Principles and Techniques of Trauma-Centered Psychotherapy

by David Read Johnson PhD, Hadar Lubin MD

Overview

Principles and Techniques of Trauma-Centered Psychotherapy integrates cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, and humanistic methods of trauma treatment into a psychotherapeutic context. Rather than presenting a unique form of intervention or technique, the authors present methods that have been used successfully, some of which are supported by evidence-based research and some by broad clinical experience. This is not a general text, then, but one focused on building competence and confidence in trauma-centered interventions, providing methods that should be readily and widely applicable to clinical practice. The authors recognize that asking a client about the details of a traumatic event is an intimate act that calls upon the therapist to be both compassionate and dispassionate in the service of the client's well-being. Accordingly, the book functions as a guide, instructing and supporting the clinician through this demanding and necessary work.

The book has many useful features: • The book stresses technique, not theory, and is appropriate for clinicians of any theoretical orientation, including cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic, and sociocultural. Similarly, the book will be useful to a range of clinicians, from psychiatrists and psychologists to social workers, marriage and family therapists, and professional counselors.• Dozens of detailed clinical case examples are included that illustrate what to say and what not to say in the wide variety of situations that clinicians are likely to encounter. • Down-to-earth strategies are included for setting up the proper trauma-centered frame for the therapeutic work, conducting a detailed trauma history, exploring the effects of the trauma on present-day behavior, and handling the inevitable disruptions in the therapeutic relationship.• Valuable features include study questions, which conclude each chapter, and appendices, which provide a template for a consent-to-treatment form, a traumatic life events questionnaire, and a clinical assessment interview. In many long-term therapies, regardless of therapeutic orientation, a moment comes when the clinician or client realizes it is time to engage in a detailed exploration of traumatic events. Principles and Techniques of Trauma-Centered Psychotherapy is for that moment, and its rich clinical transcripts and vast detailed techniques will equip the therapist to embark on that process confidently, humanely, and effectively.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781585625147
Publisher:	American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Publication date:	04/08/2015
Pages:	357
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

David Read Johnson, Ph.D., is Co-director of the Post Traumatic Stress Center in New Haven, Connecticut and Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. He was formerly the Unit Chief of the Specialized Inpatient PTSD Unit at the National Center for PTSD, VA Medical Center, in West Haven, Connecticut. He is the co-author (with H. Lubin) of Trauma-Centered Group Psychotherapy for Women (Francis & Taylor, 2008), and co-editor (with N. Sajnani) of Trauma-Informed Drama Therapy: Transforming Clinics, Classrooms, and Communities (Charles C Thomas, 2014), as well as numerous articles on trauma treatment.

Hadar Lubin, M.D., is Co-director of the Post Traumatic Stress Center in New Haven, Connecticut and Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. She was formerly the Unit Chief of the Specialized Inpatient PTSD Unit at the National Center for PTSD, VA Medical Center, in West Haven, Connecticut. She is the co-author (with D. Johnson) of Trauma-Centered Group Psychotherapy for Women (Francis & Taylor, 2008), as well as numerous articles on trauma treatment.

Table of Contents

About the AuthorsAcknowledgmentsPreface Chapter 1. The Developing Cultural Context of Trauma-Centered PsychotherapyChapter 2. Axioms of Trauma-Centered Psychotherapy Chapter 3. Establishing the Trauma-Centered FrameChapter 4. Principles of Trauma-Centered PsychotherapyChapter 5. The Four Main TechniquesChapter 6. The First SessionChapter 7. Continuing the Trauma History: Getting the Details and Formulating the Trauma SchemaChapter 8. Conducting Ongoing Treatment: Decoding the Trauma Schema in Current BehaviorsChapter 9. The Gap: When the Trauma Schema Emerges in the Therapeutic RelationshipChapter 10. Long-Term Process in TreatmentChapter 11. Handling the EdgesChapter 12. Working With Clients With Dissociative Identity DisorderChapter 13. Working With Clients With Borderline Personality Disorder Chapter 14. Trauma-Centered Group PsychotherapyChapter 15. Trauma-Centered Couples and Family PsychotherapyChapter 16. Adjunctive MethodsChapter 17. Strains on the TherapistChapter 18. Limits to the Trauma-Centered ApproachChapter 19. ConclusionReferencesAnswers to Study QuestionsAppendix A: Consent to TreatmentAppendix B: Traumatic Life Events QuestionnaireAppendix C: Clinical Interview for Assessment of Trauma HistoryIndex

What People are Saying About This

Frank M. Ochberg

Principles and Techniques of Trauma-Centered Psychotherapy is a must read for students, practitioners, educators, and even for experts in the field... I believe I have already added to my "tool-kit" and improved my approach thanks to this well presented, authentic, and authoritative volume.

Christine A. Courtois

In Principles and Techniques of Trauma-Centered Psychotherapy, the authors provide an important and needed addition to the trauma treatment literature. They expertly guide the clinician through the nuances and challenges of asking directly and in detail about traumatic events and experiences. As Lubin and Read note, this approach is not for the faint-hearted. They offer clear rationale for trauma-centered psychotherapy whether it is used as a freestanding approach or is part of a sequenced treatment.

John H. Krystal

Principles and Techniques of Trauma-Centered Psychotherapy, by David Read Johnson, Ph.D. and Hadar Lubin, M.D. makes an impact. In this book, two very thoughtful and experienced clinicians and teachers convey incisive perspectives on social and psychological contexts that shape the psychological responses to extremely stressful life events. Then, in successive chapters, they lead the reader through the process of applying trauma-centered psychotherapy in individual, group, and couples therapy. In so doing, they clearly articulate basic techniques as well as typical challenges faced in therapy with traumatized individuals.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Steven T Herron, MD (CPI/Assurance Health and Wellness)
Description: Using a trauma-centered approach — in which traumatic experiences are explored in the initial phases of treatment and are then used as a foundation for a transition to current issues — this book attempts to guide clinicians in their work with patients who have suffered various types of trauma using practical interventions and exercises.
Purpose: Although there are many books on psychotherapy for trauma, most of them center around brief, sometimes manual-based therapies. The authors indicate this book was penned with the idea of using various techniques (psychotherapy, client-centered wisdom, cognitive-behavioral, and exposure-based) to allow clinicians the ability to tailor the best approach for each individual patient.
Audience: The authors indicate the primary audience is clinicians who are in the trenches day-to-day, treating individuals who have suffered trauma that is causing dysfunction in their lives.
Features: In addition to some diagrams, tables, and charts, there are many clinical examples that use transcripts of sample conversations between a patient and therapist used to highlight specific concepts. Each chapter (even the preface!) concludes with a series of questions to test readers' understanding of the material. Answers to these questions appear at the end of the book and some contain brief explanations of the correct choice. The appendixes also offer useful resources, especially the Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire.
Assessment: As we have gained more information about trauma and its varying effects on individuals and their daily functioning, better and more effective evidence-based treatments have emerged to assist patients with these often debilitating symptoms. The techniques this book describes have a firm foundation in evidence-based medicine with a psychodynamic bent and are being used more frequently with patients with improved outcomes. The strength of this work is the time and effort the authors have taken to present realistic sample scenarios between client and therapist, which highlight important points for readers to reflect upon and, more importantly, incorporate into their practices. Fortunately, the authors present their information in a way that's easy to digest and, as a result, this book will be a welcome addition to any therapist's library.

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