Rebuilding Shattered Lives- Chapter 1

[BeHea1thy]

Due to the scientific, professional nature of this book, I am going to use an outline structure for chapter titles, subtitles within the chapter and an occasional direct quote which seems particularly relevant to me or the people on the forum. This work is stuffed with long strings of scientific studies, author names, annotations, footnotes, etc and has been difficult to read, but now and then the gem uncovered makes it all worthwhile. James Chu, MD is a prolific author spanning decades and his compassion, common sense, humility and empathy shine through all this writing equally.

Rebuilding Shattered Lives, Treating Complex PTSD and Dissociative Disorders (second Edition)
James A Chu, MD. John Wiley & Sons. Copyright 2011. paperback, 365 pages 

Appendix 1:  The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES and DES-I) Dissociative Experiences Scale II,  and Dissociative Experience Scale Taxon.

Appendix 2: The Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ-20 and SDQ-5)

Appendix 3: The Multidimentional Inventory of Dissociation (MID)


PART I: The Nature and Effects of Child Abuse.
Chapter 1 :
TRAUMA and DISSOCIATION 30 Years of Study and Lessons Learned along the Way.
     Childhood Abuse: the Hidden Epidemic
     Behind Closed Doors: Shame and Secrecy
     National Statistics and Reporting of Child Maltreatment
     Childhood Trauma in Psychiatric Patients
     Progress in Treatment Trauma-The Evolution of the Treatment Model
          The First Generation: The Early Years-Up to the Mid-1980's
          The Second Generation: Growth-The Later 1980's to the Early 1990's
          The Third Generation: Conflict and Maturation-The Mid-1990's to the Present
The Therapeutic Challenge

"This volume is about the treatment of adults who have grown up bearing the scars of severe and chronic childhood abuse. These persons cannot just simply go on with their lives; this kind of abuse cannot be forgotten, disregarded, or left behind, and it continues to have profound effects in almost every domain of their existence. Severe and long-standing trauma introduces profound destabilization in the day-to-day existence of many victims. They feel unpredictably assaulted by unwanted thoughts, feelings, and reminders of abuse. They are tormented by chronic anxiety, disturbed sleep, and irritability. They have symptoms that alter perceptions of their environment, disrupt their cognitive functioning, and interfere with a sense of continuity in their lives. They are subject to powerful impulses, many of which are destructive to themselves or others. They have explosive emotions that they cannot always control. They experience self-hate and self-loathing and feel little kinship with other human beings. They long for a sense of human connection but are profoundly alone, regarding other people with great mistrust and suspicion. They want to feel understood but cannot even begin to find the words to communicate with others about their most formative experiences. They wish for comfort and security but find themselves caught up in a world of struggle, hostility, disappointment, and abandonment that recapitulates their early lives.

Therapists and other mental health professionals that treat these patients become a part of this world. Together with their patients, clinicians struggle to provide support, comfort, understanding and change. Using themselves and the treatment as catalysts for change, clinicians attempt to provide the structure though which victims of childhood trauma may begin to undo the devastation of their early lives and to on to grow and flourish in the world. Given patience, understanding, skill, good judgment, determination, and sometimes just plain luck, survivors of profound child abuse and their therapists who ride this therapeutic  roller coaster may survive to end up on solid ground, with a newfound stability and hope for future growth and fulfillment." pgs 18-19

Reviewer notes: Dr. Chu succinctly captures the essence of the sense of being different than others, covering a range of mental, emotional attributes that survivors commonly experience. He also brings a great sense of hope and humble collaboration to the table as part of the therapeutic alliance. My fears of being stressed and upset never materialized while reading this book; instead, I felt a great sense of relief and validation. 

[Hope67]

Hi BeHea1thy,
This looks like a really useful book - thank you for summarising and reviewing it.  I will also look out for your further posts - you are doing lots of reading and processing.  It's really helpful.  Thank you.
Hope