If you’ve experienced a traumatic event, you may feel a wide range of emotions, such as anxiety, anger, fear, and depression. The truth is that there is no right or wrong way to react to trauma; but there are ways that you can heal from your experience, and uncover your own capacity for resilience, growth, and recovery.

Overcoming Trauma and PTSD offers proven-effective treatments based in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help you overcome both the physical and emotional symptoms of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This book will help you find relief from painful flashbacks, insomnia, or other symptoms you might be experiencing. Also included are worksheets, checklists, and exercises to help you start feeling better and begin your journey on the road to recovery.

This book will help you manage your anxiety and stop avoiding certain situations, cope with painful memories and nightmares, and determine if you need to see a therapist. Perhaps most importantly, it will help you to develop a support system so that you can you heal and move forward.

AUTHORS

Sheela Raja, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She completed internship and post-doctoral training at the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Boston, MA, and has published numerous articles exploring the relationship between physical health and traumatic events. Raja has a passion for making evidence-based psychology accessible and is a frequent contributor to various print and national television media outlets.

Foreword writer Susan M. Orsillo, PhD, is professor of psychology at Suffolk University in Boston, and lives in the Boston area with her husband and two children. Orsillo has written and published extensively about mindfulness, anxiety, and psychotherapy, and has been involved in anxiety disorder research and treatment. She is the coauthor of the acclaimed book, Mindfulness and Acceptance-Based Behavioral Therapies in Practice, as well as The Mindful Way through Anxiety.

PRAISE

“Relying upon the growing body of evidence-based psychological treatments for PTSD, psychologist Sheela Raja assembles a treasure trove of useful exercises and skills for people committed to recovery. This workbook is an invaluable tool to accompany psychotherapy and will prove to be an outstanding complement to existing self-help manuals. Utilizing an integrated framework for promoting behavioral health, Raja’s clinical skill and expertise resounds throughout the text. This is an important reference for patients and clinicians alike.”

—Terence M. Keane, PhD, director of National Center for PTSD in Boston, professor and assistant dean for research at Boston University School of Medicine

“Sheela Raja has produced an excellent resource for the many individuals suffering from emotional consequences of trauma that do not have access to, cannot afford, or prefer not to utilize traditional mental health services. Her book is long overdue in self-help literature. It is grounded in, and supported by, the best available research related to trauma treatment approaches. Readers can rest comfortably knowing that this is the relatively rare book written for trauma survivors that includes techniques proven to be invaluably helpful for countless others suffering from similar difficulties. They can be assured that exercises recommended in this book are bolstered by cutting-edge scientific research. Overcoming Trauma and PTSD is truly an invaluable resource—one that I will use often and recommend highly.”

—Matt J. Gray, PhD, director of clinical training and professor of psychology at the University of Wyoming

“Sheela Raja has written an accessible, clear, and compassionate book that successfully integrates important evidence-based techniques for the treatment of PTSD. She does an excellent job explaining techniques so that people can use them on their own, while also providing important guidance about when (and how) to seek professional help.”

—Holly K. Orcutt, PhD, professor of psychology at Northern Illinois University