The Art of Jewish Pastoral Counseling provides a clear, practical guide to working with congregants in a range of settings and illustrates the skills and core principles needed for effective pastoral counseling. The material is drawn from Jewish life and rabbinic pastoral counseling, but the fundamental principles in these pages apply to all faith traditions and to a wide variety of counselling relationships. Drawing on relational psychodynamic ideas but writing in a very accessible style, Friedman and Yehuda cover when, how and why counseling may be sought, how to set up sessions, conduct the work in those sessions and deal with difficult situations, maintain confidentiality, conduct groupwork and approach traumatic and emotive subjects. They guide the reader through the foundational principles and topics of pastoral counseling and illustrate the journey with accessible and lively vignettes. By using real life examples accompanied by guided questions, the authors help readers to learn practical techniques as well as gain greater self-awareness of their own strengths and vulnerabilities. With a host of examples from pastoral and clinical experience, this book will be invaluable to anyone offering counselling to both the Jewish community and those of other faiths. The Art of Jewish Pastoral Counseling will appeal to psychoanalysts, particularly those working with Jewish clients, counselors, psychotherapists, psychoanalysts and rabbis offering pastoral counseling, as well as clergy of other faiths such as ministers, priests, imams and lay chaplains.

Research has suggested that childhood experiences confer risk/resilience for reactions to trauma in adulthood, and predictors and correlates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appear to differ developmentally. Research in PTSD has typically been conducted by either child or adult researchers with relatively little overlap or communication between the two camps. Developmental models of PTSD are necessary to fully understand the complex constellation of responses to trauma across the lifespan. Such models can inform study designs and lead to novel, developmentally-appropriate interventions. To this end, this book is organized in such a way as to present and integrate research into child, adult, and older adult trauma samples in an attempt to culminate in a testable model of PTSD risk and resilience across the lifespan. Each author incorporates a developmental slant to their individual chapter, and the chapters are organized to highlight potential differences in our understanding of risk and resiliency between children and adults. Initial chapters concerning pre- and peri-traumatic risk factors for PTSD lead into chapters reviewing specific risk and resilience factors in adults and children. Additional chapters focus on the impact of childhood trauma on adult functioning and the biology of PTSD in children, adults, and older adults. As PTSD rarely occurs in a 'pure' form, specific chapters focus on the impact of comorbid disorders in our understanding of PTSD, and the final chapters consider both psychosocial and pharmacological treatments for PTSD in children and adults.

Research has suggested that childhood experiences confer risk/resilience for reactions to trauma in adulthood, and predictors and correlates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appear to differ developmentally. Research in PTSD has typically been conducted by either child or adult researchers with relatively little overlap or communication between the two camps. Developmental models of PTSD are necessary to fully understand the complex constellation of responses to trauma across the lifespan. Such models can inform study designs and lead to novel, developmentally-appropriate interventions. To this end, this book is organized in such a way as to present and integrate research into child, adult, and older adult trauma samples in an attempt to culminate in a testable model of PTSD risk and resilience across the lifespan. Each author incorporates a developmental slant to their individual chapter, and the chapters are organized to highlight potential differences in our understanding of risk and resiliency between children and adults. Initial chapters concerning pre- and peri-traumatic risk factors for PTSD lead into chapters reviewing specific risk and resilience factors in adults and children. Additional chapters focus on the impact of childhood trauma on adult functioning and the biology of PTSD in children, adults, and older adults. As PTSD rarely occurs in a 'pure' form, specific chapters focus on the impact of comorbid disorders in our understanding of PTSD, and the final chapters consider both psychosocial and pharmacological treatments for PTSD in children and adults.

The Art of Jewish Pastoral Counseling provides a clear, practical guide to working with congregants in a range of settings and illustrates the skills and core principles needed for effective pastoral counseling. The material is drawn from Jewish life and rabbinic pastoral counseling, but the fundamental principles in these pages apply to all faith traditions and to a wide variety of counselling relationships. Drawing on relational psychodynamic ideas but writing in a very accessible style, Friedman and Yehuda cover when, how and why counseling may be sought, how to set up sessions, conduct the work in those sessions and deal with difficult situations, maintain confidentiality, conduct groupwork and approach traumatic and emotive subjects. They guide the reader through the foundational principles and topics of pastoral counseling and illustrate the journey with accessible and lively vignettes. By using real life examples accompanied by guided questions, the authors help readers to learn practical techniques as well as gain greater self-awareness of their own strengths and vulnerabilities. With a host of examples from pastoral and clinical experience, this book will be invaluable to anyone offering counselling to both the Jewish community and those of other faiths. The Art of Jewish Pastoral Counseling will appeal to psychoanalysts, particularly those working with Jewish clients, counselors, psychotherapists, psychoanalysts and rabbis offering pastoral counseling, as well as clergy of other faiths such as ministers, priests, imams and lay chaplains.

In the 1980's, the psychiatric community first officially recognized posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a diagnosis to describe the disorder that can occur following exposure to extremely traumatic events. Since that time, it have been observed that some patients who have been exposed to trauma do not develop PTSD or only have symptoms immediately following the event, whereas others show signs of chronic PTSD. Recently, it has been hypothesized that the development of chronic PTSD results from a combination of factors, only some of which are related to exposure to trauma.

