyman goes beyond the usual problem-solution approach, and helps
us understand how these women live in the everyday world...how
they work (hiding their scars), cope with their relationships
(do they tell their kids?), and, sometimes, recover from the need
to harm themselves. There is an extensive chapter on help for
recovery, including many interesting self-help techniques. One
involves tokens for injury-free days from the Internet! (Send
your postal address to llama@palace.net)
This is a fascinating book with a rich and diverse perspective
on the complexities of self-harm.
[Back to list]
The Verbally Abusive
Relationship: How to recognize it and how to respond
By Patricia Evans. ©
1992, 1996. Published by Adams Media Company. ISBN-1055850-582-2.
221 pages. $9.95 paperback.
Mostly aimed at women's experiences,
this book is excellent for men also. It defines what is verbal
abuse, describes different types of verbal abuse, and gives examples.
From trivializing of your emotions to abuse disguised as jokes,
Evans clearly explains the damage this type of abuse does to the
victim. Part Two of the book gives concrete examples of ways to
take back your power and how to respond safely to verbal abuse.
I found this book very helpful. Eileen
[Back to list]
Radical Healing
By Rudolph Ballentine MD ©1999 Published by Three Rivers
Press, NY, 612 pages, $17.00 paperback
There's a lot of info for the money
in this book, subtitled Integrating the world's great therapeutic
traditions to create a new transformative medicine.
This comprehensive review includes
chapters on herbs, homeopathy and use of flowers, identifying
your mind-body type, nutrition and detox, energy and consciousness,
and much more. It also includes extensive lists of resources for
products and services, as well as a self-help outline of treatments
for self-diagnosed conditions.
[Back to list]
Looking Inside: Life
Lessons from a Multiple Personality in Pictures and Words
By Judy Castelli ©
2000 by Castelli Studio Publishing, 211 Buckskill Rd., East Hampton,
NY 11937. (631) 329-3813. $19.95 (shipping included) 112 pgs.
paperback
You may know of Judy Castelli from
her internet site: www.multiple-personality.com or her deceptively
simple, wonderful artwork. Her art has been featured in Many
Voices several times, most recently on our cover, in August
2000. Judy was diagnosed as schizophrenic for years before she
was accurately diagnosed with DID in 1994. Although she was already
an accomplished stained glass artist before learning of her dissociation,
she has taken her creative art and writing to new levels as she
progresses in therapy. Judy says she is almost completely co-conscious
now, is no longer suicidal, and has been medication-free for over
4 years. This lovely book of poetic writing and art is an inspiration
to people in recovery, and their caregivers.
[Back to list]
Breaking Ritual Silence:
An anthology of Ritual Abuse Survivors' Stories
Jeanne Marie Lorena and
Paula Levy, Editors. Published by Trout & Sons, Inc., 1504
8-00292 Main St., Gardnerville, NV 89410. © 1998. 244 pages,
softbound. $14.95 plus $3 shipping.
Chrystine Oksana, respected author
of Safe Passage to Healing wrote the preface for this well-prepared
collection of survivor stories. Despite the very graphic nature
of this book, a number of the contributors take a hopeful stance
in approaching their remembrance of ritualized trauma. Emotions
of pain, anger, and frustration expressed are clear and genuine,
and the promise of recovery exists.
[Back
to list]
The Family Inside: Working
with the Multiple
By Doris Bryant, Judy Kessler, and Lynda Shirar ©1992,
Norton & Co., NY hardcover, 268 pages. $32.95 US, $39.99 Canada
This book was written by two therapists,
Drs Bryant and Shirar, and their client, Judy, who was a multiple.
The therapists were Judy's co-therapists, which, in itself, makes
the book unusual. Co-therapy is something I've always felt could
be a beneficial approach for multiples, who need so much time
and support. The authors found it worked well for them. By
Jennifer
[Back to list]
Lessons We Have Learned:
A Survival Guide
Compiled and published
by P.A.R.C.-V.R.A.M.C. 5251 Hwy. 153, #223, Hixon, TN 37343-4910.
