Posts

Ritual Abuse

Ritual Abuse

On The Web

End Ritual Abusewww.endritualabuse.org
This site provides articles, resources, and links to information and support.

Extreme Abuse Surveywww.extreme-abuse-survey.net
Results, findings, questionnaires and presentations. More than 750 pages of documentation.

Mind Justicewww.mindjustice.org
An extensive and well-organized site on with articles, source material, and position papers on mind control, torture, and non-lethal weapons

Ritual Abuse, Ritual Crime and Healingwww.ra-info.org
Information for Survivor’s, Therapists and Others.

Ritual Abuse Network Scotlandwww.rans.org.uk
An informative and useful resource for anyone connected with ritual abuse anywhere in the world, be they survivors, counsellors, or just a concerned friend.

Ritual Abuse and Satanic Ritual Abuse Evidence and Journal Articles – http://childabusewiki.org/index.php?title=Satanic_Ritual_Abuse_Evidence_and_Journal_Articles

S.M.A.R.T. (Stop Mind Control and Ritual Abuse Today): www.ritualabuse.us
Many articles, transcripts of speeches, information on up-coming conferences, plus all back issues of the newsletter.

Survivorshipwww.survivorship.org
For survivors of ritual abuse, mind control and torture and their allies.

In Print

Morris, M. (1982). If I Should Die Before I Wake. Black Swan Books.

Noblitt, R. and Perskin Noblitt, P. (2008). Ritual Abuse in the Twenty First Century: Psychological, Forensic, Social and Political Considerations. Robert. D. Reed Publishers.

Ross, C. (1995). Satanic Ritual Abuse: Principals of Treatment. University of Toronto Press.

Ryder, D. (1992). Breaking the Circle of Satanic Ritual Abuse: Recognizing and Recovering from the Hidden Trauma. Compcare Publishers.

Scott, S. (2001). The Politics and Experience of Ritual Abuse: Beyond Belief. Open University Press.

Sinason, V. (1994). Treating Survivors of Satanist Abuse. Routledge.

Smith, M. (1993). Ritual Abuse. What It Is, Why It Happens, How to Help. Harper: San Francisco.

Dissociation

Dissociation

On The Web

International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociationwww.isst-d.org
ISSTD seeks to advance clinical, scientific, and societal understanding about the prevalence and consequences of chronic trauma and dissociation.

Mosaic Mindswww.mosaicminds.org
Online resource centre compiled by survivors of dissociative identify disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder). Includes: ‘keeping safe’, ‘reading room’, ‘interactive community forums’, ‘books’ and links section

PODSwww.pods-online.org.uk

PODS (Positive Outcomes for Dissociative Survivors) works to make recovery from dissociative disorders a reality through:

  • training
  • informing
  • supporting

The Pottergate Centrewww.dissociation.co.uk
The Centre offers a wide range of services to professionals, to clients who may have a dissociative disorder and to the public at large.

Sidran Traumatic Stress Institutewww.sidran.org
International not for profit organisation aimed at supporting people to recovery form the effects of trauma (including dissociative disorders). Includes a comprehensive resource section.

Trauma and Abuse Groupwww.tag-uk.net
TAG promotes education and raises awareness in the field of dissociation, attachment, trauma and abuse recovery.

In Print

Case, J.F. (1991). The Flock: the Autobiography of a Multiple Personality. Abacus.

Castelli, J. (2000). Looking Inside: Life Lessons From a Multiple Personality in Pictures and Words. Castelli Studios Publishing.

Gil, Eliana. (1990). United We Stand: A Book for People with Multiple Personalities. Launch Press.

Mayer, R. (1988). Through Divided Minds: Probing the Mysteries of Multiple Personalities. A Doctors Story. Avon

Mollon, P. (1996). Multiple Selves, Multiple Voices: Working with Trauma, Violation and Dissociation. Wiley.

Moskowitz, A., Schafer, I. & Dorahy, M. (Eds.) (2009). Psychosis, trauma and dissociation: Emerging perspectives on severe psychopathology. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Rheta Schreiber, F. (1973). Sybil: The True Story of a Woman Possessed by Sixteen Separate Personalities. Penguin Books.

