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Take Control of Your Life With Self-Help
Techniques from EMDR Therapy
Francine Shapiro, PhD
Rodale Books
February 28, 2012 / ISBN 978-1594864254
Nonfiction Self-Help
Amazon
Reviewed
by Leslie Halpern
As the originator and developer of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization
and Reprocessing) therapy, Francine Shapiro provides essential tools
for lessening the hold our traumatized pasts have upon our current
thinking and behavior. In the early pages, she explains how she
discovered the EMDR technique accidentally while sorting through
problems and noticing reduced tension after rapidly moving her eyes
back and forth. After successfully repeating the experiment on herself
and then on test subjects and clients over the years, she (and many
prestigious psychological associations) are convinced this therapy
provides relief from the anxiety and depression associated with
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other psychiatric disturbances.
This book not only explains the origin of the therapy and clinical
proof of its validity, but also teaches how to use the technique
for emotional healing of various wounds. For the layperson with
no particular knowledge of psychology, this will provide some challenging
reading. For clinicians and students of psychology, the book offers
valuable insights about the unconscious mind. In particular, Shapiro
describes (and provides actual case studies) of how unprocessed,
unconscious childhood traumas can override processed, conscious
adult thinking.
There's much to think about on these pages, such as the link between
past and present, and the mind-body connection. Readers are likely
to put the book down many times in order to contemplate described
concepts and determine how to apply them to past experiences. In
addition to 11 chapters, appendixes provide more useful information,
such as a glossary, suggestions for further reading, and details
on how to choose a clinician.
While the style of Getting Past Your Past reads more like
an academic text than the self-help totally accessible user's guide
it claims on the book jacket, the potentially life-changing content
is certainly worth a little extra effort. Be prepared, however,
because some of the content is of the don't try this at home variety
requiring a trained therapist or clinician.
Reviewer Leslie Halpern is the author of Passionate About
Their Work: 151 Celebrities, Artists, and Experts on Creativity. |
