Traumatic Stress: The Effects of Overwhelming Stress on Mind, Body and Society

"Van der Kolk, McFarlane and Weisarth are world leaders on the nature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this volume they bring together a wide range of authors to present the historical development of and current approaches to the treatment of the ongoing effects of traumatic experience. There are 25 chapters which address the historical developments, acute reactions to and adaptation to trauma, the mechanisms of memory, social and cultural issues and, most importantly, treatment. Recent developments in treatment are critically reviewed, including reference to the popular Eye Movement Desensitisation, but Thought Field Therapy is too new to be included.
This is not a book for those looking for 'quick fix' solutions or a 'how to' manual for the treatment of trauma. Rather it provides serious theoretical and research perspectives that might underpin professional practice. In this sense it is a fair representation of the state of knowledge on PTSD, a concept which provides a window for viewing and treating the effects of exposure to trauma.
Having explored the current state of clinical knowledge however, the editors acknowledge that there are 'aspects of the experience of trauma that cannot be captured in medical and scientific models' and argue that 'in reality people are left to grapple with the human dimensions of traumatic experience'. They conclude that 'beneath the tidiness of emotional distancing and scientific classification lie the human vitality and energy to struggle against, and to create meaning out of, what appears to be random cruelty and fate'. The reader is left to ponder what the role of the researcher and clinician is in challenging the conditions and social contexts of the tragedy and violence that we observe daily in our world. If there is any criticism, the text could perhaps have been grounded in more case presentations that would allow the reader an insight into the complex process of grappling with and unravelling the experience of trauma and its consequences."
~ Written on 1997-05-14