Risk Factors for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder assembles almost 20 experts to examine the latest research on this topic. Specifically, it covers: - Several important demographic and environmental risk factors for the development of PTSD- Genetic risk factors identified through twin studies- Neurbiological risk factors of PTSD and findings from several family studies- Psychophysiological expressions of risk factors as well as neurocognitive risk factors for PTSD- Personality characteristics in individuals with a propensity to develop PTSD and risk factors for the acute biological and psychological response to trauma

Complete with a summary of the latest findings that advance our knowledge of the effects of trauma, this resource it useful in identifying and treating individuals much earlier following a traumatic experience as well as in helping prevent vulnerable individuals from being exposed to traumatic events.

In 1996, representatives from 27 different countries met in Jerusalem to share ideas about traumatic stress and its impact. For many, this represented the first dialogue that they had ever had with a mental health professional from another country. Many of the attendees had themselves been exposed to either personal trauma or traumatizing stories involving their patients, and represented countries that were embroiled in conflicts with each other. Listening to one another became possible because of the humbling humanity of each participant, and the accuracy and objectivity of the data presented. Understanding human traumatization had thus become a common denomi nator, binding together all attendees. This book tries to capture the spirit of the Jerusalem World Conference on Traumatic Stress, bringing forward the diversities and commonalties of its constructive discourse. In trying to structure the various themes that arose, it was all too obvious that paradigms of different ways of conceiving of traumatic stress should be addressed first. In fact, the very idea that psychological trauma can result in mental health symptoms that should be treated has not yet gained universal acceptability. Even within medicine and mental health, competing approaches about the impact of trauma and the origins of symptoms abound. Part I discusses how the current paradigm of traumatic stress disorder developed within the historical, social, and process contexts. It also grapples with some of the difficulties that are presented by this paradigm from anthropologic, ethical, and scientific perspectives.

In 1996, representatives from 27 different countries met in Jerusalem to share ideas about traumatic stress and its impact. For many, this represented the first dialogue that they had ever had with a mental health professional from another country. Many of the attendees had themselves been exposed to either personal trauma or traumatizing stories involving their patients, and represented countries that were embroiled in conflicts with each other. Listening to one another became possible because of the humbling humanity of each participant, and the accuracy and objectivity of the data presented. Understanding human traumatization had thus become a common denomi nator, binding together all attendees. This book tries to capture the spirit of the Jerusalem World Conference on Traumatic Stress, bringing forward the diversities and commonalties of its constructive discourse. In trying to structure the various themes that arose, it was all too obvious that paradigms of different ways of conceiving of traumatic stress should be addressed first. In fact, the very idea that psychological trauma can result in mental health symptoms that should be treated has not yet gained universal acceptability. Even within medicine and mental health, competing approaches about the impact of trauma and the origins of symptoms abound. Part I discusses how the current paradigm of traumatic stress disorder developed within the historical, social, and process contexts. It also grapples with some of the difficulties that are presented by this paradigm from anthropologic, ethical, and scientific perspectives."

In recent years, considerable research, as well as clinical guidelines based on study findings, has been published on the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A gap remains, however, between the controlled environments and protocols used in intervention research and the more complex and often imperfect settings and situations that clinicians must navigate in daily practice. Moreover, clinicians routinely see patients whose comorbid substance abuse, self-destructive behavior, or medical illness would likely exclude them from research studies. In short, although the extensive literature is certainly helpful in articulating the various treatment modalities available to clinicians, the strength of the evidence for the efficacy of the treatments, and the recommendations and personal preferences of experts, the literature does not address the real-life dilemmas that clinicians face in attempting to treat trauma survivors.

What is needed is a way to bridge the gap between research and practice -- to "translate" study findings into everyday clinical realities. Treating Trauma Survivors With PTSD answers that need. Its authors, experienced researchers and clinicians who are at the forefront of conceptual discourse on trauma and PTSD, are uniquely qualified to offer guidance on these issues. Among the specific topics covered are the following: - Diagnosis and assessment of and treatment planning for trauma survivors with PTSD, including clinical presentations related to trauma exposure and PTSD and the implications of comorbid symptoms and disorders- Treatment matching in clinical practice -- how treatment outcome findings can be used to develop profiles for predicting which patients are most likely to respond to which treatments- Medications useful in the treatment of PTSD and the strength of the empirical evidence for their efficacy- Trauma in children and the efficacy of various treatments, including a discussion of how treatment for children differs from that for adults- Assessment and treatment of multiply traumatized patients -- those with both recent trauma and a history of childhood trauma or abuse- Treatment of trauma survivors in the acute aftermath of traumatic events, including a review of some of the exciting developments in the field regarding risk factors (e.g., normal vs. pathological coping responses) that influence which individuals are most likely to develop PTSD after such events.

These topics have never been more relevant than now, in the wake of the attacks that shook our country on September 11, 2001. It is the authors' hope that by reading this book, mental health practitioners will gain more confidence in applying the specialized techniques described in empirical studies to their own practices and clinical realities.

"Psychological Trauma" reviews the theory of traumatic exposure as a major factor in psychological disorders like PTSD. It also addresses the differing outcomes of such exposure as well as exciting treatment options for patients. Some highlights from this volume of the 1998 Review of Psychiatry series include: - Complete coverage of the neurological damage from exposure to trauma.- A thoughtful discussion of the reasons some rape survivors suffer from chronic PTSD.- An established connection between PTSD and anxiety disorders and depression.- New uses of pharmacotherapy for patients suffering from PTSD.

The understanding of the connection between trauma and PTSD, is a continuing challenge for physicians. While many patients suffer from the disorder, it is still not commonly understood. "Psychological Trauma" provides psychiatrists and psychologists accessible and reliable information on the topic.