Ross, C. (1994). The Osiris Complex: Case-Studies in Multiple Personality. University of Toronto Press.

Sinason, V. (2002). Attachment, Trauma and multiplicity: Working with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Brunner-Routledge.

Stout, M. (2001). The Myth of Sanity: Divided Consciousness and the Promise of Awareness – Tales of Multiple Personality in Everyday Life.

Attachment

Attachment & Child Development

On The Web

The Bowlby Centre – www.thebowlbycentre.org.uk
An organisation committed to the development, promotion and practice of attachment-based and relational psychotherapy.

In Print

Attachment: New Directions in Psychotherapy and Relational Psychoanalysishttp://www.karnacbooks.com/JournalDetail.asp?ID=5
A new leading edge journal for clinicians working relationally with their clients; it is a professional journal, not an academic journal, featuring cultural articles, politics, reviews and poetry relevant to attachment and relational issues; an inclusive journal welcoming contributions from clinicians of all orientations seeking to make a contribution to attachment approaches to clinical work.

Axline, V. (new edition 1990). Dibs in Search of Self: Personality Development in Play Therapy. Penguin.

Benamer, S. (2010). Telling Stories? Attachment-Based Approaches to the Treatment of Psychosis. Karnac.

Bowlby, J. (1999). Attachment. Attachment and Loss (vol. 1) (2nd ed.). New York: Basic Books.

Bowlby, J. (1973). Separation: Anxiety & Anger. Attachment and Loss (vol. 2); (International psycho-analytical library no.95). London: Hogarth Press.

Bowlby, J. (1980). Loss: Sadness & Depression. Attachment and Loss (vol. 3); (International psycho-analytical library no.109). London: Hogarth Press.

Bowlby, J. (1988). A Secure Base: Parent-Child Attachment and Healthy Human Development. Tavistock professional book. London: Routledge.

Bowlby, J. (new edition 2005). The Making & Breaking of Affectional Bonds. Routledge Classics.

Gerhardt, S. (2004). Why Love Matters: How Affection Shapes a Baby’s Brain. Routledge.

Stern, D. (1992). Diary of a Baby: What Your Child Sees, Feels, and Experiences. Basic Books; New edition.

Stern, D. (2000).The Interpersonal World of the Infant: A View from Psychoanalysis and Development Psychology. Basic Books.

Sinason, V. (2002). Attachment, Trauma and Multiplicity: Working with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Brunner-Routledge

Winnicott, D.W. (1965). The Maturational Processes and the Facilitating Environment: Studies in the Theory of the Emotional Development, London, Hogarth Press.

Winnicott. D.W. (new edition 2000). The Child, the Family, and the Outside World. Penguin.

Winnicott. D.W. (new edition 2006). The Family and Individual Development. Routledge Classics.

Winnicott. D.W. (new edition 1991). The Piggle: An Account of the Psychoanalytic Treatment of a Little Girl. Penguin.

Winnicott. D.W. and Winnicott, C. (new edition 1990). Home is Where We Start from: Essays by a Psychoanalyst. Penguin.

Abuse, Trauma, Healing & Recovery

Abuse, Trauma, Healing & Recovery

On The Web

Alice Millerwww.alice-miller.com
Website of pioneering psychotherapist Alice Miller

Recovered Memory projecthttp://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/about/
Case Archives, Commentary, and Scholarly Resources

David Baldwin’s Trauma Information Pageswww.trauma-pages.com
Providing information for clinicians and researchers in the traumatic-stress field

The European Society for Trauma and Dissociationwww.estd.org
Promoting an increase in the knowledge of Trauma, Dissociation and all disorders related to chronic traumatisation.

International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociationwww.isst-d.org
Seeking to advance clinical, scientific, and societal understanding about the prevalence and consequences of chronic trauma and dissociation

Jim Hopper’s Information Pageswww.jimhopper.com
Providing scholarly knowledge and resources, in language and formats accessible to any interested and motivated person – young or old, highly educated or not.

