The complex PTSD workbook: a mind-body approach to regaining emotional control and becoming whole by Arielle Schwartz
Written for: people with cPTSD
Special focus: psycho-education and self-help for cPTSD
What it is not:
- replacing proper trauma therapy
- going deeper into the issues of dissociation or structural dissociation
Language: the language is kept simple while not losing its professionalism. It is written in a caring tone that communicates understanding and support without being sentimental.
Book: published in 2017 it is up to date with the current research about cPTSD as well as the modern approaches to treatment. For a book this size it is pretty affordable. Examples are not obviously triggering but easy to relate to.
Overview
Chapter 1 Understanding trauma
Explains cPTSD, differential diagnosis, co-morbid disorders, what contributes to developing cPTSD, attachment problems and symptoms of cPTSD in body, emotions and thoughts in great detail. It is an amazing collection of information that includes prompts to help you figure out where you are at in all of this.
Chapter 2 Treating complex PTSD
Introduces CBT, DBT, EMDR, IFS as well as body work approaches like yoga, sensorimotor therapy, somatic experiencing and a list of other possible approaches. This is meant as an overview, not to explain every technique in great detail. There are also ideas on resistance and how to understand it. Therapy phases and conditions are explained to help you decide if you are ready to face therapy.
Chapter 3 Healing avoidance symptoms
explains different ways avoidance can look like, how it was useful in the past and how radical acceptance can help you move on. Breathing exercises, DBT skills, mindfulness and body scan are introduced here. There are also ideas on how to develop positive thoughts and good habits of self-care, instructions to build a safe place for yourself, basic grounding, containment and inner helpers, all in preparation for trauma work.
Chapter 4 healing invasive symptoms
Here we can learn to challenge out thoughts and cognitive errors, a cognitive approach to managing our emotions, boundaries and sense of agency, how to solve conflicts, emotional regulation, what the window of tolerance means and a body-focussed approach to regulate ourselves, including yoga. There is an invitation to reflect on more of our trauma history, the painful and the resilience, and transgenerational trauma.
Desensitization and different approaches to do that are introduced, mostly CBT and EMDR and how trauma integration works. This part is meant to be done with a therapist and not as self-help at home.
Chapter 5 Healing depressive symptoms
challenges learned helplessness, hopelessness, shame, depersoanlization and derealization, grief and offers more body work to deal with it. There are a few words about medication and exercises to stimulate the vagal system. The idea of „healthy selfishness“ is introduced to support self-esteem and create more happiness. You can learn how to develop more positive beliefs to improve your mood.
Chapter 6 Supporting long-term growth
Explains how to increase resilience, creativity and compassion (with a focus on forgiveness and gratitude) and reviews all the tools learned in this book.
Difficult words are explained in the back so you can look them up. There is also a list of helpful books, TED talks, websites and help-lines within the US.
After reading
It was a pleasure to read because this book presents a very good scientific as well as compassionate understanding of cPTSD. It shows greater balance between cognitive and body work than most other self-help books.
The most important exercises needed for trauma therapy are explained.
The prompts for reflection are chosen well, but they are not always presented in a way that invites to work with them. There is room to take notes but no spreadsheets like I would have expected them from something that is called a workbook. From a purely educational perspective this could have been done better. The tools are introduced with a lot of brevity, which could leave people insecure on how to do them for themselves.
The small exercises on body work seem easier to put into practice and I even learned a new one.
This is a beginners book that is supposed to accompany therapy. You can read about the tools but they are best learned and applied with a therapist, especially when it comes to the CBT tools to change or challenge thoughts and of course the trauma work itself.
This book covers a lot of ground. It is strong when it comes to psycho-education but weaker when it comes to self-help. For someone who is just looking for the important self-help tools “growing beyond survival“ might be the better choice. If you look for a good collection of information about cPTSD, what it is and all kinds of approaches to treat it this book might be for you. It sure invites to dive deeper into specific topics, that are not covered in depth.
What became most clear to me after reading is how important it is to have a therapist. Self-help for cPTSD is limited. We can learn a dozen tools but then we still need to walk the walk and that is close to impossible without proper trauma therapy. Self-help books will somehow always be a letdown for that reason.
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