This “rare and compelling” (New York Magazine) bestseller examines childhood trauma and the enduring effects it has on an individual's management of repressed anger and pain. Why are many of the most successful people plagued by feelings of emptiness and alienation? This wise and profound book has provided millions of readers with an answer--and has helped them to apply it to their own lives. Far too many of us had to learn as children to hide our own feelings, needs, and memories skillfully in order to meet our parents' expectations and win their "love." Alice Miller writes, "When I used the word 'gifted' in the title, I had in mind neither children who receive high grades in school nor children talented in a special way. I simply meant all of us who have survived an abusive childhood thanks to an ability to adapt even to unspeakable cruelty by becoming numb.... Without this 'gift' offered us by nature, we would not have survived." But merely surviving is not enough. The Drama of the Gifted Child helps us to reclaim our life by discovering our own crucial needs and our own truth.

"A clarion call from one of the great psychological mins of our time." Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center, San Francisco --

As an emerging psychotherapeutic discipline, drama therapy has been gaining global attention over the last decade for its demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of child and adolescent populations. However, despite this attention and despite the current turbulent state of the world and the increasing population of disturbed and at-risk children, the field of drama therapy has so far lacked a standard text. Weber and Haen’s book fills this need, providing a core text for graduate students and established professionals alike. Clinical Applications of Drama Therapy in Child and Adolescent Treatment is guided by theory, but firmly rooted in practice, providing a survey of the many different possibilities and techniques for incorporating drama therapy within child and adolescent therapy. More than merely a survey of the existing literature on drama therapy, this text represents a true expansion of the field: one which articulates the breadth of possibilities and applications for drama therapy in the larger context of psychotherapy.

For Your Own Good, the contemporary classic exploring the serious if not gravely dangerous consequences parental cruelty can bring to bear on children everywhere, is one of the central works by Alice Miller, the celebrated Swiss psychoanalyst. With her typically lucid, strong, and poetic language, Miller investigates the personal stories and case histories of various self-destructive and/or violent individuals to expand on her theories about the long-term affects of abusive child-rearing. Her conclusions—on what sort of parenting can create a drug addict, or a murderer, or a Hitler—offer much insight, and make a good deal of sense, while also straying far from psychoanalytic dogma about human nature, which Miller vehemently rejects. This important study paints a shocking picture of the violent world—indeed, of the ever-more-violent world—that each generation helps to create when traditional upbringing, with its hidden cruelty, is perpetuated. The book also presents readers with useful solutions in this regard—namely, to resensitize the victimized child who has been trapped within the adult, and to unlock the emotional life that has been frozen in repression.

The ,,true" Drama of the Gifted Child is a biography of the famous childhood researcher Alice Miller. As her son and as an experienced psychotherapist I discovered the secret who Alice Miller really was. My mother always cared that nothing of her private life got public. She created a fictional character in her books and in mine she gets a real person, a man of flesh and blood.It's also my history because I describe, how it is when you are faced, as a child and in second generation, with the not coped post-war trauma of your parents.Alice Miller created a mother image in her books she never complied. My book shows what happens when you do not overcome your traumas and you pass them on the next generation. The book is also a concrete application of Alice Miller's theory. It shows how you can overcome the terrible legacy of your parents in a therapeutical way.I can release myself of the filial involvement with my parents by having elaborated my own biography.

As an emerging psychotherapeutic discipline, drama therapy has been gaining global attention over the last decade for its demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of child and adolescent populations. However, despite this attention and despite the current turbulent state of the world and the increasing population of disturbed and at-risk children, the field of drama therapy has so far lacked a standard text. Weber and Haen’s book fills this need, providing a core text for graduate students and established professionals alike. Clinical Applications of Drama Therapy in Child and Adolescent Treatment is guided by theory, but firmly rooted in practice, providing a survey of the many different possibilities and techniques for incorporating drama therapy within child and adolescent therapy. More than merely a survey of the existing literature on drama therapy, this text represents a true expansion of the field: one which articulates the breadth of possibilities and applications for drama therapy in the larger context of psychotherapy.

JennaThere are two things you need to know about me: I'm very independent and I'm a genius. Literally, I'm a genius. At least that's what my IQ score says. But even being a genius, mistakes are bound to happen. I am human, after all. It all started one night when a sexy billionaire bought me a drink and I accidentally tossed it all over his five-thousand-dollar suit. He tried to blame me, but in actuality, it was his fault because of his lack of respect for my personal boundaries. I offered to pay for the dry cleaning and gave him my number to let me know how much it cost. He did, and we ended up spending the night together. Long story short, the condom broke, I forgot to take my pill two days in a row and we mistakenly created a baby. I never planned on telling him about the baby until I lost my job, and my landlord turned the apartments I lived in into condos. He told me he couldn't be a father, and I was okay with that. I didn't need a man complicating my life. I was all set to embark on my journey as a single parent until...LucasThe only thing I did was notice a beautiful woman and buy her a drink. A drink she carelessly spilled all over me and then had the nerve to say it was my fault. I forgave her because I wanted her. At least for one night. Maybe I should have just forgotten about her and thrown her number away. But I didn't, and a mishap occurred during our one-night stand that resulted in a baby. I wasn't father material, or maybe I was, but just didn't want to be. The last thing I needed in my life was baby drama. I liked my bachelor life the way it was, and Jenna was cool with that. She made it clear she didn't want me involved. I was all set to continue on with my life as if nothing happened until...18+