Resources
* May these resources or the many others you come across assist you to become more aware of yourself, others and your patterns. And may these resources take you a step further along your journey of well being. Please remember to seek external support when you and your body needs it.
The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma
van der Kolk, Bessel | September 25, 2014
This book is incredibly helpful in helping one understand how the body and brain are influenced and re-shaped by trauma. Some of the neuroscience and research can take me some time to process and digest AND it’s also incredibly helpful in helping one understand why we do and don’t do what we do after experiencing trauma. The author shares current and innovative treatment options for treating trauma which will help activate the brain’s natural neuroplasticity. I find understanding WHY we do what we do and steps we can take to reclaim our lives and heal incredibly supportive. The author has a compassionate and non-judgement approach in the way he describes trauma survivors and the strategies that kept them alive but are now limiting them from living a full life! This books help me get me and others and provide hope for healing!
Waking the Tiger:
Healing Trauma
Levine, Peter | July 7, 1997
This book is incredibly helpful for helping one understand how humans end up traumatized and how animals in the wild, even though they experience threat regularly, are not. It provides such helpful insight in noticing and following our bodies natural instincts and responses to help us not be traumatized or overwhelmed and to help us complete our natural stress responses in our fast paced life. The author provides various practices and education that are an opportunity to connect to your felt experience and avenues for healing trauma and releasing held stress or activation in the body.
No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model
Schwartz, Richard | July 6, 2021
If you have ever found yourself in a situation where part of you wants to do one thing and another part of you wants to do another thing you may find this book helpful. You may also notice when you are thinking about a situation, part of you thinks or feels one way and then another part of you feels differently! This book and model will guide you in getting to know the various parts of you and what the parts fears or intentions are. The model is designed for you to have less extremes and more peace within your own internal family system. The book will also help you understand how you (or parts of you) took on extreme roles or burdens (beliefs, values, etc.) based on your childhood or situations you were in. As Dr. Schwartz shares, “Our parts can sometimes be disruptive or harmful, but once they’re unburdened, they return to their essential goodness. When we learn to love all our parts, we can learn to love all people - and that will contribute to healing the world.”
***I have found that IFS can be a helpful tool AND if you have a history of developmental or complex-ptsd then it may have some limitations or you may need to work with the model differently. The books below by Janina Fisher and Joanne Twombly have been helpful in understanding what I need beyond or in addition to IFS.
Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation
Fisher, Janina | March 3, 2017
Janina Fisher does a wonderful job explaining the neuroscience of trauma, dissociation and attachment in a way that is compassionate, non-judgmental, and accessible for individuals or practitioners. The book provides various and accessible mind-body approaches that will support those healing from trauma. I have found Janina’s work regulating, resourcing and supporting me increasing my compassion for myself and other trauma survivors. She helps me make sense of my own and others adaptive behaviors or patterns as well as how those are rooted in trauma. Janina’s mind-body, top down and bottom up approaches for healing from trauma are realistic and completely transparent. I feel met, seen and understood by her book and the training I have taken with her.
Trauma and Dissociation Informed Internal Family Systems: How to Successfully Treat C-PTSD, and Dissociative Disorders
Twombly, Joanne | January 9, 2023
IFS (Internal Family Systems) is an incredible treatment model for practitioners and individuals to explore AND I have experienced first hand that IFS in isolation may have limitations and not be most supportive for those with complex ptsd or developmental trauma. This is my personal experience and one that others share as well AND there are other practitioners and individuals who have had different experiences with IFS in the treatment of complex ptsd and developmental trauma.
Joanne’s writing helped me make sense of my experience with IFS and provided me with a more solid foundation of how to use the model personally and with clients who have developmental trauma, complex ptsd, and those who experience dissociation. Depending on one’s capacity, context and history, healing from trauma can affect our ability to function well daily. Joanne provides different strategies and understandings to make healing more effective and to ensure clients day to day functioning is protected.
Online Resources
Trauma Research Foundation | TRF Tuesday
There are so many wonderful resources in the TRF Tuesday archives and you can also register and attend TRF Tuesdays live! Some of my favourite TRF Tuesday Sessions are Linda Thai – Trauma 101: Trauma Education, Linda Thai – Movement, Breath and Sound for Transforming Grief (Collection), A Moment for Yourself with Linda Thai (COLLECTION), and Mariah Rooney – On the Other Side of “This or That”: Breathing, Moving, and Knowing into a More Expansive Be-ing (Collection)
If you are wanting support with whatever you're moving through
in life right now and you would like to explore how I can support you please use the link below to schedule your first call with me or to learn about the ways I can support you. If you have questions, please explore the FAQs on the Work With Lyndsay page or email me at thelyndsaymacpherson@gmail.com
Warm regards,