A multidisciplinary group of clinicians explore the connections between traumatic experiences and psychosis, charting the development of a series of interventions designed for both inpatients and outpatients over the course of two decades. Developing Trauma Informed Services for Psychosis details how clinicians developed a trauma committee in a public mental health facility and implemented trauma informed policies and practices, including assessments and multimodal treatment options. Chapters outline trauma informed approaches that include individual, group, and family modalities. Emphasis is on core aspects of programming such as building safety, establishing trusting relationships, and empowerment. One survivor’s descriptive account as well as service users’ and therapists’ experiences are brought to life through personal narratives and fictionalised vignettes. This volume advocates for a multidisciplinary approach that fosters the development of unique treatment paradigms and leads to a dynamic interplay between verbal and creative arts therapies. This book will be of interest to clinicians, administrators, students, caregivers, and anyone interested in the intersection between therapy and the arts.

There is abundant evidence showing a strong association between trauma exposure, psychotic symptoms, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Early trauma exposure contributes to the formation of psychotic symptoms and the development of psychotic disorders or severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and treatment-refractory major depression. Furthermore, among persons with psychotic disorders, multiple traumatization over the lifetime is common, due to factors such as social stigma, the criminalization of severe mental illness, and increased vulnerability to interpersonal victimization. In addition to these factors is the traumatic nature of experiencing psychotic symptoms and coercive treatments such as involuntary hospitalization and being placed in seclusion or restraints. Not surprisingly, these high rates of trauma lead to high rates of PTSD in people with psychotic disorders, which are associated with more severe symptoms, worse functioning, and greater use of acute care services. In addition to the impact of trauma on the development of psychotic disorders and comorbid PTSD, traumatic experiences such as childhood sexual and physical abuse can shape the nature of prominent psychotic symptoms such as the content of auditory hallucinations and delusional beliefs. Additionally, traumatic experiences have been implicated in the role of ‘stress responsivity’ and increased risk for transition to psychosis in those identified as being at clinical high risk of developing psychosis. Finally, although the diagnostic criteria for PTSD primarily emphasize the effects of trauma on anxiety, avoidance, physiological over-arousal, and negative thoughts, it is well established that PTSD is frequently accompanied by psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions that cannot be attributed to another DSM-V Axis I disorder such as psychotic depression or schizophrenia. Understanding the contribution of traumatic experiences to the etiology of psychosis and other symptoms can inform the provision of cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis, including the development of a shared formulation of the events leading up to the onset of the disorder, as well as other trauma-informed treatments that address distressing and disabling symptoms associated with trauma and psychosis. Until recently the trauma treatment needs of this population have been neglected, despite the high rates of trauma and PTSD in persons with psychotic disorders, and in spite of substantial gains made in the treatment of PTSD in the general population. Fortunately, progress in recent years has provided encouraging evidence that PTSD can be effectively treated in people with psychotic disorders using interventions adapted from PTSD treatments developed for the general population. In contrast to clinician fears about the untoward effects of trauma-focused treatments on persons with a psychotic disorder, research indicates that post-traumatic disorders can be safely treated, and that participants frequently experience symptom relief and improved functioning. There is a need to develop a better understanding of the interface between trauma, psychosis, and post-traumatic disorder. This Frontiers Research Topic is devoted to research addressing this interface.

The Editors have a good reputation in this field. The book also has a good line-up of contributors. Provides a new approach to understanding the experience of psychosis that will have implications for clinicians, patients and researchers.

An invaluable sourcebook on the complex relationship between psychosis, trauma, and dissociation, thoroughly revised and updated This revised and updated second edition of Psychosis, Trauma and Dissociation offers an important resource that takes a wide-ranging and in-depth look at the multifaceted relationship between trauma, dissociation and psychosis. The editors – leaders in their field – have drawn together more than fifty noted experts from around the world, to canvas the relevant literature from historical, conceptual, empirical and clinical perspectives. The result documents the impressive gains made over the past ten years in understanding multiple aspects of the interface between trauma, dissociation and psychosis. The historical/conceptual section clarifies the meaning of the terms dissociation, trauma and psychosis, proposes dissociation as central to the historical concepts of schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder, and considers unique development perspectives on delusions and the onset of schizophrenia. The empirical section of the text compares and contrasts psychotic and dissociative disorders from a wide range of perspectives, including phenomenology, childhood trauma, and memory and cognitive disturbances, whilst the clinical section focuses on the assessment, differential diagnosis and treatment of these disorders, along with proposals for new and novel hybrid disorders. This important resource: • Offers extensive updated coverage of the field, from all relevant perspectives • Brings together in one text contributions from scholars and clinicians working in diverse geographical and theoretical areas • Helps define and bring cohesion to this new and important field • Features nine new chapters on: conceptions of trauma, dissociation and psychosis, PTSD with psychotic features, delusions and memory, trauma treatment of psychotic symptoms, and differences between the diagnostic groups on hypnotizability, memory disturbances, brain imaging, auditory verbal hallucinations and psychological testing Written for clinicians, researchers and academics in the areas of trauma, child abuse, dissociation and psychosis, but relevant for psychiatrists, psychologists and psychotherapists working in any area, the revised second edition of Psychosis, Trauma and Dissociation makes an invaluable contribution to this important evolving field.

Through a Trauma Lens aims to understand and highlight successful examples of health, mental health, substance abuse treatment, and other service delivery systems that have implemented an integrated trauma-informed service model. This innovative volume draws on the author’s first-hand experience working alongside a number of local and state organizations as well as a nationwide survey of notable trauma-informed models. Structured around illustrative case studies, chapters that correspond to stage of adoption, and strategies for cultivating staff support, this valuable new resource include examples and strategies to be applied in any treatment or service setting.

Mental health practitioners are becoming increasingly aware that they are encountering a very large number of men and women who are survivors of sexual and physical abuse. This volume identifies the essential elements necessary for a system to begin to integrate an understanding about trauma into its core service programs. The fundamental elements of a trauma-informed system are identified and the necessary supports for bringing about system change are highlighted. The basic philosophy of trauma-informed practice is then examined across several specific service components: assessment and screening, inpatient treatment, residential services, addictions programming, and case management. Modifications necessary to transform a current system into a trauma-informed system are discussed in great detail as well as the changing roles of consumers and providers.This is the 89th issue of the quarterly journal New Directions for Mental Health Services.

Exposure to potentially traumatic events puts individuals at risk for developing a variety of psychological disorders; the complexities involved in treating them are numerous and have serious repercussions. How should diagnostic criteria be defined? How can we help a client who does not present with traditional PTSD symptoms? The mechanisms of human behavior need to be understood and treatment needs to be tested before we can move beyond traditional diagnostic criteria in designing and implementing treatment. No better guide than Retraumatization exists to fulfill these goals. The editors and contributors, all highly regarded experts, accomplish six objectives, to: define retraumatization outline the controversies related to it provide an overview of theoretical models present data related to the frequency of occurrence of different forms of trauma detail the most reliable strategies for assessment to provide an overview of treatments. Contained within is the most current information on prevention and treatment approaches for specific populations. All chapters are uniformly structured and address epidemiological data, clinical descriptions, assessment, diagnosis and prognosis, and prevention. It is an indispensible resource that expands readers’ knowledge and skills, and will encourage dialogue in a field that has many unanswered questions.