The Heart of Trauma: Healing the Embodied Brain in the Context of Relationships (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology)

19 reviews for The Heart of Trauma: Healing the Embodied Brain in the Context of Relationships (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology)

1. Ana

   Rated 5 out of 5

   October 25, 2024

   Interesting

   Very interesting ideas around trauma

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   Lily Koi

   Rated 5 out of 5

   June 30, 2024

   A Masterpiece

   I've read dozens of books on trauma and trauma healing, many of them helpful, personally and professionally. The Heart of Trauma is on an entirely dif...More

   I've read dozens of books on trauma and trauma healing, many of them helpful, personally and professionally. The Heart of Trauma is on an entirely different level.
   
   Bonnie Badenoch writes with a fluidity and humanity that invites the reader to effortlessly embody information that is simultaneously clinically impeccable and relationally rich. I can feel her expertise and decades of wisdom; it's as though my heart is reading and absorbing alongside my mind. And, somehow, it's not only her teachings that are contained within these pages, but her presence as well.
   
   While many other books on trauma can end up feeling like a chore to finish, I find myself slowing way down and savoring each page and paragraph, often going back to reread a chapter as soon as I've finished it, weaving in another layer of understanding. I'd give it ten stars if I could!

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   Clara

   Rated 5 out of 5

   July 17, 2023

   Everyone should read this book

   This book brings together understandings of the brain, nervous system, body as one wonderful interlinked system. Bonnie Badenoch makes complicated thi...More

   This book brings together understandings of the brain, nervous system, body as one wonderful interlinked system. Bonnie Badenoch makes complicated things understandable without compromising difficult subject matter. This book should be read by all especially parents and all who work with people in any capacity and those who want to be free of the tyranny of endured traumas.

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   C. St John

   Rated 5 out of 5

   January 10, 2023

   A book everyone with a mind and heart should read carefully!

   One of the most important books I've read in a long time, regarding relationship and our nervous system.The cutting edge of a whole new way to work wi...More

   One of the most important books I've read in a long time, regarding relationship and our nervous system.
   The cutting edge of a whole new way to work with other people, not just those with Trauma

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   Elijah Logozar

   Rated 5 out of 5

   November 17, 2022

   Relaxing

   You don't need control. All experience and feelings are ok. The right brain's holistic presence is enough. The left brain's analysis takes over when w...More

   You don't need control. All experience and feelings are ok. The right brain's holistic presence is enough. The left brain's analysis takes over when we perceive possible danger. Social presence and attention without expectation are enough. Such gems can be "applied" (haha! left brain) in real-time, and relaxed presence can mutually heal. The author's stories and neurobiological background were both inspirational and instructive.
   
   Discussion on the nature of attention was also fascinating and convergent with some of my other interests, especially those related to relationships, emotion, and meaning in life.
   
   The Heart of Trauma
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   is especially good as a follow-up to
   
   The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy,
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   especially in discussing the social engagement system and the ventral vagal state. Highly recommended - especially for those with an intellectual interest in relationships or "trying" (haha! left brain again - effort/method instead of relaxing into social safety) to develop a secure attachment style.

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   Linda K. Bradak

   Rated 5 out of 5

   August 7, 2022

   excellent resource

   If you work with trauma clients or have trauma issues yourself, this work is revelatory.

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   Kindle Customer

   Rated 5 out of 5

   July 3, 2022

   Insightful

   Delves into the inner communication of our mind and brains, as it navigates through the connection with external world. Author provides valuable insig...More

   Delves into the inner communication of our mind and brains, as it navigates through the connection with external world. Author provides valuable insight into the process utilizing interpersonal neurobiology. I recommend this book to therapist and other readers who wish to be awakened, and who wish to start being attuned and present with self and others.

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   Nomz Bee

   Rated 5 out of 5

   May 25, 2021

   Recommended for all mental health practitioners and trauma survivors

   I have this book on audio as well as in print. I’m reading and listening to it for about the fourth time. It’s the most respectful, gentle, well infor...More

   I have this book on audio as well as in print. I’m reading and listening to it for about the fourth time. It’s the most respectful, gentle, well informed book about healing and mental health that I’ve ever encountered. It is hopeful and tender and humble - offering academic and scientific insights in a deeply immersive, practical way. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to be a helpful healing presence for themselves, their loved ones and the people they work with.

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   AngelJ

   Rated 5 out of 5

   December 6, 2019

   Quick delivery

   Quick delivery, good book for anyone wishing to understand trauma

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   Roberto Ravera

   Rated 5 out of 5

   September 9, 2019

   Interesting essay about traumatized children!

   I think it's a good book, accessible even to someone who is not a clinician.

