​

I strongly believe that a key to healing from trauma is to develop a 'resilience practice' - a set of routines or skills you can practice each day to make you emotionally stronger, more grounded and more connected to what it feels like to be safe and loved. I have compiled a sequence of such practices in the following short booklet which you are welcome to download: Healing from Trauma - Developing a Daily Resilience Practice. A great place to begin is to learn a Repertoire of Breathing Practices to help you feel balanced and grounded, and quickly shift emotional distress. Breathing is such a beautiful and practical resource as we can do it anywhere, any time.

​

Here are some other resources you may find useful:

​

Transforming The Living Legacy of Trauma: A Workbook for Survivors and Therapists, by Janina Fisher. (2021).

​

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, by Bessel van der Kolk. (2014),

​

Getting Past Your Past, by Francine Shapiro: Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help Techniques from EMDR Therapy. (2012),   

​

Post-Traumatic Growth Guidebook: Practical Mind-Body Tools to Heal Trauma, Foster Resilience and Awaken Your Potential,  by Arielle Schwartz (2020).

​

​

I have also found that to heal completely, we must learn how we are made up of many parts and how trauma causes many of these parts to carry 'burdens' which literally keep them frozen at a specific age and usually hidden behind a powerful protective system that ensures they never experience this pain again. How we can understand this internal family and help these wounded parts let go of their burdens is beautifully illustrated in:

​

Self-Therapy: A Step-By-Step Guide Using to Creating Wholeness and Healing Your Inner Child Using IFS, by Jay Earley (2009).

​

No Bad Parts : Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model, by Richard Schwartz (2021).

​

There is also a beautifully-illustrated 'children's book' which I love to show anyone who has been affected by complex trauma:

All the Colors of Me - My First Book about Dissociation,  by Ana Gomez and Sandra Paulsen. (Agate 2016)

​

I also cannot recommend highly enough three extraordinary and very practical books by contemporary Buddhist teachers:

Emotional Rescue: How to Work with Your Emotions to Transform Hurt and Confusion into Energy That Empowers You, by Dzogchen Ponlop,

Why We Meditate: The Science and Practice of Clarity and Compassion. by Tsoknyi Rinpoche

The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret & Science of Happiness,  by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche 

​

I have collected a variety of resources which I have found particularly helpful.  Most people with Complex Trauma also have issues with their physical health, and it is crucial for all of us to look after the mind and body at the same time, without neglecting either.  This is especially true for conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia or irritable bowel syndrome, and of course our number one killers heart disease and cancer.  So I have complied this list with the hope that it may inspire anyone to search out new perspectives or understand their health more holistically.   

​

Worthwhile Websites

​

www.nutritionfacts.org  - A brilliant summary of the latest nutrition research presented in accessible five minute video clips – a potential life saver for patients with heart disease and other chronic illnesses.

www.feelinggood.com - A most helpful compilation of some brilliant resources in the field of cognitive behaviour therapy, the most proven method for treating depression, anxiety and many other conditions affecting out emotional wellbeing.

www.patient.info - An excellent compilation of patient info sheets for any medical condition under the sun.

www.energyanalysisprogram.com  - A much needed resource for patients with chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia, who often struggle to improve with mainstream medical care – a comprehensive questionnaire followed by specific treatment suggestions. Put together by one of the leaders in the field of chronic fatigue research. 

www.neuroplastix.com - Dedicated to curing the disease of persistent pain in all people who suffer by unifying brain and body as the focus of treatment, sharing the latest research in the field of neuroplasticity.

www.sibotest.com -  An important resource for healing Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), which is often at the core of stubborn gut symptoms.

www.sleepbetter.com.au - A much needed resource for the common problem of insomnia, offering a proven, structured lifestyle program to improve the quality of your sleep 

www.headtohealth.gov.au/search-resources - Provides links to a smorgasbord of digital mental health resources, including a variety of apps and self-help courses to nurture your emotional wellbeing.

www.selftherapyjourney.com - Helps us identify and shift deep-seated patterns using guided meditations which powerfully address what is going on inside us, based on the Internal Family Systems model.

​

Life Changing Books

​

Kids Health: No Drama Discipline, by Daniel Siegal, Therapeutic Storytelling, by Susan Perrow, Children’s Health A – Z, by Dr Leila Masson.  Can We Manage Autism? – Yes We Can,  by Jan Brenton

​

Emotional Wellbeing: Feeling Great: The Revolutionary New Treatment for Depression and anxiety & Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, by Dr David Burns (also Feeling Good Together and Feeling Great by the same author). Healing Without Freud or Prozac by David Servan-Schreiber, From Darkness to Dawn: Redefining the Journey through Depression, edited by Tami Simon. Transforming Depression: The HeartMath Solution to Feeling Overwhelmed, Sad, and Stressed, by Doc Childre & Deborah Rozman, Freedom from Your Inner Critic: A Self-Therapy Approach, by Jay Earley.  You Are The One You've Been Waiting For: Bringing Courageous Love To Intimate Relationships, by Richard Schwartz.  Healing ADD, by Daniel Amen.  Mindsight - The New Science of Personal Transformation, by Daniel Siegal. Non-violent Communication - A Language for Life, by Marshall Rosenberg. Dodging Energy Vampires: An Empath's Guide, by Dr Christine Northdrup, The Tapping Solution, by Nick Ortner. The Energy Codes, by Dr Sue Morter. Energy Healing: Essentials of Self Care, by Dr Ann Marie Chiasson. Say Goodnight to Insomnia, by Dr Greg Jacobs.

​

Nutritional Medicine:  Hashimoto’s Protocol, by Dr Izabella Wentz, Dirty Genes, by Dr Ben Lynch, The Fatigue and Fibromyalgia Solution, by Dr Jacob TeitelBaum, How Not To Die, by Dr Michael Greger, Health Bowel Healthy Body, by Dr Sanda Cabot. Total Gut Balance, by Dr Mahmoud Ghannoum. Rushing Woman's Syndrome, by Dr Libby Weaver. The End of Alzheimer's Programme: The Practical Plan to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline at Any Age, by Dr Dale Bredeson. Nutrient Power: Heal Your Biochemistry and Heal Your Brain, by Dr William Walsh. The Mood Cure, by Julia Ross.  

​

Cancer:  Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds, by Dr Kelly Turner.  How to Starve Cancer without Starving Yourself: The Discovery of a Metabolic Cocktail That Could Transform the Lives of Millions, by Jane McLelland

​

Chronic Pain:  Manage Your Pain, by Nicholas, Molloy and Tonkin.  The Brain’s Way of Healing, by Dr Norman Doidge. 3 Minutes to a Pain Free Life, by Dr Joseph Weisberg, Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve, by Stanley Rosenberg.   Movement Through Awareness, by Moshe Feldenkrais

​

​