The Lantern Projectwww.lanternproject.org.uk
Formerly known as “Victims No Longer”, the Lantern Project offers a website supporting victims of childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence, racial abuse and bullying.

Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torturewww.torturecare.org.uk
A charity that is dedicated soley to the treatment of torture survivors, including: advocacy, counselling & physical therapies.

One in Four UKwww.oneinfour.org.uk
One in Four offers a voice to and support for people who have experienced sexual abuse and sexual violence.

Rape Crisis (England and Wales)www.rapecrisis.org.uk
Provides co-ordination and support to affiliated member groups and campaigns and lobbies to raise awareness of the issues of sexual violence in the wider community and with local, regional and national government.

The Recovery Practice  – http://www.therecoverypractice.org.uk/

The Recovery Practice aims to help make mental health and well being possible for all people and to contribute to the understanding of mental health problems. Julian Turner has had over twenty years counselling practice and has worked extensively with people who have experienced emotional distress. He works in the Leeds area.

Respondwww.respond.org.uk
Works with children and adults with learning disabilities who have experienced abuse or trauma, as well as those who have abused others, through psychotherapy, advocacy, campaigning and other support.

Sidran Traumatic Stress Institutewww.sidran.org
International not for profit organisation aimed at supporting people to recovery form the effects of trauma (including dissociative disorders).

Support Linewww.supportline.org.uk/problems/child_abuse_survivors.php
Provides guidance and resources for adult survivors of childhood abuse.

Trauma and Abuse Groupwww.tag-uk.net
TAG promotes education and raises awareness in the field of dissociation, attachment, trauma and abuse recovery.

Trauma and Abuse Support Centrewww.tasc-online.org.uk
Provides a UK web-based resource for survivors of the whole spectrum of child sexual abuse (including extreme and ritual abuse) and for anyone involved in supporting them.

Women’s Aidwww.womensaid.org.uk
A national charity working to support women and children affected by domestic violence. Site includes finding help locally and a survivors handbook.

Bass, E. and Davis, L. (1988). The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse. Cedar Press.

Bloom, S. (1997). Creating Sanctuary: Towards the Evolution of Safe Communities. London: Routledge.

Blume, S. (1990). Secret Survivors: Uncovering Incest and its After-effects in Women. John Wiley and Sons.

Brison, S.J. (2002). Aftermath: Violence and the Remaking of a Self. Princeton University Press.

Davis, L. (1991). Allies in Healing: When the Person You Love Was Sexually Abused as a Child. HarperPerennial.

Davoine, F. and Gaudilliere, J-M. (2004). History Beyond Trauma. Other Press LLC.

Dolan, Y. (2000). Beyond Survival: Living Well is the Best Revenge. BT Press: London.

Fraser, S. My Father’s House: A Memoir of Incest and of Healing. Virago Press.

Herman, J. L. (1992). Trauma and Recovery. New York: Basic Books.

Levine, P. (1997). Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma – The Innate Capacity to Transform Overwhelming Experiences. New York: North Atlantic Books.

Levine, P. (2008). Healing Trauma: A Pioneering Program for Restoring the Wisdom of Your Body. Boulder, CO: Sounds True Inc.

Mackinnon, M. (1991). Each Small Step: Breaking the Chains of Abuse and Addiction. Gynergy Books.

Maltz, W. (1992). The Sexual Healing Journey: A Guide for Survivors of Sexual Abuse. Qill: HarperCollins Publishers.

Perry, B. (2008). The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog and Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist’s Notebook: What Traumatized Children Can Teach us About Loss, Love and Healing. New York: Basic Books.

Rothschild, B. (2000). The Body Remembers: The psychophysiology of trauma and trauma treatment. London: W. W. Norton & Co.

Rothschild, B. (2010). 8 Keys to Safe Trauma Therapy: Take Charge Strategies to Empower Your Healing. W. W. Norton & Co.

Sebold, A. (2003). Lucky. Picador.

Spring, J. (1987). Cry Hard and Swim: The Story of An Incest Survivor. Virago Press.

