[.ca] Splintered Reflections: Images Of The Body In Trauma (ISBN 0465095445)

The body remembers what the mind forgets:
In "Splintered Reflections: Images of the Body in Trauma," the 13 contributors -- who include psychologists, psychotherapists, physicians and educators -- discuss how the cultural mind-body split has discouraged complete and effective treatment for people affected by trauma, mostly physical and sexual abuse. The chapters give shape and important perspective to the anecdotes that most clinicians have observed for years as well as the experiences that many patients themselves have brought into treatment rooms along with their own confusion and embarrassment. The book is an excellent resource for helping professionals working with trauma and assessment of trauma. Its highly clinical language in some chapters may be off-putting to some readers, especially novice counselors and paraprofessioals such as case workers, shelter workers, youth aides and others who are often in need of comprehensive training in trauma. That is unforunate and ironic since it is often these very people who spend considerable time with patients and clients and have the opportunity to pick up subtle cues while also being in position to respond gently with information, support and referrals. People in recovery may find much of the material affirming and enlightening their own experience although again some clinical language may demand special commitment as well as a dictionary in hand. However, the book would be a good resource for patients to suggest to their doctors (general practitioners, specialists and psychiatrists) as well as a resource for physical therapists, massage therapists, bodyworkers, yoga instructors, exercise trainers and others who work with and teach about working with the body. There are references to the use of art therapy, sandtray therapy, journaling, ceremony, mirror work, the use of transitional objects and play therapy in working with people as well as many suggestions and examples for the therapist in making the clinical setting a comfortable place to creatively discuss and explore body concerns and sensations no matter how peculiar or embarrassing.

The Maimed Body is a Metaphor:
What gives this excellent and varied collection of essays on the body traumatized, most especially in childhood, is the range and depth of the essays compiled by, and in many cases, written by, the two editors. If there is any doubt about how complex and metaphorical is the human body, then these essays will disperse it. The essays are contributed by counselors, case workers, education psychologists, therapists in private practice as well as researchers in the field of body trauma. First led into this field of study, the editors began working with childhood traumas and eating disorders, which made them initially sensitive to the workings of the body as metaphor, having its own rich and subtle speech. What they learned, and so many of the essays reflect, is that the body silenced will nonetheless continue to speak by adopting another language. The skill of those working with traumatized individuals is to learn to read the new language of the body correctly, which may take on the lexicon of self-cutting, tattooing, self mutilation in many forms, eating disorders, violence towards others, screen memories. In reading the vast range of essays that include explorations and allusions to film, literary works, especially those of Shakespeare, Franz Kafka, Greek mythology, I learned that the human body has its own mythology, its own mythos, its own way of coping and ordering the world anew in order to survive. I recommend it to case workers, therapists, counselors, those interested in the body as metaphor and symbol, and those studying mythology and literature. Its interdisciplinary nature lends itself to such a wide reading audience.