Beyond Trauma: Conversations on Traumatic Incident Reduction, 2nd Edition (Explorations in Metapsychology) [Paperback]

"Beyond Trauma" is a compilation of short essays about Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR) as delivered by various professionals. It begins with an examination of trauma, the trauma incident network, and unblocking. This is followed by an excellent essay on the psychological foundations of TIR. Included in this chapter is an examination of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and why cognitive restructuring is required for successful treatment of PTSD.

After this foundational chapter the essays start examining particular types of trauma, how they function, how they are similar, how they are different, and how to work with them. First is an examination of the traumas of war, both as a civilian caught up in it and as a soldier. Then come essays on grief and loss, crime and punishment, terrorism, accident victims, accidental death, and various other type of emotional trauma.

The final portion of the book examines working with TIR and children, integrating TIR and Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy, using TIR in a psychotherapy practice, and integrating TIR with other disciplines.

If you are working with trauma or just want to understand TIR this is a good beginning book. It clearly delineates the basics of TIR as a desensitization procedure and its effectiveness as a true resolution to trauma related problems. "Beyond Trauma" is a recommended book for the professional or for the lay reader who wants to know about this technique before possibly seeking out a practitioner.

"TIR allows practitioners to address trauma more deeply while simultaneously resolving trauma quickly." ~Victor R. Volkman

TIR (Trauma Incident Reduction) can be used on the frontlines of disasters. It can help people cope with what has just occurred and it can permanently eliminate PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) symptoms.

This one-on-one, non-hypnotic, person-centered, structured therapy helps patients to run experience through their minds until insights appear. This time of reflection seems to encourage people to not only face what has happened, but to understand the impact and then to begin the journey out of trauma and into healing.

As a survivor of PSTD, I can truly say this book is rather enlightening. I experienced many of the symptoms discussed in this book after a few very troubling years of major breakups, car accidents and dramatic life changes including surviving a hurricane in the Caribbean on my honeymoon. A hurricane is truly one of the most frightening experiences you can endure. My own experience happened 10 years ago during the same time of year as Hurricane Katrina.

The process I went through to stabilize my own psyche involved many of the techniques discussed in this book, however my recovery was based on friends and family listening. In fact, the main concept in TIR seems to be "listening."

When a patient begins to experience PTSD they may not even realize what is happening. I didn't even know about PTSD or what a panic attack was until I read about the symptoms. People who experience devastation not only have to rebuild their lives, they have to deal with anger, anxiety, panic attacks, flashbacks, claustrophobia, insomnia, nightmares, rage, depression, fatigue, obsessive thoughts, guilt and a number of issues relating to PTSD.

The techniques described in this book will help individuals dealing with adjustment disorders, acute stress, phobias, sexual abuse, domestic violence, mourning and depression. The topics also include crime, grief, loss, abuse, accident victims, loss of a child, loss of a partner and surviving the experiences in a war. There is an excellent example of a woman who goes from experiencing a great loss to recounting the memory and then comes to terms with her grief. Psychotherapists also tell about their experiences and how TIR helped their patients:

When he finished, looked at me and was
crying, he said, "You Know, you are the only person
who has ever listened to me.
I feel better already. ~Alex Frater, Psychotherapist

The next logical step after reading this book seems to be attending a workshop or ordering the TIR and Metapsychology Lecture Series. There is a list of TIR trainers with Q & A to help you decide on a teacher or find out about a website filled with information on TIR. The interviews with people who have training in TIR makes this entire solution much easier to understand. I would suggest reading the question and answer section in the Appendix B first because it truly introduces you to TIR.

This book does seem to be written to encourage professionals to take a TIR workshop. Recommended to Psychologists, Social Workers, Traumatologists, Compassion Fatigue Specialists and anyone interested in Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome.

In my own life and the life of family members and friend I have seen that talking about incidents is more healing than repressing feelings. It might be painful to talk about your experiences, but that is how many people find a path to healing and sometimes you really can't heal the trauma until you face and understand the circumstances that caused the PTSD. The healing seems to be very rapid after you identify the causes and then implement solutions. TIR seems to take patients to a place where they can begin the healing process much more quickly.

~The Rebecca Review

Compiled and edited by Victor R. Volkman, Beyond Trauma: Conversations On Traumatic Incident Reduction is an anthology of engaging essays by learned authors discussing Traumatic Incident Reduction -- a desensitization procedure developed by Frank A. Gerbode, M.D., Gerald French, and others, as a useful aid to help those suffering from trauma-related conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and many other DSM-IV diagnoses. Straightforward dialogues concerning the treatment methodology, individuals it has helped, methods for incorporating Traumatic Incident Reduction into psychiatric practice, and more fill the pages of this superbly organized and presented survey. Beyond Trauma is a welcome and much appreciated contribution to professional and academic reference collections and supplemental reading lists.