The PTSD Behavioral Activation Workbook: Activities to Help You Rebuild Your Life from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

(Paperback)

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A simple, effective, and groundbreaking approach to help you move beyond trauma and focus on the things that bring you joy. If you suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), reliving the past through trauma-focused treatments may be too painful a place to start. Behavioral activation--the powerful treatment method outlined in this workbook--provides an essential foundation for recovery by shifting the focus of your trauma to the things in life that give you true fulfillment, joy, and value. This way, you can envision the kind of future you want to have, and move forward in your treatment to pursue that future. With this breakthrough workbook, you'll learn to replace unproductive coping strategies--such as avoidance--with activities that you find pleasant and meaningful. You'll find an overview of behavioral activation: what it is, why it works, and how you can implement it into your life to begin healing the wounds of your past and paving the way for a bright future full of possibility. If you've experienced trauma, you need real tools to help you manage your pain and jumpstart your recovery. With this compassionate and evidence-based workbook, you'll find actionable solutions to help you begin healing and take that next needed step toward wellness, wholeness, and peace.

Reviews

"The PTSD Behavioral Activation Workbook is a scientifically supported, user-friendly guide that provides an indispensable tool kit for rebuilding your life from PTSD. This long-awaited alternative to trauma-focused treatments for PTSD offers present-centered strategies to help you start living a more fulfilling, value-driven life while promoting recovery from PTSD. I have found behavioral activation for PTSD to be both well received and effective in my own clinical practice and research."
--Jessica Cook, PhD, associate professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health--Jessica Cook, PhD
"Having spent many years treating depressed clients with behavioral activation, and being forced by circumstance to address post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and PTSD symptoms as part of this work, I can state clearly that this book is necessary. Jakupcak, Wagner, and Martell combine a real empathic understanding of the lives, needs, and struggles of people with PTSD with expertise in behavioral activation to produce a useful, hands-on guide. At the core of many clinical problems, including PTSD, is avoidance, and this book offers the most practical and empathic analysis of avoidance that I have experienced. I expect the workbook will be helpful to both clients and their therapists."
--Jonathan Kanter, PhD, director of the Center for the Science of Social Connection at the University of Washington--Jonathan Kanter, PhD
"Matthew Jakupcak and colleagues have produced a genuinely meaningful and substantive contribution to the emotional well-being of trauma survivors. Behavioral activation effectively addresses mood difficulties while simultaneously targeting PTSD avoidance symptoms that maintain post-traumatic stress. This approach is meticulously researched and evidence-based. Importantly, it renders effective treatment readily accessible to trauma survivors who would otherwise not be able to access mental health support. This workbook--whether utilized as a self-help resource or in conjunction with a therapist--will appreciably benefit clients in ways that existing resources do not. I will be relying on it regularly in my own clinical practice."
--Matt J. Gray, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Wyoming--Matt J. Gray, PhD
"People with mental health problems, including those with PTSD, tell us they want treatment choices that can be individualized, accessed easily, and which they can undertake at their own pace. Most importantly, they want treatments that work. In this book Jakupcak, Wagner, and Martell have delivered on all counts. They describe behavioral activation for PTSD, a scientifically proven treatment that people can use at their own pace, with easy-to-use instructions and plans. It is a book that will be warmly welcomed by those with PTSD, their friends and family, and by therapists alike. I heartily recommend it."
--David A. Richards, PhD, professor of mental health services research at the University of Exeter in the UK; and chief investigator and author of the 'COBRA' (Cost and Effectiveness of Behavioural Activation) clinical trial for The Lancet--David A. Richards, PhD
"The authors provide a highly practical and easy-to-read workbook on how behavioral activation can be used to help the millions of people suffering from PTSD. The authors use vivid examples and easy-to-use worksheets to help the reader quickly learn how to apply this evidence-based approach. While there are other effective therapies for PTSD, behavioral activation has been shown to have particularly high acceptance among diverse patient populations. Combined with its effectiveness for treating depression, which is commonly comorbid with PTSD, behavioral activation should be considered as a core component of PTSD treatment. Clinicians and trainees alike will find this text to be an incredibly valuable tool for their practice."
--Jesse Fann, MD, MPH, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and adjunct professor of rehabilitation medicine and epidemiology at the University of Washington; and medical director of psychiatry and psychology at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance--Jesse Fann, MD, MPH
"This is an excellent volume that clearly and practically outlines the rationale, principles, and core techniques of behavioral activation targeting PTSD. As noted in the introduction and documented throughout the extremely high-quality workbook, the authors are outstanding examples of clinician-investigators who have worked to apply the principles and techniques outlined in the volume in their own psychotherapy practices. The volume outlines how behavioral activation may be an excellent first step in the journey towards recovery from PTSD.... An outstanding and articulate overview of behavioral activation from a group of pioneering clinician-investigators whose randomized trials have begun to establish the evidence base for behavioral activation as a mainstream PTSD treatment."
--Doug Zatzick, MD, professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine--Doug Zatzick, MD
"Three of the field's most expert, skillful practitioners have created a much-needed, accessible resource for people experiencing PTSD. This step-by-step, evidence-based, clinically wise workbook will guide readers through practices that will help them rebuild their lives. I highly recommend this excellent, valuable, trustworthy guide to PTSD behavioral activation."
--Lizabeth Roemer, PhD, coauthor of Worry Less, Live More--Lizabeth Roemer, PhD

Author Bio

Matthew Jakupcak, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and researcher who has studied and treated psychological trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and high-risk behaviors in military veterans, first responders (i.e., firefighters, paramedics, police officers), and young adults. Jakupcak is an associate professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and has published more than fifty peer-reviewed scientific articles and book chapters, and presented at over sixty national and regional conferences and workshops on the topics of PTSD, depression, suicidal behaviors, interpersonal violence, and behavioral activation treatment interventions in trauma-exposed populations. He lives in Missoula, MT.

Amy Wagner, PhD, is a clinical psychologist with the PTSD Clinical Team at the VA Portland Health Care System, and associate professor at Oregon Health and Science University. She specializes in cognitive-behavioral treatments for PTSD, and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT); and holds a part-time practice with a focus on the treatment of PTSD and related disorders. She has published numerous articles on PTSD, and, with Matthew Jakupcak, completed the first randomized clinical trial of behavioral activation for the treatment of PTSD.

Christopher R. Martell, PhD, ABPP, is a licensed psychologist, and is board certified in clinical, behavioral, and cognitive psychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology. He is clinic director of the Psychological Services Center, and lecturer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Martell has coauthored eight books, and has authored or coauthored numerous articles and chapters on behavioral activation.

Foreword writer Matthew T. Tull, PhD, is professor in the department of psychology at the University of Toledo. Tull's research is focused on the role of emotion regulation difficulties in the development and maintenance of PTSD, as well as maladaptive behaviors (e.g., substance use) that often occur in the context of PTSD.