Tal, K. (1996). Worlds of Hurt: Reading the Literatures of Trauma. Cambridge University Press.

Venable Raine, N. (2000). After Silence: Rape and My Journey Back. Virago Press Ltd; New edition.

Warner, S. (2000). Understanding Child Sexual Abuse: Making the Tactics Visible. Handsell Publishing.

Training

Training

The training I offer is based on extensive personal and professional experience, knowledge and skills. All training is experiential enabling participants to develop a deeper understanding and greater insight by exploring experiences from both a subjective and objective perspective.

All training is bespoke so it can be tailored to meet the needs of your organisation.

Previous courses include:

  • Hearing Voices Awareness
  • Advanced Skills in Working with Voice Hearers
  • Hearing Voices Group Facilitation & Network Development
  • Beyond Survival – Working with Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse
  • Abuse, Trauma and Dissociation: Understanding and Working Towards Recovery
  • Advanced Complex Trauma and Working with Sex Workers
  • Ritual Abuse: Thinking About the Unthinkable
  • Working with Self Harm
  • Service User Involvement & User Led Initiatives
  • Helping the Helpers: How Best to Support Your Loved One – For Carers, Allies & Familes
  • Vicarious Traumatisation: Roles, Power and Safety in the Healing Process
  • Therapeutic Use of Self: Path of the Wounded Healer

Please contact me if you would like to discuss your organisation’s training needs.

See my testimonials page to view, or share, feedback on my training courses

The Personal is Political

Telling Stories Book CoverTelling Stories? explores the contemporary state of affairs in the understanding and treatment of psychosis. An inclusive approach to mental distress requires that in order to truly understand psychosis we must begin by listening to those who know this from the inside out; the voices and narrative of those who have been condemned as “unanalysable” and mad.

Far from being fantastical, the complex stories that are being articulated communicate painful truths and the myriad ways in which the human psyche survives overwhelming trauma. This book is the culmination of an integrated and creative alliance between those on the cutting edge, experientially, in research, diagnosis, and treatment; this multidisciplinary dialogue proposes a new relational and attachment orientated paradigm for the 21st century. In contrast to the containment model that is currently favoured, this advocates listening and talking therapies, and the healing power of a loving relationship, offering those with psychosis the possibility of more nourishing engagement with the world.

Recovery From ‘Psychosis’

In making sense of what has been deemed as ‘psychosis’ it is essential that we see so called symptoms as profoundly meaningful attempts to survive overwhelming and distressing life experiences.  There is inherent meaning in madness which is inextricably bound up in unresolved, traumatic experiences. These meanings may be communicated in a number of highly symbolic, metaphorical and literal ways and need to be untangled, teased out and examined within the context of the person’s life history. Each voice is an echo of the person’s experience so an attitude of curiosity, understanding and compassion towards all voices is the best stance as it will encourage and support internal communication and ultimately, self acceptance.

This work demands seeing the world and human experience in new ways including an understanding that reality is shaped by experience. This, combined with a willingness to view life through the lens of the person’s subjective experience enables the co-creation of a shared meaning to emerge, deepening mutual understanding and leading to increasing acceptance of self and other.  To support and nurture healing from ‘psychosis’, faith in the possibility of recovery is vital.

The Tale of An Ordinary Little Girl

Psychosis Journal CoverThe Tale of an Ordinary Little Girl won the 2010 Award for Best Paper in the Second Volume of Psychosis (Category B: Experienced-based articles).

Hearing voices, self-harm, eating “disorders” and dissociation, when viewed objectively, are frequently classified as symptoms of serious mental illnesses and disordered personalities that require treatment, eradication and cure.

This convenient societal solution to the complex problem of endemic childhood abuse requires that victims of abuse endure further insult to injury and become the problem to be dealt with.

By tracing the roots of so-called “symptoms” back to their origins in traumatic childhood events and having the courage to bear witness to painful truths, a more accurate, humane and respectful picture emerges which reframes “symptoms” as essential survival techniques.

The mark of a responsible society and responsive services is the willingness to share collective responsibility for these experiences, to honour them, support them and learn from them at all levels.

