Healing from Childhood Abuse

Written directly to individuals who have experienced childhood trauma, this book provides essential information that allows victims to begin recovering from their immense pain and suffering, and empowers them to examine their specific issues in order to become a true survivor. The American Medical Association currently estimates at least one in every five adults suffered abuse as a child. While childhood abuse or trauma is certainly not a new issue, it has reached epidemic proportion. Yet most clinicians have not been sufficiently trained to appreciate or understand the devastating long-term impact of abuse on the total person. John J. Lemoncelli, EdD, authored this book to enable those who suffer in silence to understand what happened, take control, and begin and maintain a program of recovery. It helps those abused in childhood to grasp how their experience impacted their development and the extent to which it negatively affects their present lives; encourages them to let go of the belief that they are damaged, dirty, or at fault; and provides an effective strategy for externalizing the source of their anguish, rather than blaming themselves. The author outlines several stages and common issues that may need to be addressed, but as no "one size fits all" treatment is possible, he provides strategies that empower victims to identify the specific sources of their pain.

John J. Lemoncelli, EdD, is professor and assistant chair of the Psychology and Counseling Department of Marywood University, Scranton, PA.

Foreword by Robert S. Shaw, PsyD, ABPP Acknowledgments Introduction ONE: A New Approach to Healing TWO: The Parasite THREE: The Workings of the Parasite FOUR: The Impact of Abuse on Development Spiritual Development FIVE: Some Issues to Assist You in Therapy Being in Therapy Semantics or Genuine Thought Patterns You Have a Choice-There Is Real Power in That Choice Altering Perceptions Are Your Feelings Objective Reality? Did I Have a Right to a Happy Childhood? Did I Lose My Innocence? Did I Lose Myself? How Does One Explain Dysfunctional Parents? Grieving the Loss of Your Childhood The Hunt for the Evil Visiting the Ovens SIX: Victim versus Survivor: Becoming a Survivor Sadie Josephine Jim Liz SEVEN: Forgiveness of the Self EIGHT: Perfectionism and People-Pleasing NINE: Boundaries TEN: Fragmented, Not Damaged ELEVEN: The Story of the Journey of Your Healing A Concluding Note An Invitation to Clinicians. Bibliography Index