Trauma, the Body and Transformation: A Narrative Inquiry

Kim Etherington

Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Apr 4, 2003 - Psychology - 208 pages

Trauma suffered during childhood can affect not only a person's emotional and mental health, but also their physical health, even into adulthood. This unique book fills a gap in research in this area, providing personal and theoretical perspectives on trauma and recovery.

The contributors tell powerful stories of traumatic childhood events, including bereavement, abuse and evacuation and separation from parents. They document their reactions to trauma whether through illness, disability, addiction, psychosomatic disorders, self-harming behaviours or dissociation. Each author also shows the pathway they have taken towards transforming their bodies to well-being.

This will be a valuable resource for those who are dealing with the impact of childhood trauma in their own lives; their families and friends whose lives are also touched; workers in the field of trauma, especially medical practitioners who can sometimes feel helpless when faced with patients whose symptoms they cannot understand or heal; and counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists. This book will also be of value to researchers interested in narrative research methods.

Contents

• Acknowledgements: 8
• Introduction: 9
• 1 Trauma the Body and Transformation: 22
• 2 All That You Make: 39
• 3 Angels Nesting in the Mind: 52
• 4 Stars in a Midnight Sky: 65
• 5 Journey of a Lifetime: 77
• 6 Pretending To Be Me: 94
• Healing in the Tao: 107
• 8 Around the Slices of Herself: 121
• 9 From the Ashes: 138
• 10 The Silence of Somatisation: 152
• 11 Guardian Angels Story: 165
• Yarns and Threads: 179
• The Contributors: 198
• Subject Index: 200
• Author Index: 208

About the author

Gillie Bolton has worked in reflective and therapeutic writing for personal and professional development for twenty-five years, and has written and edited five books, one of which is now in its third edition. A grandmother of three, she lives in Bloomsbury, London, and Hope Valley, Derbyshire.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Trauma, the Body and Transformation: A Narrative Inquiry
• Editor: Kim Etherington
• Contributor: Gillie Bolton
• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2003
• ISBN: 1846426405, 9781846426407
• Length: 208 pages
• Subjects: Psychology / Psychotherapy / General