The Modern Trauma Toolkit: Nurture Your Post-Traumatic Growth with Personalized Solutions

by Christy Gibson MD

Overview

Embrace your innate power and find growth from trauma with this essential guide filled with groundbreaking solutions and strategies for your healing journey.

Amid collective trauma, it helps to know that our bodies are built to respond to stress and what we might do to shift those reflexes. Having studied brain-based and body-based approaches to wellbeing, Dr. Christy Gibson teaches readers how to embrace their innate power and catalyze community wisdom. Drawing on her work with people suffering from stress and societal challenges, Dr. Gibson shares practical and effective mental health advice you can personalize.

In clear and accessible language, The Modern Trauma Toolkit describes new theories in brain biology, such as the polyvagal theory and epigenetics, and explains how you can remodel your brain to achieve post-traumatic growth. While noting how particular communities face inequitable stressors, she empowers readers to identify and harness their unique and cultural strengths. Dr. Gibson shares over forty activities that can be self-taught and practiced so you can begin your healing journey today, including: 

• Iffirmations: Reimagine affirmations to plant seeds of possibility
• The Container: Create your box of shame and leave it behind
• Havening: Discover the body's three areas that are best suited to self-soothing
• Solutions Studio: Catalyze change at the systems level using design thinking

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306831065
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	05/02/2023
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	366,831
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 5.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Christy Gibson, MD is a physician and change‑agent, a TEDx and international speaker, and trauma clinician.  She is a thought-leader and a vocal advocate for policies that enhance equity.  She has created a residency program in health equity, formed Global Familymed Foundation, and Safer Spaces Training, a start-up that helps organizations become trauma-informed. She lives in Calgary, Canada.

Editorial Reviews

Dr. Gibson’s gem of a book is a succinct and penetrating primer on trauma and approaches to its treatment.”—Gabor Maté, MD, author of The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture

“This is the book for anyone who is committed to the healing path—focusing on resilience, self-compassion and what is good and right within us all.”—Lissa Rankin, MD, author of Mind Over Medicine Mind and Sacred Medicine

"The Modern Trauma Toolkit is a comprehensive collection of exercises that will enable the reader to experience the often forgotten universal wisdom that healing is dependent on feeling safe enough to invite our nervous system to be a collaborator on our personal journey to health."—Stephen W. Porges, PhD, author of Polyvagal Safety, founding director, Traumatic Stress Research Consortium, Kinsey Institute, Indiana University Bloomington, professor of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“The Modern Trauma Toolkit is the most compassionate, welcoming, and practical book on trauma recovery that I have seen. It is now my first recommendation to many who have suffered trauma.” —Jeffrey Rediger, MD, MDiv, psychiatrist physician, faculty of Harvard Medical School, Medical Director of McLean SE Adult Psychiatry Community Affairs at McLean Hospital, and Chief of Behavioral Medicine at Good Samaritan Medical Center, author of Cured

“Dr. Christy Gibson's compassionate, wise voice is one you want whispering in your ear as you work towards the life you deserve. Accessible, actionable, inclusive, comforting and hopeful. A practical, inspired and deeply intuitive contribution to a critical field."—Jillian Horton, MD, internal medicine physician, associate chair of the Department of Internal Medicine and Director at the Alan Klass Medical Humanities Program at the Max Rady College of Medicine, author of We Are All Perfectly Fine

“In The Modern Trauma Toolkit, Dr. Christine Gibson invites the reader into a courageous exploration of what it means to be human, to survive painful things, as well as the impact of collective trauma. She teaches easily accessible and powerful healing tools that galvanize the journey toward post-traumatic growth. Her presence and care is tangible within each page of the book. Every step of the way, one can feel her presence as both a loving, wise guide and a compassionate, supportive cheerleader. This beautifully written book is sure to become a staple for healing practitioners and survivors alike.”—Kate Truitt, PhD, MBA, CEO of the Trauma Counseling Center of Los Angeles, founder of the Amy Research Foundation, developer of the Havening Techniques, author of Healing In Your Hands

“Trauma is a root cause of so much poor health across age groups and demographics. In her book The Modern Trauma Toolkit Dr. Gibson makes what we know about trauma, its impacts and how to address it accessible for everyone. This book is a must read for clinicians and individuals looking for individualized tools to help them process their own experiences in a safe and approachable way.”

—Katharine Smart, MD, pediatric emergency medicine physician, past president of Canadian Medical Association

“Modern Trauma is easily one of the most readable and balanced trauma books on the market. It’s equipped with psychoeducation, case studies and coping tools within the chapters to allow readers to not only make sense of some of the symptoms they may be experiencing, but also practice coping. This is one of few trauma books that is culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and inclusive of many different identities and experiences. An effortless read - educational, yet practical, you’ll be glad you picked this up.”—Simone Saunders, BSW, MSW, RSW, managing director of The Cognitive Corner

“The Modern Trauma Toolkit is by far the most well-organized, socially conscious, approachable, and actionable book on trauma healing I’ve ever read. Dr. Gibson is a brilliant and humble guide taking you through the process of rewiring your brain for wellness. Run, don’t walk,ֶ to buy this book for you and anyone you know who wants to get back into the driver’s seat of their life.”—Jen Wolkin, PhD, neuropsychologist, author of Quick Calm

“Dr. Gibson’s [book] is a down-to-earth collection of easy-to-read information for anyone who wants to understand more about trauma’s impact on the mind and body—along with practical approaches for healing outside of traditional medical settings. There is something for everyone here from seasoned medical professionals who want to further support their patients with a trauma-informed approach and everyday community members just beginning their healing journey.”—Logan Cohen, LMFT, author of How To (Hu)Man Up In Modern Society

"This book has been worth the wait! The Modern Trauma Toolkit by Dr Gibson is full of practical tools and exercises to help individuals at any stage of their healing journey. This is also a great guide for therapists looking to hone their skills and add some more resources to their clinical toolbox."—Patrice Berry, PhD, licensed psychologist, author of Turning Crisis Into Clarity

“The Modern Trauma Toolkit takes complex trauma theories and psychoeducation and breaks them into digestible information for any reader. The author does a fantastic job of personalizing the advice and invites the reader to explore their needs in a trauma-informed, gentle way. This book provides invaluable skills and body-based resources that will benefit all readers.”—Lauren Rasmussen, certified trauma informed coach and NARM practitioner, founder of The Simplest Self Wellness Inc.

“The Modern Trauma Toolkit is a gem. As a practicing psychologist and trauma therapist, I've read many trauma books over the years. Few are as accessible, personalized, body-based, science-backed, and resonant as this one. Dr. Gibson combines her professional and personal experiences into a highly readable and skimmable text, full of examples, exercises, anecdotes, explanatory graphics, and in-the-moment practices. Most trauma books are not written in a way that is actually trauma-informed. It is clear that Dr. Gibson had her audience in mind when writing.”—Dr. Han Ren, PhD, licensed psychologist, speaker, educator

“The Modern Trauma Toolkit is an asset for anyone on the journey of healing from trauma. Dr. Gibson explains what happens in trauma and provides the latest therapeutic approaches, with time-honored traditions, in a way that is accessible to all. With examples and exercises, readers can test out simple practices that can help bring them back to a calm state. It will surely help those living with trauma navigate the path to their post-traumatic growth.” —Shailla Vaidya, MD, family and emergency medicine, mind-body practitioner

From the Publisher