Pages

Ritual Abuse

Ritual Abuse

On The Web

End Ritual Abusewww.endritualabuse.org
This site provides articles, resources, and links to information and support.

Extreme Abuse Surveywww.extreme-abuse-survey.net
Results, findings, questionnaires and presentations. More than 750 pages of documentation.

Mind Justicewww.mindjustice.org
An extensive and well-organized site on with articles, source material, and position papers on mind control, torture, and non-lethal weapons

Ritual Abuse, Ritual Crime and Healingwww.ra-info.org
Information for Survivor’s, Therapists and Others.

Ritual Abuse Network Scotlandwww.rans.org.uk
An informative and useful resource for anyone connected with ritual abuse anywhere in the world, be they survivors, counsellors, or just a concerned friend.

Ritual Abuse and Satanic Ritual Abuse Evidence and Journal Articles – http://childabusewiki.org/index.php?title=Satanic_Ritual_Abuse_Evidence_and_Journal_Articles

S.M.A.R.T. (Stop Mind Control and Ritual Abuse Today): www.ritualabuse.us
Many articles, transcripts of speeches, information on up-coming conferences, plus all back issues of the newsletter.

Survivorshipwww.survivorship.org
For survivors of ritual abuse, mind control and torture and their allies.

In Print

Morris, M. (1982). If I Should Die Before I Wake. Black Swan Books.

Noblitt, R. and Perskin Noblitt, P. (2008). Ritual Abuse in the Twenty First Century: Psychological, Forensic, Social and Political Considerations. Robert. D. Reed Publishers.

Ross, C. (1995). Satanic Ritual Abuse: Principals of Treatment. University of Toronto Press.

Ryder, D. (1992). Breaking the Circle of Satanic Ritual Abuse: Recognizing and Recovering from the Hidden Trauma. Compcare Publishers.

Scott, S. (2001). The Politics and Experience of Ritual Abuse: Beyond Belief. Open University Press.

Sinason, V. (1994). Treating Survivors of Satanist Abuse. Routledge.

Smith, M. (1993). Ritual Abuse. What It Is, Why It Happens, How to Help. Harper: San Francisco.

Dissociation

Dissociation

On The Web

International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociationwww.isst-d.org
ISSTD seeks to advance clinical, scientific, and societal understanding about the prevalence and consequences of chronic trauma and dissociation.

Mosaic Mindswww.mosaicminds.org
Online resource centre compiled by survivors of dissociative identify disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder). Includes: ‘keeping safe’, ‘reading room’, ‘interactive community forums’, ‘books’ and links section

PODSwww.pods-online.org.uk

PODS (Positive Outcomes for Dissociative Survivors) works to make recovery from dissociative disorders a reality through:

  • training
  • informing
  • supporting

The Pottergate Centrewww.dissociation.co.uk
The Centre offers a wide range of services to professionals, to clients who may have a dissociative disorder and to the public at large.

Sidran Traumatic Stress Institutewww.sidran.org
International not for profit organisation aimed at supporting people to recovery form the effects of trauma (including dissociative disorders). Includes a comprehensive resource section.

Trauma and Abuse Groupwww.tag-uk.net
TAG promotes education and raises awareness in the field of dissociation, attachment, trauma and abuse recovery.

In Print

Case, J.F. (1991). The Flock: the Autobiography of a Multiple Personality. Abacus.

Castelli, J. (2000). Looking Inside: Life Lessons From a Multiple Personality in Pictures and Words. Castelli Studios Publishing.

Gil, Eliana. (1990). United We Stand: A Book for People with Multiple Personalities. Launch Press.

Mayer, R. (1988). Through Divided Minds: Probing the Mysteries of Multiple Personalities. A Doctors Story. Avon

Mollon, P. (1996). Multiple Selves, Multiple Voices: Working with Trauma, Violation and Dissociation. Wiley.

Moskowitz, A., Schafer, I. & Dorahy, M. (Eds.) (2009). Psychosis, trauma and dissociation: Emerging perspectives on severe psychopathology. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Rheta Schreiber, F. (1973). Sybil: The True Story of a Woman Possessed by Sixteen Separate Personalities. Penguin Books.

