Healing the Trauma of Abuse: A Women’s Workbook

By Mary Ellen Copeland, M.A. & Maxine Harris, Ph.D. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc., 2000, 398 pages

Reviewed by Brynn Huyssen, B.A., Loyola College, Baltimore, Maryland

Devastating effects and far reaching consequences frequently follow the experience of physical, sexual, and emotional trauma.  The response to trauma and the recovery process, however, are unique to each individual. Healing the Trauma of Abuse is a step-by-step workbook designed to assist female trauma survivors mend the wounds of trauma while recognizing and appreciating their own healing process. 

Mary Ellen Copeland, the author of several self-help books, and Maxine Harris, Ph.D., a trauma expert and the Executive Director of the National Capitol Center for Trauma and Recovery, wrote Healing the Trauma of Abuse.  They collaborated closely with other clinicians and trauma survivors during the planning, writing, and editing stages to achieve an end product rich in information from a variety of perspectives. 

The Introduction to Healing the Trauma of Abuse presents the workbook as a tool that seeks to educate women about trauma recovery and help each comprehend how and why their own functioning may be affected long after the trauma experience. The workbook continuously emphasizes its central theme, that current physical and psychological symptoms, such as sadness, anger, substance use, physical ailments, and relationship difficulties, are often connected to past traumatization.  Many survivors, however, fail to perceive their trauma history as a primary problem. 

The workbook material educates the reader about trauma and abuse, corrects misconceptions about female sexuality, highlights unhealthy behaviors as methods of coping, demonstrates the importance of boundaries and communication, improves problem solving skills and self-esteem, and emphasizes the significance of taking care of oneself, a skill the workbook refers to as “self-soothing.”

Healing the Trauma of Abuse includes a useful “Before You Begin” checklist to help the reader determine if she is ready to begin recovery work.  Guidelines on how to utilize the workbook to best support each individual’s own healing process are also provided.  Significant parts of the workbook include:

• Part 1: Empowerment lays the foundation for recovery and covers topics such as, “What It Means to Be a Woman”, “Self-Esteem”, “Self-Soothing”, and “Physical and Emotional Boundaries.” 
• Part 2: Trauma Recovery delves deeper with segments that define and explore physical, sexual, emotional, and institutional abuse.  Common psychological and emotional symptoms and addictive and destructive behaviors are also illuminated. 
• Part 3: Creating Life Changes examines the impact of trauma on family life, intimate relationships, and decision-making.  The notions of blame, acceptance, and forgiveness are also discussed.

The thirty-two chapters in Healing the Trauma of Abuse each range from 6-15 pages in length.  Each begins with a brief introduction that describes the focus of the chapter and explains how exploring the topic will aid healing.  The introduction is followed by a prompt that encourages the reader to reflect on the relevance of the chapter’s content to her own personal healing.  The bulk of each chapter consists of short-answer questions and exercises that delve into more specific aspects of the topic at hand and provides space for the reader to write her responses.

The last segment of each chapter offers “Optional Activities”, such as making a scrapbook, writing in a journal, or engaging in a “self-soothing” activity, that the reader may do on her concludes with “Things to Remember Every Day”, a list of positive self-assertions related to the topic material.  The workbook recommends that the reader set aside one hour per week to complete a chapter. 

The main strength of the workbook is that it is well organized and simple to navigate. The material in each chapter is easy to read and uncomplicated.  The workbook’s gentle tone creates a safe and powerful tool that guides and supports adolescent and adult women through their own healing process.  The careful progression of material is also an asset. 

Earlier chapters, such as “Self-Esteem”, set the stage for later sections that discuss trauma more directly.  These subsequent chapters include guided imagery and progressive relaxation exercises, as well as information to help the reader manage and understand feelings that they may experience as they navigate through the more challenging sections.

The flexible structure allows the reader to work through the workbook at her own pace, with the freedom to deviate from the prescribed order of topics.  Because the workbook is designed to accommodate each individual process, the readers may also to pick and choose from certain topic areas and exercises she wishes to complete, and skip other sections.  

The only potential limitation of the Healing the Trauma of Abuse workbook is that the reader must be emotionally prepared to begin the recovery process from trauma.  If the reader is not ready to do this work, she may find some of the material triggering and re-traumatizing.  Consequently, this tool should not be utilized for crisis intervention.  Psychotherapists should ensure that this book is appropriate for each individual client before assigning it in bibliotherapy.  Additionally, it is recommended that the reader, along with the psychotherapist, carefully review the “Before You Begin” checklist prior to incorporating the book into treatment.

This workbook is a very useful resource for the trauma clinician and may be integrated into individual or group psychotherapy settings.  The workbook will help clinicians better conceptualize each case, assess readiness for healing, and monitor a client’s recovery process.  The trauma clinician may incorporate certain topics, exercises and activities into individual treatment, depending on each client’s need.  It will also be beneficial to assign homework from the workbook in order to increase self-reflection and extend the healing process beyond the confines of psychotherapy sessions.  The format of the workbook, including its progressive difficulty and abundance of exercises, will also serve as a strong foundation for a trauma recovery group.

Healing the Trauma of Abuse effectively combines therapeutic techniques and psychoeducation to help women heal from traumatic experiences and reduce the effects of trauma on their lives.  Each topic is carefully presented and designed to stimulate introspection and reflection, while building skills, increasing confidence, and motivating and educating the reader.  The workbook is successful in its endeavor to empower and support readers as they navigate their journey to recovery.