Preparing for Trauma Work in Clinical Mental Health

This book should be on every well prepared counselor’s book shelf! This book is very well written compelling and engaging. One of the things I really like is that there’s a conclusion section at the end of the chapters that helps you consolidate the information. I also like the way the key terms are bolded and there is a workbook section at the end of each chapter that involves a keyword assessment. There are also visuals and diagrams throughout that are very helpful (see photos). I appreciated the way the authors talked about attachment and its relationship to trauma work. I liked on page 70 where they went into attunement and empathy. Here are a few examples of quotes I like:“Attunement is the mindful, relational skill in which one is wholly and fully present for another person by offering cognitive and affective attention in a non-judgemental manner with the intended purpose of truly understanding another’s unique inner world...”There is another really important section on self-care that I think everyone needs to read! Here is a quote:“In American culture, self-care is often viewed as an indulgence that we occasionally squeeze into our busy lives… However as professionals who work with some of the most challenging cases, we need to reframe self care from an optional extravagance to a necessary routine discipline.”Self-care as a discipline! I love this! YES!! I think this is a book that every counselor should have on their bookshelf!! This is one I will come back to many times I have underlined and dogeared many pages! Highly recommended!!

The authors write a textbook that applies to real client work. I really like the questions at the end of each chapter that force readers to think critically about client trauma.

Very well written

In chapter 5: Culture and Trauma Risks, they conveniently left out the African American culture. How is it that you remembered other cultures: Jews (Holocaust); Japanese (Internent Camps), and the colonization/oppression of Native Americans. Oh! We just don’t exist??? Let’s not forget about the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, relentless lynching my ancestors endured from White/Eurocentric oppressors.