Trauma and the 12 Steps, Revised and Expanded

An Inclusive Guide to Enhancing Recovery

De: Jamie Marich PHD, Stephen Dansiger - introduction PsyD MFT

Narrado por: Marissa Ghavami

An inclusive, research-based guide to working the 12 steps: a trauma-informed approach for clinicians, sponsors, and those in recovery.

Step 1: You admit that you're powerless over your addiction. Now what?

12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) have helped countless people on the path to recovery. But many still feel that 12-step programs aren't for them: that the spiritual emphasis is too narrow, the modality too old-school, the setting too triggering, or the space too exclusive. Some struggle with an addict label that can eclipse the histories, traumas, and experiences that feed into addiction, or dismisses the effects of adverse experiences like trauma in the first place. Advances in addiction medicine, trauma, neuropsychiatry, social theory, and overall strides in inclusivity need to be integrated into modern-day 12-step programs to reflect the latest research and what it means to live with an addiction today.

Dr. Jamie Marich, an addiction and trauma clinician in recovery herself, builds necessary bridges between the 12-step's core foundations and up-to-date developments in trauma-informed care. Foregrounding the intersections of addiction, trauma, identity, and systems of oppression, Marich's approach treats the whole person--not just the addiction--to foster healing, transformation, and growth.

Written for clinicians, therapists, sponsors, and those in recovery, Marich provides an extensive toolkit of trauma-informed skills that:
• Explains how trauma impacts addiction, recovery, and relapse
• Celebrates communities who may feel excluded from the program, like atheists, agnostics, and LGBTQ+ folks
• Welcomes outside help from the fields of trauma, dissociation, mindfulness, and addiction research
• Explains the differences between being trauma-informed and trauma-sensitive; and
• Discusses spiritual abuse as a legitimate form of trauma that can profoundly impede spirituality-based approaches to healing.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Jamie Marich offers a compendium of practices that make using the twelve steps more
effective in sustaining recovery. There are suggestions for including expressive arts,
yoga breathing, meditation, prayer, and ceremony into the recovery plan. This book
belongs in the hands of everyone who serves those suffering from addiction."
—Amy Weintraub, E-RYT-500, founder of LifeForce Yoga and author of Yoga for Depression

"In this revised edition of Trauma and the 12 Steps, Marich updates and expands on
her previous message on the importance of acknowledging the co-occurrence of problems
with addictions with a history of trauma. This is a book that I will continue to wholeheartedly recommend!"
—Christine A. Courtois, PhD, ABPP, author of Healing the Incest Wound

"What I love most about this book is that it is built around a well-thought-out
solution—one that is accessible and straightforward guided by years of collective
wisdom and experience, and most especially pain—pain that is transformed into a
whole new way of living."
—Dan Griffin, MA, author of A Man’s Way through the Twelve Steps

Excellent for those new to this space

This audio was helpful in understanding trama and its influence on healing for those affected by the use of stimulants to self medicate.

Trauma and 12 Step Recovery

I found this book to be very informative regarding Trauma and working the 12 step Programs. Resources offered and related items in appendix are awesome! I really enjoyed this book! I have recently joined a 12 step Program. I have had some ups and downs. This book really helped me to understand some of my problems with the program.

Better understanding of Trauma in Recovery

After 20 years in recovery, I had had some conflict with the 12 steps in my own recovery. This book helped give me some clarity on where I was bumping heads. It also will give me some grace walking in the future, and be more gentle with myself and others.

Very helpful healing within 12 Step structure

12 Step programs are everywhere, and have been helpful for stopping active addiction, and when done as thoroughly as possible, CAN provide benefit in healing the "causes & conditions" that drive addiction in the average addict/alcoholic.

From my experience (similar to what the authors shared), the "problem" those of us with trauma history have is in the rigidness & intolerance of SOME members of the fellowship (not 12 Step programs) that insist they know it all & feel qualified to judge others who's experiences are different than their own. They insight that "you just need to pray about it" and it will disappear.

You need to feel it, to heal it. Avoiding the unpleasant feelings with spiritual bypassing platitudes is not "healing" (though it certainly DOES have some value in certain conditions).

This book is quite valuable for helping me deal with my own Complex PTSD, it's validating.

A plug for Dr Dansiger. He's a leading teacher & practioner for EMDR, so if you have interest in EMDR, research his works.

Excellent

As a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, this book is an excellent resource. It helped me with my own trauma; I am better able to identify some of my own thoughts and feelings and how to deal with them. This book also identifies some of the tripping points for new members of Alcoholics Anonymous and how to help the newcomer.