Ross, C. (1994). The Osiris Complex: Case-Studies in Multiple Personality. University of Toronto Press.

Sinason, V. (2002). Attachment, Trauma and multiplicity: Working with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Brunner-Routledge.

Stout, M. (2001). The Myth of Sanity: Divided Consciousness and the Promise of Awareness – Tales of Multiple Personality in Everyday Life.

Attachment

Attachment & Child Development

On The Web

The Bowlby Centre – www.thebowlbycentre.org.uk
An organisation committed to the development, promotion and practice of attachment-based and relational psychotherapy.

In Print

Attachment: New Directions in Psychotherapy and Relational Psychoanalysishttp://www.karnacbooks.com/JournalDetail.asp?ID=5
A new leading edge journal for clinicians working relationally with their clients; it is a professional journal, not an academic journal, featuring cultural articles, politics, reviews and poetry relevant to attachment and relational issues; an inclusive journal welcoming contributions from clinicians of all orientations seeking to make a contribution to attachment approaches to clinical work.

Axline, V. (new edition 1990). Dibs in Search of Self: Personality Development in Play Therapy. Penguin.

Benamer, S. (2010). Telling Stories? Attachment-Based Approaches to the Treatment of Psychosis. Karnac.

Bowlby, J. (1999). Attachment. Attachment and Loss (vol. 1) (2nd ed.). New York: Basic Books.

Bowlby, J. (1973). Separation: Anxiety & Anger. Attachment and Loss (vol. 2); (International psycho-analytical library no.95). London: Hogarth Press.

Bowlby, J. (1980). Loss: Sadness & Depression. Attachment and Loss (vol. 3); (International psycho-analytical library no.109). London: Hogarth Press.

Bowlby, J. (1988). A Secure Base: Parent-Child Attachment and Healthy Human Development. Tavistock professional book. London: Routledge.

Bowlby, J. (new edition 2005). The Making & Breaking of Affectional Bonds. Routledge Classics.

Gerhardt, S. (2004). Why Love Matters: How Affection Shapes a Baby’s Brain. Routledge.

Stern, D. (1992). Diary of a Baby: What Your Child Sees, Feels, and Experiences. Basic Books; New edition.

Stern, D. (2000).The Interpersonal World of the Infant: A View from Psychoanalysis and Development Psychology. Basic Books.

Sinason, V. (2002). Attachment, Trauma and Multiplicity: Working with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Brunner-Routledge

Winnicott, D.W. (1965). The Maturational Processes and the Facilitating Environment: Studies in the Theory of the Emotional Development, London, Hogarth Press.

Winnicott. D.W. (new edition 2000). The Child, the Family, and the Outside World. Penguin.

Winnicott. D.W. (new edition 2006). The Family and Individual Development. Routledge Classics.

Winnicott. D.W. (new edition 1991). The Piggle: An Account of the Psychoanalytic Treatment of a Little Girl. Penguin.

Winnicott. D.W. and Winnicott, C. (new edition 1990). Home is Where We Start from: Essays by a Psychoanalyst. Penguin.

Abuse, Trauma, Healing & Recovery

Abuse, Trauma, Healing & Recovery

On The Web

Alice Millerwww.alice-miller.com
Website of pioneering psychotherapist Alice Miller

Recovered Memory projecthttp://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/about/
Case Archives, Commentary, and Scholarly Resources

David Baldwin’s Trauma Information Pageswww.trauma-pages.com
Providing information for clinicians and researchers in the traumatic-stress field

The European Society for Trauma and Dissociationwww.estd.org
Promoting an increase in the knowledge of Trauma, Dissociation and all disorders related to chronic traumatisation.

International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociationwww.isst-d.org
Seeking to advance clinical, scientific, and societal understanding about the prevalence and consequences of chronic trauma and dissociation

Jim Hopper’s Information Pageswww.jimhopper.com
Providing scholarly knowledge and resources, in language and formats accessible to any interested and motivated person – young or old, highly educated or not.

