JOURNEY THROUGH TRAUMA

This is the only book written for survivors that helps them understand the impact of the trauma they experienced and the mechanisms of the healing process, with an approach that is easy to understand and put into practice.

As a therapist, Gretchen Schmelzer has watched far too many people quit during treatment for trauma recovery. They find it too difficult or frightening, or they decide that it's just too late for them. Schmelzer wrote JOURNEY THROUGH TRAUMA specifically for survivors to help them understand the terrain of the healing process and stay on the path.

She begins by laying out three important assumptions that support a survivor's healing: that it is possible, that it requires courage, and that it cannot be done alone. Traumas that happen more than oncechild abuse, sexual abuse, domestic violence, gang violence, warare allrelational traumas. They are traumas that happen inside a relationship and therefore must be healed inside a relationship, whether that relationship is with a therapist or within a group.

She then guides readers through the five phases that every survivor must negotiate: Preparation, Unintegration, Identification, Integration, and Consolidation. She creates a mental map of the healing process that helps survivors recognize where they are in their journey to health, see where the hard parts occur, and persevere in the process of getting well. Since the cycle of healing repeated trauma is not linear, the survivor comes to understand that circling back around to a previous stage actually means progress as well as facing new challenges.

Ultimately, the healing journey is one of trust, as survivors come to trust their capacity to rely on help from others and to trust themselves and the work they have done.

Some selling points:

· Market:From 1994 to 2016 in the US, 84 million children were treated for abuse, including over 4 million for sexual abuse. Domestic violence during the same period affected 30 million women and two million men. These numbers are conservative.
· Five Phases:This cyclic structure, reminiscent of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross' famous five stages of grief, can be applied to any strategy, whether working with a therapist or within a group. It contrasts with Judith Herman's commonly accepted three phases, which are geared toward therapists and which Schmelzer has found too simplistic for survivors themselves.
· Platform:Since October 2014, the author's site www.gretchenschmelzer.com (formerly www.emotionalgeographic.com), dedicated to healing from long-term trauma, has had over 2.3 million hits, averaging about 25,000 visitors a month. She has become an online go-to source for this issue.

Gretchen Schmelzer, PhD, is a licensed psychologist, trained as a Harvard Medical School Fellow. She is a trauma survivor who has worked for twenty-five years with the complex issues of trauma, integration, and behavior change across every level, from individuals to groups to large systems and countries. She has worked with individuals and groups in large clinics and clinics in housing projects, in residential treatment facilities, in psychiatric units and medical hospital units, and in private practice. She has more than a decade of experience working with traumatized children and adolescents in residential treatment and psychiatric units. She is the founder and editor ofThe Trail Guide, a web-mag featured on www.gretchenschmelzer.com dedicated to healing repeated trauma.