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   James P Bossmann

   Rated 5 out of 5

   August 24, 2019

   Incredible

   Every counselor working with complex trauma should read.

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   A. Neil Meili

   Rated 5 out of 5

   April 13, 2018

   Ancient caring and newest research combined

   Deep stuff. Newest research, and oldest caring combined. So much wisdom in here, though still readable, that it is going to take a while. I think you ...More

   Deep stuff. Newest research, and oldest caring combined. So much wisdom in here, though still readable, that it is going to take a while. I think you will find it more than worth the effort. I am.

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   Amazon Customer

   Rated 5 out of 5

   March 7, 2018

   Illuminating, Grounded yet Profoundly Hopeful--a Life-Changing Read!

   This well-researched and beautifully written book, "The Heart of Trauma", has changed my life!Standing humbly at the intersection of clinical psycholo...More

   This well-researched and beautifully written book, "The Heart of Trauma", has changed my life!
   
   Standing humbly at the intersection of clinical psychology and relational neuroscience, Bonnie Badenoch acts as a heartfelt companion and guide
   through exciting new research, and breathtaking, illuminating new paradigms. Committed to honoring the science and revealing its insights in comprehensive yet relatable ways, she has also worked quite hard to help the reader enter into a personal relationship with the material and to integrate it in a deep way, through frequent "Pauses for Reflection."
   
   Badenoch offers the hopeful message (which she borrows from Ecker's Coherence Psychology) that "we were adaptive then, and are adaptive now" and communicates the compelling vision that our systems offer inherent wisdom and are profoundly oriented towards health. This is the least depressing book about trauma you'll ever read. It's impossible to engage with it and not feel a sense that Healing Presence remains possible, at every turn--wherever a mind meets another responsive, receptive mind. As long as there is (attuned, relational) life--there is hope!
   
   Speaking on the meta level--Badenoch obviously feels a powerful (and for this reader, contagious) sense of respect, wonder, and gratitude for the evolving (neuro)science and for the pioneering minds who have gone before her. She explains the work of Porges, McGilchrist, Panksepp, Ecker, and others thoroughly and accessibly, weaving multiple threads of clearly explained insight into a larger tapestry of exciting, empowering meaning. She keeps the reader intently engaged with how these paradigms come together to illuminate our understanding of the micro and meta workings of human minds--in wondrous, big-picture ways, but also in intimately practical ones.
   
   Badenoch clearly lives what she writes about--she is not just engaged in a vivid relationship with the science--she cares deeply about the humans on both ends of the science. She evokes the pioneering researchers as mentors, communicates heartfelt, appreciative regard for her clients, and conveys compassionate confidence in the reader.
   
   I am neither a trauma therapist nor particularly interested in trauma--but I love this book to pieces, and have been immensely helped by it. I am avidly interested in our minds, how they grow and change, how experiences and relationships shape us, and... what this knowledge MEANS for our lives.
   
   As a meaning-seeker and avid learner, this was just what my heart desired (and what my mind has hungrily been seeking). Every chapter has been a feast--every page, a new revelation. For anyone curious about neuroscience, or captivated by psychology--this is a profoundly rewarding and rich read. For someone like me, who has been attempting to integrate these understandings on a deeper level since I first heard of Dan Siegel and interpersonal neurobiology--it's been an utter dream come true.
   
   "The Heart of Trauma" belongs, for me, in the special pantheon of the half-dozen or so nonfiction books that have most shaped how I see the world, and how I understand my place in it. I'll be forever grateful for having the luck to stumble into it. Much thanks to Bonnie Badenoch (and the dozens of researchers she cites) for this life-changing read and for showing me how to be a Healing Presence in the world. (And for that evocative, hope-giving language!)
   
   --Heidi Juniper

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   Kirke Olson

   Rated 5 out of 5

   March 2, 2018

   As much an experience as a book,

   Bonnie Badenoch’s latest writing is a treasure. She deftly weaves solid research and humane stories, with guided times for reflections to create a hea...More

   Bonnie Badenoch’s latest writing is a treasure. She deftly weaves solid research and humane stories, with guided times for reflections to create a heartfelt learning experience. Most therapists along with the researchers that investigate their work understand that therapy is not a series of techniques, but rather a deeply felt healing human connection involving the therapist’s whole being. Bonnie Badenoch addresses this by describing her inner resonance with her clients along with her application of the research. Diving into the experience of this book will help you integrate evidenced based research findings with your inner world making you a better therapist.