The Lantern Projectwww.lanternproject.org.uk
Formerly known as “Victims No Longer”, the Lantern Project offers a website supporting victims of childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence, racial abuse and bullying.

Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torturewww.torturecare.org.uk
A charity that is dedicated soley to the treatment of torture survivors, including: advocacy, counselling & physical therapies.

One in Four UKwww.oneinfour.org.uk
One in Four offers a voice to and support for people who have experienced sexual abuse and sexual violence.

Rape Crisis (England and Wales)www.rapecrisis.org.uk
Provides co-ordination and support to affiliated member groups and campaigns and lobbies to raise awareness of the issues of sexual violence in the wider community and with local, regional and national government.

The Recovery Practice  – http://www.therecoverypractice.org.uk/

The Recovery Practice aims to help make mental health and well being possible for all people and to contribute to the understanding of mental health problems. Julian Turner has had over twenty years counselling practice and has worked extensively with people who have experienced emotional distress. He works in the Leeds area.

Respondwww.respond.org.uk
Works with children and adults with learning disabilities who have experienced abuse or trauma, as well as those who have abused others, through psychotherapy, advocacy, campaigning and other support.

Sidran Traumatic Stress Institutewww.sidran.org
International not for profit organisation aimed at supporting people to recovery form the effects of trauma (including dissociative disorders).

Support Linewww.supportline.org.uk/problems/child_abuse_survivors.php
Provides guidance and resources for adult survivors of childhood abuse.

Trauma and Abuse Groupwww.tag-uk.net
TAG promotes education and raises awareness in the field of dissociation, attachment, trauma and abuse recovery.

Trauma and Abuse Support Centrewww.tasc-online.org.uk
Provides a UK web-based resource for survivors of the whole spectrum of child sexual abuse (including extreme and ritual abuse) and for anyone involved in supporting them.

Women’s Aidwww.womensaid.org.uk
A national charity working to support women and children affected by domestic violence. Site includes finding help locally and a survivors handbook.

Bass, E. and Davis, L. (1988). The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse. Cedar Press.

Bloom, S. (1997). Creating Sanctuary: Towards the Evolution of Safe Communities. London: Routledge.

Blume, S. (1990). Secret Survivors: Uncovering Incest and its After-effects in Women. John Wiley and Sons.

Brison, S.J. (2002). Aftermath: Violence and the Remaking of a Self. Princeton University Press.

Davis, L. (1991). Allies in Healing: When the Person You Love Was Sexually Abused as a Child. HarperPerennial.

Davoine, F. and Gaudilliere, J-M. (2004). History Beyond Trauma. Other Press LLC.

Dolan, Y. (2000). Beyond Survival: Living Well is the Best Revenge. BT Press: London.

Fraser, S. My Father’s House: A Memoir of Incest and of Healing. Virago Press.

Herman, J. L. (1992). Trauma and Recovery. New York: Basic Books.

Levine, P. (1997). Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma – The Innate Capacity to Transform Overwhelming Experiences. New York: North Atlantic Books.

Levine, P. (2008). Healing Trauma: A Pioneering Program for Restoring the Wisdom of Your Body. Boulder, CO: Sounds True Inc.

Mackinnon, M. (1991). Each Small Step: Breaking the Chains of Abuse and Addiction. Gynergy Books.

Maltz, W. (1992). The Sexual Healing Journey: A Guide for Survivors of Sexual Abuse. Qill: HarperCollins Publishers.

Perry, B. (2008). The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog and Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist’s Notebook: What Traumatized Children Can Teach us About Loss, Love and Healing. New York: Basic Books.

Rothschild, B. (2000). The Body Remembers: The psychophysiology of trauma and trauma treatment. London: W. W. Norton & Co.

Rothschild, B. (2010). 8 Keys to Safe Trauma Therapy: Take Charge Strategies to Empower Your Healing. W. W. Norton & Co.

Sebold, A. (2003). Lucky. Picador.

Spring, J. (1987). Cry Hard and Swim: The Story of An Incest Survivor. Virago Press.

