Trauma, the Body and Transformation: A Narrative Inquiry

Trauma suffered during childhood can affect not only a person's emotional and mental health, but also their physical health, even into adulthood. This unique book fills a gap in research in this area, providing personal and theoretical perspectives on trauma and recovery.The contributors tell powerful stories of traumatic childhood events, including bereavement, abuse and evacuation and separation from parents. They document their reactions to trauma whether through illness, disability, addiction, psychosomatic disorders, self-harming behaviours or dissociation. Each author also shows the pathway they have taken towards transforming their bodies to well-being.This will be a valuable resource for those who are dealing with the impact of childhood trauma in their own lives; their families and friends whose lives are also touched; workers in the field of trauma, especially medical practitioners who can sometimes feel helpless when faced with patients whose symptoms they cannot understand or heal; and counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists. This book will also be of value to researchers interested in narrative research methods.CONTENTSIntroduction. Kim Etherington, University of Bristol 1. Trauma, the body and transformation. Kim Etherington. 2. All that you make. Carole Mandeville, counsellor and writer, Kent. 3. Angels nesting in the mind. Ruth Barnett, psychotherapist, London. 4. Stars in a midnight sky. Indu Khurana, personal development practitioner, Sunai, London. 5. Journey of a lifetime. Ginny Mayhew, counsellor. 6. Pretending to be me. Heather Weston, Director, Community Counselling Service, and counsellor, North Somerset. 7. Pain in paradise, healing in the Tao. Michael Len, psychological-pastoral consultant, Bristol. 8. Around the slices of herself. Gillie Bolton, Senior Research Fellow in Medical Humanities, Kings College, London. 9. From the ashes. Matt Valentine, counsellor, therapist and healer, Manchester. 10 The silence of somatisation. Jackie Kneeshaw, counsellor 11. Guardian Angel's Story. Kim Etherington. 12. The weaver's tale: Yarns and threads. Kim Etherington. References. Index.