The Impact of Complex Trauma on Development

(Paperback)

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The Impact of Complex Trauma on Development describes what happens cognitively and emotionally, behaviorally and relationally, to people who are repeatedly traumatized in childhood. Part One brings together trauma theory with a number of theories of human development. It directly addresses and describes developmental pathology and its origins. Through powerful examples, it conveys to the reader the pain and destruction caused by ongoing trauma, abuse, and continuous stress. Part Two, written from the perspective of a clinician who has worked extensively with traumatized children and adults, is primarily directed to mental health professionals and graduate students. These chapters are devoted to describing how to recognize the pathological consequences of trauma and how to intervene and remediate these developmental deficits. The overarching theory is psychoanalytically-based and developmental, but other treatment approaches are integrated into the therapy when they are developmentally and therapeutically appropriate. The text raises important questions related to the development of the self, its relationship to therapy, and the diagnosis and treatment of complex trauma in children, adolescents, and adults.

Reviews

Quite simply, The Impact of Complex Trauma on Development is incredibly well-written with a tremendous wealth of clinical knowledge. This book is very special and important for trainees because it is a critical resource book for the education on developmental trauma, the clinically meaningful interplay between trauma, behavior, and interpersonal relationships, and the necessary integrative approach to treatment -- Nicoletta B. Tessler, Jackson Mental Health Hospital
Arnold and Fisch have combined their considerable talents to produce an accessible exposition of a complex problem, the effect of trauma on development. Written in clear prose, and using numerous vignettes, the clinician who is new to the study of trauma will satisfy their appetite for a text that provides them with just the right amount of detail, at just the right level of discourse. The experienced clinician will be provided with a thoughtful review of complex material. Both authors speak the language of dissociative processes while wisely not reifying the internal worlds of their patients. A psychodynamic perspective is enjoyed by the authors, and they also clearly integrate ideas from sensorimotor, attachment, and other cutting edge theoretical models that inform an understanding of the burdens our patients carry as they enter treatment. -- Richard Chefetz, MD, International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation
Cheryl Arnold and Ralph Fischs book The Impact of Complex Trauma on Development ... primarily [uses] a neuropsychoanalytic perspective, which is a relatively new school of psychoanalysis that blends traditional psychoanalysis with recent findings from neuroscience.... The Impact of Complex Trauma on Development is truly a remarkable undertaking, and the authors have given us a text that brings together so much of what has been written about complex trauma and development by both the masters of psychoanalytic thought and the main developers of the complex trauma construct. * PsycCRITIQUES *

Author Bio

Cheryl Arnold, PhD, is an adjuct professor of psychology at the University of Denver, and she has a private practice in Centennial, Colorado.

Ralph Fisch, PhD, is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Denver, and he has a private practice in Denver, Colorado.