Tal, K. (1996). Worlds of Hurt: Reading the Literatures of Trauma. Cambridge University Press.

Venable Raine, N. (2000). After Silence: Rape and My Journey Back. Virago Press Ltd; New edition.

Warner, S. (2000). Understanding Child Sexual Abuse: Making the Tactics Visible. Handsell Publishing.

Training

Training

The training I offer is based on extensive personal and professional experience, knowledge and skills. All training is experiential enabling participants to develop a deeper understanding and greater insight by exploring experiences from both a subjective and objective perspective.

All training is bespoke so it can be tailored to meet the needs of your organisation.

Previous courses include:

  • Hearing Voices Awareness
  • Advanced Skills in Working with Voice Hearers
  • Hearing Voices Group Facilitation & Network Development
  • Beyond Survival – Working with Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse
  • Abuse, Trauma and Dissociation: Understanding and Working Towards Recovery
  • Advanced Complex Trauma and Working with Sex Workers
  • Ritual Abuse: Thinking About the Unthinkable
  • Working with Self Harm
  • Service User Involvement & User Led Initiatives
  • Helping the Helpers: How Best to Support Your Loved One – For Carers, Allies & Familes
  • Vicarious Traumatisation: Roles, Power and Safety in the Healing Process
  • Therapeutic Use of Self: Path of the Wounded Healer

Please contact me if you would like to discuss your organisation’s training needs.

See my testimonials page to view, or share, feedback on my training courses

The Personal is Political

Telling Stories Book CoverTelling Stories? explores the contemporary state of affairs in the understanding and treatment of psychosis. An inclusive approach to mental distress requires that in order to truly understand psychosis we must begin by listening to those who know this from the inside out; the voices and narrative of those who have been condemned as “unanalysable” and mad.

Far from being fantastical, the complex stories that are being articulated communicate painful truths and the myriad ways in which the human psyche survives overwhelming trauma. This book is the culmination of an integrated and creative alliance between those on the cutting edge, experientially, in research, diagnosis, and treatment; this multidisciplinary dialogue proposes a new relational and attachment orientated paradigm for the 21st century. In contrast to the containment model that is currently favoured, this advocates listening and talking therapies, and the healing power of a loving relationship, offering those with psychosis the possibility of more nourishing engagement with the world.

Recovery From ‘Psychosis’

In making sense of what has been deemed as ‘psychosis’ it is essential that we see so called symptoms as profoundly meaningful attempts to survive overwhelming and distressing life experiences.  There is inherent meaning in madness which is inextricably bound up in unresolved, traumatic experiences. These meanings may be communicated in a number of highly symbolic, metaphorical and literal ways and need to be untangled, teased out and examined within the context of the person’s life history. Each voice is an echo of the person’s experience so an attitude of curiosity, understanding and compassion towards all voices is the best stance as it will encourage and support internal communication and ultimately, self acceptance.

This work demands seeing the world and human experience in new ways including an understanding that reality is shaped by experience. This, combined with a willingness to view life through the lens of the person’s subjective experience enables the co-creation of a shared meaning to emerge, deepening mutual understanding and leading to increasing acceptance of self and other.  To support and nurture healing from ‘psychosis’, faith in the possibility of recovery is vital.

The Tale of An Ordinary Little Girl

Psychosis Journal CoverThe Tale of an Ordinary Little Girl won the 2010 Award for Best Paper in the Second Volume of Psychosis (Category B: Experienced-based articles).

Hearing voices, self-harm, eating “disorders” and dissociation, when viewed objectively, are frequently classified as symptoms of serious mental illnesses and disordered personalities that require treatment, eradication and cure.

This convenient societal solution to the complex problem of endemic childhood abuse requires that victims of abuse endure further insult to injury and become the problem to be dealt with.

By tracing the roots of so-called “symptoms” back to their origins in traumatic childhood events and having the courage to bear witness to painful truths, a more accurate, humane and respectful picture emerges which reframes “symptoms” as essential survival techniques.

The mark of a responsible society and responsive services is the willingness to share collective responsibility for these experiences, to honour them, support them and learn from them at all levels.