Victims of Cruelty: Somatic Psychotherapy in the Healing of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

By Maryanna Eckberg

Book Overview

In Victims of Cruelty , Maryanna Eckberg incorporates work with Vietnam veterans (the first to be diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder) and the Chowchilla kidnapping victims. This personal... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1556433530
• ISBN13: 9781556433535
• Release Date: November 2000
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Brilliant Body-Centered Perspective

Total Healing to the Limits of Living: A Sourcebook for Awakening and Engaging the Healing Energies of the Tree of Life I bought this book because I was so impressed with Maryanna Eckberg after a conversation I had with her twenty years ago. She seemed quiet, knowing, and in tune with the people she was working with. When I finally bought the book, I was more than impressed. She has written a brilliant review of her healing methods. She makes it quite obvious that in most cases, the only way to treat trauma is through bringing awareness back into a numbed consciousness. Her approach is respectful, allowing the client to follow their own unfolding as they are ready. The story of Maryanna's own trauma is heartbreaking, but encouraging in that she eventually found her way out of it through bioenergetics and other body-centered approaches.

Best book on the subject

This book is the best book I have read regarding complex PTSD. I work with survivors of trauma,torture--mostly with trauma suffered in childhood. This book validated the work I do and continue to do. Ms. Eckberg's mentor, Peter Levine, Phd, is the best expert in the field of trauma and I highly recommend his books and work as well. It is a pity that Maryanna has passed away. I would have loved to meet her.

One of the Two Best PTSD Books I Ever Read!

I have a vast collection of PTSD books on my shelves and I have to say this is one of the two best books on PTSD I have ever read. (The other one is Rebuilding Shattered Lives: The Responsible Treatment of Complex Post-Traumatic and Dissociative Disorders, by James A. Chu). Maryanna's story is the closest I have ever come to reading my own story! I related to so much of it that I underlined or highlighted more than half of her story. It was incredibly validating to find out that someone else had experienced the same things as me, including all of the dissociation. And it was inspiring to hear that she had found ways to recover. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has endured severe trauma and wonders if anyone else has ever experienced anything close to what they have experienced. You just might find yourself relating to her story, too!

great book, highly recommended

This is the best book on PTSD I have read. I found the spiritual and psychological insights uplifting. It is a powerful read. As the previous critic stated, it is not a "technical" book with exact somatic therapy techniques listed. I did not find it extremely upsetting that the Author and one of her most important clients had passed away, death is an inevitable part of life. Although I appreciated how the Author explained her own experience of recovery -- this was at first overwhelming to me. It took longer to integrate thisfor me. For This reason I would not necessarily recommend it to a recovering client of PTSD. However, I think the examples she used to demonstrate her experience with clients were fine because although you might not relate to their exact situation this is helpful to distance yourself yet still be conscious of how tragedy can strike anyone.