Category: Abuse

Human Development and Trauma: How Childhood Shapes Us into Who We Are as Adults

By Darius Cikanavicius (Author), Jacqueline Peressini (Editor), Daniel Mackler (Foreword) (2018)

From Amazin.com: “From the About the Book section: The focus of this book is human psychological development. The book’s goal is to explore how our early emotional and social environment influences us and what problems and advantages we develop as adults as the result of it. … This book is intended for people interested in the subjects of childrearing, childhood trauma, and the consequences of childhood adversity. It is for all who wish to better understand themselves and their society.

From the Foreword: What makes this book special is that it is healthy. Darius Cikanavicius offers the reader a compassionate and trauma-informed study of childhood from the perspective of the child, and not, as is the case with the far majority of psychology books, from the perspective of the parent. This is key, because any book that addresses childhood trauma and is really worth its weight must sensitively yet determinedly take the child’s side. … For this reason I consider anyone who gets their hands on this book fortunate indeed. 
— Daniel Mackler, LCSW”

Brain Scans Reveal How Badly Emotional Abuse Damages Kids

The CT scan on the left shows a normal child's brain, the one on the right is the brain of a child who has been the victim of emotional trauma.

The CT scan on the left shows a normal child’s brain, while the one on the right is the brain of a child who has been the victim of emotional trauma.Bruce D Perry/The Child Trauma Academy

By Andrea Downey, The Sun

November 2, 2017 

https://nypost.com/2017/11/02/brain-scans-reveal-how-badly-emotional-abuse-damages-kids/

Shame and Silence: Recognizing Spiritual Abuse

February 1, 2017 

Contributed by Mackenzi Kingdon, MA, LMHCA, GoodTherapy.org Topic Expert

At GoodTherapy.org

https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/shame-and-silence-recognizing-spiritual-abuse-0201175?utm_source=Subscribers&utm_campaign=d9237c1eb9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_03_25_09_11&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_135946a8dd-d9237c1eb9-71304725

I’m Saying No!: Standing Up Against Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment, and Sexual Pressure

by Beverly Engel, LMFT. (2019)

From Amazon.com: “In spite of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, many women are still afraid to say no to unwanted sexual advances and reluctant to report sexual violations. Far too many college students are being raped and are afraid to report it. Women are subjected to sexual harassment, sexual bullying, and sexual pressure every day on the street, at work, and at home but are unable to speak truth to power or to report these sexual offenses. 

I’m Saying No! is written specifically for these women—women who are still afraid to speak up for themselves, women who need to learn how to do so, and women whose personal history of child sexual abuse or sexual assault as an adult has wounded them so much that they have lost their voice. Here, Beverly Engel—an internationally recognized psychotherapist and acclaimed advocate for victims of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse—offers a ground-breaking program to help all the women who have been silenced by past trauma, women who were raised to believe they didn’t have a right to say no, and women who have spoken out in the past only to go unheard. 

Bold and timely, I’m Saying No! offers women the encouragement, support, and guidelines they need in order to become the powerful women they are—women who believe in themselves and stand up for themselves.”