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   Marion Sharp

   Rated 5 out of 5

   January 9, 2018

   Opening new doors to exploring and understanding trauma

   I cannot begin to say how much I am appreciating this book!! Bonnie is opening new doors to exploring and understanding trauma and the embodied, relat...More

   I cannot begin to say how much I am appreciating this book!! Bonnie is opening new doors to exploring and understanding trauma and the embodied, relational brain in ways I haven't seen - and I have invested most of my career studying in this area. She has uncovered quite a lot of research that I was not aware of nor would I have even thought to look for much of this. And I am struck by how she rightfully frames this work as continuously growing, recognizing that new discoveries are emerging every day. For me, I keep playing around with the implications and connections that are surfacing in my mind (and body) and I intend to do both some free writing and some focused writing around the thoughts that are arising. This is a Significant contribution - thank you SO very much!!

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   Rich Armington

   Rated 5 out of 5

   January 7, 2018

   An Absorbing Read. Relational Neuroscience Informs The Healing Of Trauma. A Strong Recommendation!

   I have read all of Bonnie Badenoch’s newest book, “The Heart of Trauma: Healing the Embodied Brain in the Context of Relationships.” Her book fulfill...More

   I have read all of Bonnie Badenoch’s newest book, “The Heart of Trauma: Healing the Embodied Brain in the Context of Relationships.” Her book fulfills the bold undertaking the title puts forward. It has taken me on a journey that reinforces my belief that enduring healing arises from relational work. In my reading of this book I noticed many moments of quiet ‘yes’ as I came to understand more fully that the uncovering of our essential nature must guide our work, right alongside the current science. Her book does this. It is bold, penetrating and supported by the latest research offering an inspiring reach into the heart of trauma, and ways through to healing. As an author, her writing style uniquely converses with me, rather than more conventionally, at me. I felt a partner alongside my own journey while reading, something I thirst for and value in clinical writing. With an introduction by Stephen Porges, a researcher, and Bonnie Badenoch, a masterful clinician, speaker, and writer, both of whom I have studied with and greatly admire, I was well guided and inspired with chapter upon chapter of small or large insight and encouragement for reflection. I was particularly moved by the chapter, “Leading Following Responding” which left me thinking and rethinking my own experience as a clinician. Bonnie’s personal sharing throughout this book brought me closer to my own inner experiences. For those of us well seasoned though still eager to learn, for others early in finding one’s clinical footing, this book will very likely offer you a solid and inspiring way forward, professionally as well as personally – [not that we can healthfully separate the two] – an encouraging and integrating hallmark animating Bonnie Badenoch’s passionate work.

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   Rita G

   Rated 5 out of 5

   January 6, 2018

   A magnificent weaving of neuroscience and the art of therapy!

   This book is a must-read for all psychotherapists regardless of whether you identify as a trauma therapist or not. If you work with humans you are a ...More

   This book is a must-read for all psychotherapists regardless of whether you identify as a trauma therapist or not. If you work with humans you are a trauma therapist! Bonnie Badenoch's years of experience providing psychotherapy, in addition to her vast knowledge of Relational Neuroscience, make her uniquely qualified to cull through volumes of research and find the gems that are particularly relevant to the process of therapy. She presents Neuroscience in a digestible way and ties research findings to practical applications that can be put into place when working with clients, regardless of theoretical perspective. Trauma treatment can seem complex and intimidating, but the underlying science in this book has given me the confidence to trust my clients' inner wisdom to lead them toward healing. The book also provides tender guidance about how we, as therapists, can hold our clients' journeys and provide reparative experiences within the safety of the therapeutic relationship. The wisdom offered in this book has transformed my work as a therapist in a profound way.

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   PAL

   Rated 5 out of 5

   January 1, 2018

   Useful information on how the the brain/body processes and recovers from trauma

   This reviewer has misrepresented Porges and Badenochs well established and scientifically grounded and accepted discoveries about the autonomic nervou...More

   This reviewer has misrepresented Porges and Badenochs well established and scientifically grounded and accepted discoveries about the autonomic nervous system. Since he stopped reading the bock, he has also completely missed the point about how human beings interact and his critique completely misrepresents what this book is about. I'm not a therapist but found great value in understanding how human beings can heal from trauma.

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   Sarah Peyton

   Rated 5 out of 5

   January 1, 2018

   Deep inspiration, grounded warmth for all readers

   This quietly spectacular book about trauma moves me deeply, often to tears. There is a wellspring of inspiration for therapists here, a thoroughly res...More

   This quietly spectacular book about trauma moves me deeply, often to tears. There is a wellspring of inspiration for therapists here, a thoroughly researched and referenced approach to healing that will serve readers for years. Bonnie Badenoch creates an atmosphere of welcome and warmth for those who are interested in taking therapy and personal healing to their deepest levels - I'm grateful to the author for her dedication to integration of neuroscience and relationship.

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