133 pgs. $18 per copy $3 S&H US, $5 S&H in Canada.
Written and compiled by nine survivors,
this book is about survival tips for Ritual Abuse and Mind Control
Victims. The book covers such things as How can I Recover from
RA and/or MC abuse? as well as what to tell children, security
and safety tips and much more. An entire section is devoted to
resources and contacts, such as books, newsletters, organizations,
internet addresses etc. This book is a must-read for all RA and
MC victims who wish to stay alive and begin to find healing from
immensely difficult and sometimes dangerous issues. By Carol
R.
[Back to list]
The Magic Daughter
By Jane Phillips. ©1995.
Published by Penguin Press. $11.95.
We just finished reading this book
and found it to be a bit different from the usual first-person
accounts of multiplicity. It is not a dramatic story, filled with
past abuses and present-day horror. Instead it focuses on the
thoughts and thinking involved in trying to find some measure
of stability and compromise that allows her to function from day
to day. My thoughts echoed hers and at times, as my thoughts outpaced
my reading speed, I found her thoughts echoing mine.
[Back to list]
When I Go to Bed At
Night
By Susan Bassett ©
1994. Enchanted Susan Productions, PO Box 951, Redmond, WA 98073-0951.
$14.95. 42 pages, hardback.
We wanted to let other readers of
MV know about a wonderful book that we found. It could be for
kids or adults. It's got good illustrations and a great message.
It deals with a story of abuse and survival written in an easy-to-read
poetry format. It is a very powerful book with a message for survivors
of all ages. By Kory, Colleen and the rest
[Back to list]
Healing the Trauma of
Abuse: A Woman's Workbook
By Mary Ellen Copeland
and Maxine Harris. New Harbinger Publishing © 1999. $14.95.
Skills for coping, self-understanding
and self-care worked through from beginning to end, using exercises,
activities, relaxation. By Marty R.
[Back to list]
Amongst Ourselves: A
Self-Help Guide for Living with Dissociative Identity Disorder
By Tracy Alderman, PhD and
Karen Marshall, LCSW. New Harbinger Press. 1998. $14.95
Discusses skills and strategies for
living with DID, positive aspects, teaches awareness with parts.
Special segment to help therapists and supporters. By Marty
R.
[Back to list]
The Family Inside: Working
with the Multiple
By Doris Bryant et al. W.W.
Norton & Co., 1992. $32.95
A lot of information about how alters
are developed, different types of alters and treatment. Study
of one person's illness and healing, showing the art and sculpture
she created during her healing process. By Marty R.
[Back to list]
MOSTLY
FOR PROFESSIONALS:
RVIVORS:
Risking Connection:
A Training Curriculum for Working with Survivors of Childhood
Abuse
By Karen W Saakvitne, PhD, Sarah Gamble, PhD, Laurie Anne Pearlman,
PhD and Beth Tabor Lev, PhD © 2000. Published by Sidran Press,
(410)825-8888, www.sidran.org
. 5 modules in loose leaf format, over 200 pages. $75.
Risking Connection is said
to be the first basic trauma training program for mental health
providers in public settings. The program is aimed at personnel
working in psychiatric hospitals, community mental health centers,
substance abuse programs, domestic violence agencies and virtually
any place where adults with a history of childhood trauma are
served. Lynn W.
Forgiveness: Theory,
Research and Practice
Edited by Michael E. McCullough,
Kenneth I. Pargament, Carl E. Thoresen. Published by The Guilford
Press, www.guilford.com or 72 Spring St., NY, NY 10012.(800) 365-7006.
Hardback, 334 pgs. $35.
Does forgiving one's perpetrators
help one heal? How likely is it that those who injure others will
admit their deeds and apologize later on? How do various religions
apply forgiveness in their theology? Is there a broad social benefit
to forgiving and repentance? Here's a book for professionals that
attempts to address those questions and more. The writing itself
is fairly complex. There are no easy answers here about how to
forgive, or even why to forgive. Among the 34 contributors, opinions
range widely. It is not a self-help or 'how-to' book, but lays
groundwork for research in forgiveness. Lynn W.
