Over the last thirty-five years, our understanding of trauma has dramatically changed. We now know that most people live through at least one traumatic event--which can cause disorders that range from depression, addiction, and anxiety, to cardiovascular disease and diabetes. But when leading German psychotherapist Luise Reddemann became head of a psychosomatic clinic in 1985, many doctors were routinely dismissive of patients' trauma.

Dr. Reddemann has devoted her career to this question: How can survivors of complex trauma and PTSD heal--and even help themselves to heal? In Who You Were Before Trauma, she presents her groundbreaking method, along with positive therapeutic strategies, to therapists and patients alike. Psychodynamic Imaginative Trauma Therapy (PITT) incorporates imagination work at every stage of the three-phase trauma therapy model:

1. Establish safety and stabilization
2. Come to terms with traumatic memories
3. Integrate and reconnect with others.

By guiding patients to unearth their buried strengths, envision an inner refuge, evoke helpful guiding figures, and ultimately build an "internal counterweight" to their trauma, Reddemann's approach avoids the counterproductive dynamic where the therapist becomes the patient's only source of comfort. This definitive trauma resource shows the way to empower survivors--by making them true partners in their recovery.

Author: Luise Reddemann
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Experiment
Published: 05/26/2020
Pages: 256
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9781615196166

About the Author
Reddemann, Luise: - Dr. Luise Reddemann, MD, is a trained neurologist and specialist in psychotherapeutic medicine as well as a psychoanalyst. She is the creator of psychodynamic imaginative trauma therapy (PITT) for the treatment of complex disorders stemming from traumatic experiences. She holds an honorary professorship for psychotraumatology and psychological medicine at the University of Klagenfurt, Austria. For more than thirty years, Dr. Reddemann has been involved with treating trauma patients and the effects of their traumatic experiences. From 1985 to 2003 she was head of the clinic for psychotherapeutic and psychosomatic medicine of the Protestant Hospital in Bielefeld, Germany.