Healing with Trauma-Focused Dbt: A Trauma Survivor's Guide to Manage Intense Emotions and Reclaim Your Life with Polyvagal Theory and Dialectical Beha

Trauma affects both the mind and body. This first-of-its-kind guide blends evidence-based dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills with cutting-edge polyvagal theory to help you begin healing the mental, emotional, and physical aspects of trauma, so you can find greater peace and balance.

If you've experienced trauma, your nervous system may be stuck in "fight-or-flight" mode--leading to symptoms such as hypervigilance, extreme anxiety, and distrust of others. You may struggle with intense emotions, or have nightmares and flashbacks. And you may even experience physical symptoms such as an upset stomach, a pounding heart, or shakiness. This compassionate guide offers a breakthrough approach to bring your mind and body back into balance.

Healing with Trauma-Focused DBT combines cutting-edge somatic practices from polyvagal theory with evidence-based dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills to help you heal unresolved wounds, manage the physical effects of trauma, and find emotional balance. Using the four skills of DBT--mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness--you'll learn to work through difficult thoughts and feelings and stay grounded in the moment. You'll also discover polyvagal techniques to help you soothe an overwhelmed nervous system and feel safe and at home in your body.

If you're seeking relief from the mental, emotional, and physical effects of trauma, this book offers innovative strategies and exercises to help you move beyond experiences of your past and find your way back to peace, stability, and the life you want.

Kirby Reutter, PhD, is a bilingual clinical psychologist and trauma specialist who contracts with the United States Department of Homeland Security to provide mental health services to asylum seekers close to the Mexican border. Reutter has presented original research at MIT, delivered a TED Talk on the neurological effects of human trafficking, and provided over one hundred mental health trainings across the continent, including four trainings at military bases. He is author of The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for PTSD.