Psychic Trauma: Dynamics, Symptoms, and Treatment [Hardcover]

This dynamic and passionate book brilliantly draws the reader into the chaotic and dreadfully injured world of those of our patients who have suffered unspeakable traumas and personality fragmentation. Brenner's evocative and genuine writing style guides one in a deeply disturbing journey, which is so intense it is at times necessary for even the experienced clinician to take a break. Gently and patiently he provides solid benchmarks for the clinician and unfailing hope and compassion for the patients. His dissertation on self disclosure and activity of the analyst is a gem in its own right. Brenner is a leader of a new breed of psychoanalysts who are flexible and open in their theoretical and clinical models and insist on keeping the patients' needs at the center of the treatment, in the best Hippocratic tradition. This is destined to be a classic.Psychic Trauma is conceptually astute, clinically sensitive, andthat all too rare attributeit is a pleasure to read. Brenner's lucid exploration of the nuances of intergenerational trauma and Dissociative Identity Disorder is illustrated with rich clinical material and informed by his humane sensibility to the therapist's counter-transference issues. This book is essential reading for all mental health clinicians.A fascinating exploration of the field of trauma, its dynamics, symptoms and treatment. Through this analytic journey, readers can observe the impact of overwhelming life experiences on those affected by severe early sexual abuse, as well as on those marked by the genocidal persecution of the Holocaust. This is a fine fusing of psychodynamic thinking with interactive and neurological approaches that yields an integrative perspective for a richer understanding of trauma.Dr. Brenner has written a path-breaking and pioneering book, which creates a theoretical and clinical model for the understanding and treatment of severely traumatized patients, whose symptoms are of such gravity that they were hitherto considerels4