The Heart of Trauma

Healing the Embodied Brain in the Context of Relationships

By: Bonnie Badenoch, Stephen W. Porges - foreword

Narrated by: Leslie Howard

Images and sounds of war, natural disasters, and human-made devastation explicitly surround us and implicitly leave their imprint in our muscles, our belly and heart, our nervous systems, and the brains in our skulls. We each experience more digital data than we are capable of processing in a day, and this is leading to a loss of empathy and human contact. This loss of leisurely, sustained, face-to-face connection is making true presence a rare experience for many of us, and is neurally ingraining fast pace and split attention as the norm.

Yet despite all of this, the ability to offer the safe sanctuary of presence is central to effective clinical treatment of trauma and indeed to all of therapeutic practice. It is our challenge to remain present within our culture, Badenoch argues, no matter how difficult this might be.

The first part of The Heart of Trauma provides listeners with an extended understanding of the ways in which our physical bodies are implicated in our conscious and non-conscious experience. Badenoch then delves even deeper into the clinical implications of moving through the world. She presents a strong, scientifically grounded case for doing the work of opening to hemispheric balance and relational deepening.

©2018 Bonnie Badenoch (P)2020 Tantor

one of the top books on understanding how...

This is one of the top books on how trauma, corregulation, and attachment bonds function to naturally lead to healing of wounds and the ending of dysfunctional emotional psychological and immunitional patterns.

Beautiful

This book is a beautiful conceptualization of trauma and allows clinicians to understand as well as be present and witness to our clients’ healing. It is a beautiful book with beautiful concepts and beautiful narration.

Guidebook for Opening Your Heart to Your People

There is so much so well presented in this book- head and heart, science and art. Badenoch illustrates with keen detail and flowing flexibility how to support the healing of survivors of complex trauma. This is the best thing I have read about how to follow your people to their healing. It now tops my list for books I recommend to others wading in the waters of trauma healing, professionally or personally. Also, for me, it could not have been better read.