[Back to list]
Body Scripture : A Therapist's
Journal of Recovery from Multiple Personality
By Barbara Hope © 2000 by Barbara Hope. Published by Wyndam
Hall Press, 52857 CR 21, Bristol, Indiana, 46507-9460. $40. 225
pages. Paperback.
Other therapists who are currently
struggling with dissociative disorder themselves may be particularly
interested in this book, since this subject is rarely discussed
in public. In this carefully-written document, Barbara Hope identifies
herself as a lesbian, a feminist peace activist, and a social
worker as well as a mother.
Her therapy history is extensive
and convoluted. Her traumas included ritual abuse, and much later,
seduction by one therapist, and the death of the therapist who
led her through the initial diagnosis of DID and memory work.
The process of therapy, and the emotional
transfers that take place are well detailed. So is the struggle
of accepting or denying a cult history. A very readable and interesting
book.
[Back to list]
The Couple Who
Became Each Other, and Other Tales of Healing from a Hypnotherapist's
Casebook
By David L. Calof with
Robin Simons ©1996. Published by Bantam Books. 354 pgs. Hardback.
$22.95US. $31.95CAN
This is an interesting and readable
book about the use of hypnosis to treat a variety of problems:
physical, emotional, or typically, both. Calof elaborates on the
many mysterious connections between body and mind, and the way
hypnotic suggestion, properly conducted, may positively-impact
these connections.
[Back to list]
Green Surprise of Passion:
Writings of a Trauma Therapist
By Shirley Glubka © 1998
Blade of Grass Press, RFD #1, Box 1358, Stockton Springs, ME 04981.
Paperback. 82 pgs.$12.
This is a collection of sensitive
prose and poetry by a clinical counselor. Glubka used writing
to maintain her balance as she listened to the anguished stories,
full of vivid and often terrifying imagery, emotion and pain.
Well worth reading.
[Back to list]
Healing Tasks: Psychotherapy
with Adult Survivors of Childhood Abuse
By James I. Kepner, PhD.
Published by Jossey-Bass Inc., San Francisco.
(415) 433-1767. © 1995. 312 pages. Hardback. $34.95.
The Healing Tasks Model explored
in this book by a Gestalt-trained therapist is an alternative
to the abreactive techniques which marked trauma treatment in
the past decade. It recognizes the developmental problems faced
by children who grow up in abusive conditions. Kepner believes
healing leads to a growth process, not a cure (as in a disease
model of treatment.) Among the tasks he cites as essential are
developing support, the ability to self-manage feelings and interactions,
mourning losses, and reconsolidating the self. There are also
chapters on traumatic memories, changing one's internal perspective
of experience, and healing the gap between body and self which
frequently occurs in abuse survivors. The writing style is accessible
to laypersons, and ideas flow nicely, but the content is directed
primarily to treatment providers.
[Back to list]
Coping with Trauma: A Guide to Self-Understanding
By Jon G. Allen, PhD.
Published by American Psychiatric Press, Washington D.C.,(800)368-5777.
© 1995. 385 pages. Hardback. $23.95.
Dr. Allen is the senior staff psychologist
for the Trauma Recovery Program at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka,
KS. One can't quarrel with the copious material presented here,
which attempts to be relevant to the broad spectrum of traumatic
experience: from weather catastrophes to wars to violent crime,
sexual abuse and incest. Allen highlights problems of childhood
attachment as a predominant factor of an individual's response
to trauma. Trauma treatment is broadly discussed, using examples.
I didn't find the book's structure or explanation particularly
accessible. The frequent footnotes refer to sources only, with
no summary. Physiological responses and research studies are cited
frequently, with much technical detail. There's a lot of useful
information here, but it's heavy going, so be prepared.
