Clinicians working with complex trauma are honored with the most sacred of tasks: to bear witness to clients’ suffering and to attend compassionately to their wounds.
In The Complex PTSD Treatment Manual, clinicians will find the road map they need to conduct successful therapy with clients who have experienced prolonged exposure to traumatic events. Combining the science and art of therapy, Dr. Arielle Schwartz seamlessly integrates research-based interventions with the essentials of healing to create a whole-person approach to trauma treatment.
Drawing from her years of experience in working with trauma survivors, Dr. Schwartz provides clinicians with the tools they need to become a trustworthy companion to trauma survivors and become capable of guiding a healing journey for clients with a history of abuse or neglect. Within these pages, you will find:
- Essential interventions that strengthen mindful body awareness, enhance distress tolerance, cultivate self-compassion, and facilitate trauma recovery
- Over 50 practices, worksheets, and self-reflection points to utilize in each stage of the client’s therapeutic process
- Integration of several therapeutic approaches for trauma treatment, including relational therapy, mindful body awareness, parts work therapy, CBT, EMDR, somatic psychology, and practices drawn from complementary and alternative medicine
Review:
Janina Fisher, PhD, author of Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma: A Workbook for Survivors and Their Therapists
Dr. Schwartz’s book is likely to be a big help to clients and also to therapists who treat individuals with severely traumatic life histories. It is very readable and accessible. Reading it gives a feeling of being in a conversation with Dr. Schwartz. The chapters give many examples of how cognitive behavioral therapy, somatic experiencing, and EMDR can be successfully integrated in therapy preparation, diagnostic assessment, and treatment planning. It also includes many transcripts of therapy sessions, which illustrate with clarity how particular interventions can be effectively used. This book is a significant contribution to our developing knowledge of the best ways to treat complex PTSD and dissociative conditions.
Jim Knipe, PhD, Author of EMDR Toolbox: Theory and Treatment for Complex PTSD and Dissociation
Dr. Schwartz guides us into a field of healing practices and possibilities founded in a resilient-informed approach. She offers portals into the untold and hidden stories of pain that live in the nervous system and the biology of people affected by chronic traumatization. She reminds us of the power and strength that lay in the core of human existence and put us in touch with our inner capabilities. The Complex PTSD Treatment Manual is a rich, comprehensive, well-integrated, and immensely useful masterpiece that will support child and adult therapies working with C-PTSD in bringing healing to generations!
Ana M. Gomez, MC, LPC, Author of EMDR Therapy and Adjunct Approaches with Children: Complex Trauma, Attachment, and Dissociation
Arielle Schwartz does it again, delivering clinicians a practical volume full of useful skills with her uncanny ability to translate complex neurological concepts into relatable language. I am especially impressed with the sensitivity and humanity that she employs in addressing parts work and dissociation. This is a marvelous foundational volume on complex trauma that I will be very happy to recommend to my students.
Dr. Jamie Marich, The Institute for Creative Mindfulness, Author of EMDR Made Simple, Trauma Made Simple, and many other books on trauma recovery
Dr. Arielle Schwartz has done it again. A thorough explanation of the reasons complex trauma exists, how it expresses itself in behaviors, and what treatment entails. An important foundation for therapists treating complex trauma. Knowing these foundational insights will make treatment easier and more effective.
Annie Brook, PhD, Founder of The Brook Institute, Author of Birth’s Hidden Legacy and other books focused on healing developmental trauma
Arielle Schwartz has crafted an up-to-date synthesis of many of the best practices of the evolving science of resolving complex PTSD. This highly practical treatment manual is an essential guide for beginner therapists and a useful summary for seasoned clinicians. Bravo!
Will Van Derveer, MD, Cofounder of the Integrative Psychiatry Institute
The Complex PTSD Treatment Manual is a must-have for any mental health professional who treats complex trauma. In this manual, Dr. Arielle Schwartz seamlessly integrates components of several evidence-based therapeutic modalities for the treatment of complex trauma and provides clinicians with concrete tools and techniques that help clients improve emotion regulation and attunement, process traumatic events, and ultimately regain their lives and sense of connection. Dr. Schwartz’s compassionate, scientific, and client-centered approach to C-PTSD makes her a rare and valued voice in the field of trauma psychology!
Jennifer Sweeton, PsyD, Author of the Train Your Brain card deck and Trauma Treatment Toolbox
The Complex PTSD Treatment Manual is an essential masterpiece for any clinician working in the fields of trauma, complex PTSD, and mind-body medicine. Integrative health providers will love it. Woven into the academic rigor of this masterpiece are practical healing practices and embodied exercises for the lucky reader. It is the perfect balance between a personal transformation roadmap and a scholarly treasure. Dr. Schwartz takes us on a highly attuned and compassionate journey through multiple trauma-healing modalities and presents them in a user-friend, practical way. The psychological needs arising at this post-pandemic juncture are different than they’ve ever been, and this will surely be your indispensable reference book for years to come. This book is a must-have!
Dr. Ilene Naomi Rusk, Integrative Trauma Therapist and Director of the Healthy Brain Program, Brain & Behavior Clinic and Clinical Neuropsychologist
