Deepening Trauma Practice: a Gestalt Approach to Ecology and Ethics

Book excerpt: "A courageous book for courageous therapists. This book will become a treasured companion in the search for a radically ethical practice." Donna Orange, Simon Silverman Phenomenology Center, Duquesne University, USA "[In Taylor’s hands] Trauma, a problem that in a post-pandemic world affects everyone, patients and therapists alike, becomes an opportunity to become better human beings, more able to connect with each other." Margherita Spagnuolo Lobb, Psy.D., Istituto di Gestalt HCC, Italy “A thought-provoking and scholarly study illustrated with stories, real-life examples and invitations to practices.” Kim S Golding, CBE, Clinical Psychologist and Author, UK How can therapists work with individuals affected by trauma to develop therapeutic relationships? This book explores how trauma is embedded in our fragmented world; the relational space in the therapy session; and finally, the Gestalt premise that the complex and interconnected network of relationships is greater than the sum of its parts. Moving beyond individualism, the book examines how trauma is an outcome of profound disconnection and how healing requires reconnection in equally multiple layers. Deepening Trauma Practice: •Takes a broad overview of collective and intergenerational trauma •Examines how echoes of collective trauma shape the work in the consulting room •Redefines what we understand as relational therapy •Considers the self-hood of the therapist, and takes a fresh look at the ethics of self-care as a key intervention •Argues for an ecological perspective on healing Using clinical vignettes and reflection points alongside theoretical discussion, the major themes of the book are woven together through the metaphor of the Trickster. As a companion volume to Miriam Taylor’s first book Trauma Therapy and Clinical Practice, this book is an invaluable and unique contribution for therapists and those working in the field of trauma. Miriam Taylor is a British Gestalt psychotherapist, supervisor and international trainer. With nearly 30 years’ experience of working with trauma, her work is supported by her embodied relationship with the natural world. She is on the Leadership Team of Relational Change in the UK.