[Back to list]
Images of Me: A Guide
to Group Work with African-American Women
By Sherlon P. Pack-Brown,
Linda E Whittington-Clark, and Woodrow M. Parker. Published by
Allyn & Bacon,160 Gould St., Needham Heights MA 02194-2310.
© 1998. 286 pgs. Hardback. $35.95 plus $6.59 shipping. 1-800-278-3525
or www.abacon.com
Although this book is not specifically
about dissociation, it is interesting in a number of ways. The
authors are all African-American Ph.D.'s and experienced counselors
as well as academicians. Images of Me is centered
around a series of groups developed by two of the authors, groups
that aim to help African-American women explore the complex impact
of racism and gender on their lives. This book is among the first
to address the counseling needs of one of our country's most neglected
and underserved populations.
As such, it will be especially useful to mental health professionals
who want to better-understand their African-American clients.
[Back to list]
The Dissociative Child:
Diagnosis, Treatment, and Management (2nd Edition)
Edited by Joyanna L. Silberg,
Ph.D. Foreword by Richard P. Kluft, M.D. © 1996, 1998. Published
by Sidran Press, Lutherville, MD. (410) 825-888 or www.sidran.org.
400 pgs. $45 paperback.
I was very impressed with this book.
It's not just well-organized and comprehensive. It's also largely
understandable to lay readers. Silberg and her contributing authors
repeatedly stress the value of dealing with dissociation early,
preferably before adolescence. Silberg states that children living
with DID parents had outcomes just as positive as those in non-dissociative
households. This may be important information for DD parents with
good parenting skills who face custody battles.This book is a
must for clinicians working with families or children, and a wise
investment for every dissociative parent. In her preface to the
2nd edition, Silberg also brings up the interesting view that
dissociative disorders, while usually caused by what the average
person would call severe trauma, may sometimes appear in people
without objectively-severe trauma histories. Her thought is that
individual perception of pain or distress may sometimes lead to
the extreme avoidance that underlies dissociation.
[Back to list]
Rebuilding Shattered
Lives: The Responsible Treatment of Complex Post-traumatic
and Dissociative Disorders
By James A. Chu, M.D. Published
by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., NY. © 1998 $47.50. 271 pages.
Hardback.
A must-read for clinicians, especially
those who have skipped the last few ISSD conferences and may not
be current with today's treatment theory. Dr. Chu is head of the
Trauma and DD program at Boston's McLean Hospital, and teaches
at Harvard Medical School. Chu clarifies the transformation of
treatment for dissociation in the past few years, via such factors
as expanded research, the impact of managed care, and the controversial
subjects of memory and iatrogenesis related to D.I.D. symptoms
and diagnoses.
While he clearly takes the view that
early trauma causes most dissociative disorders, Chu doesn't
claim that all dissociation, or even D.I.D., is 100% trauma-based.
While stating there is no proof that D.I.D. can be created in
adults who are not already dissociative or have trauma histories,
he says patients with lesser degrees of dissociation can be pushed
into a D.I.D.-like presentation by naive or overzealous therapists.
Chu also explains that the field's
early emphasis on abreaction, or 'reliving and reframing' abusive
events, was patterned on treatment of adult-onset PTSD, where
flooding the patient (usually a combat veteran) in a very-supportive
environment often yielded positive results. That approach doesn't
work with many people who are dealing with histories of child
abuse, he says, partly because the vast support network is not
in place for people who, because of their early trauma, do not
have a lot of skill in building healthy relationships. Although
there were some successes, for many who endured abreaction after
abreaction (led by their well-meaning therapists) the unfortunate
result was increased pain, loss of functioning, and retraumatization
without symptom relief. Chu maintains that abreaction, if used,
must be delayed until a very strong therapeutic relationship and
outside supports are well in place. This can take years to develop,
and cannot be rushed in a vain attempt to rapidly cleanse a system
of past abuse issues. Hospitals,
today, should be a place for safety and stabilization, but not
for exploration and abreaction. The inpatient settings must not
become an arena for flight from impasses in outpatient therapy
or for reenactment of abuse, or a substitute for learning to live
in the world, (The Appendix includes the Dissociative Experiences
Scale, a most-useful diagnostic tool). LW
[Back to list]
Betrayal Trauma: The Logic of
Forgetting Childhood Abuse
By Jennifer J. Freyd. ©1996.
Published by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. 232 pages.
Hardback. $24.95.
Jennifer Freyd is a professor of
psychology at the University of Oregon. For the past decade she
has pursued research on memory and, since 1991, began to develop
her understanding of betrayal trauma. She is the daughter of the
founders of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation. But this book
is not a personal polemic against the FMSF, or an angry response
to her parents' intrusion into her adult decisions. Instead, she
summarizes much current memory research, then discusses in careful,
reasoned language, the processes that may lead to abuse memories
being forgotten or only partially remembered for years. Freyd's
Betrayal Theory proposes that the trauma most likely to be forgotten
are not necessarily the most painful, terrifying or overwhelming
ones...but the trauma in which betrayal is a fundamental component.
[Back to list]
Memory, Trauma Treatment, and
the Law
By Daniel Brown, Alan W. Scheflin,
and D. Corydon Hammond. © 1997, Published by W. W. Norton.
816 pgs. $100 in US, $130 in Canada. Hardback.
You might think, faced with an 816-page
book put together by two psychologists (Brown and Hammond) and
a lawyer (Scheflin) that you'd have a dull, jargon-laden doorstop.
Not so. This is a highly-readable volume packed with useful information
for clinicians, researchers, attorneys...and laypersons interested
in the legal ramifications of memory and abuse. If I were a therapist
treating trauma survivors, I would definitely buy this book and
write it off as a business expense. $100 for possible prevention
is cheap when you consider what lawsuits cost.
[Back to list]
Treatment of Offenders with Mental
Disorders
Edited by Robert M Wettstein. Published
by Guilford Press, 72 Spring St., New York, NY 10012 (800) 365-7006.
©1998. 438 pages, hardbound. $45.
I mention this book primarily because
of its extensive chapter on the treatment of sexual offenders.
This portion, prepared by Howard E.Barbaree and William L. Marshall,
both Ph.D.'s from Ontario, Canada, runs some 63 pages, including
five full pages of references. As an attempt to evaluate often-conflicting
forms of treatment for perpetrators of major sex crimes (such
as rape and child abuse), the work is careful in its disclaimers.
The authors note that perpetrators who continue to deny their
offense may not be accepted into treatment programs, and some
evaluations count only those offenders who don't drop out. This
selectivity may yield good outcomes only because the people willing
to enter and complete the programs were initially less likely
to reoffend. Treatments discussed include organic approaches (ie,
methods to reduce sexual urges by chemical or physical means),
cognitive-behavioral therapies, and nonbehavioral psychotherapy.
Both institutional and community-based programs are discussed.
This book also includes a separate chapter on community-based
forensic treatment which may be of interest and help to those
professionals working with sexual offenders.
[Back to list]
I Never Told Anyone
This Before: Managing the Initial Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse
Re-Collections
By Janice D. Gasker, DSW. © 1999 by The Haworth Press Inc.
(800) 429-6784 US/CAN. Elsewhere (607) 722-5857. Hardback. 172
pgs. $29.95.
(You may receive a 20% discount if you ask!)
This book presents useful ways
to reframe and bypass the false memory syndrome controversies
in therapy where child sexual abuse memories are revealed. To
put it much more crudely than she does, Gasker's approach essentially
says that both sides of that debate are subject to error... and
that the real issue for professionals is not the innate truth
or falsehood of disclosed memories, but How might we use our clients'
memories of traumatic events to enhance the quality of their lives?
She cautions professionals who get caught up in judging and condemning
families of clients. Take away a client's family, dysfunctional
as it may be, and with what, with whom, will you replace it? That
good question is too often overlooked.
[Back to list]
