**Unraveling Trauma in the Body, Brain and Mind-a Revolution in Treatment**
Peter A. Levine, PhD, holds doctorates in both medical biophysics and psychology. The developer of Somatic Experiencing , a body-awareness approach to healing trauma, and founder of the Foundation for Human Enrichment, he conducts trainings in this work throughout the world and in various indigenous cultures. Dr. Levine was a stress consultant for NASA on the development of the space shuttle project and was a member of the Institute of World Affairs Task Force of Psychologists for Social Responsibility in developing responses to large-scale disasters and ethno-political warfare. Levine's international best seller, Waking the Tiger- Healing Trauma, has been translated into twenty-two languages. His recent interests include the prevention of trauma in children, and he has co-written two books, with Maggie Kline, in this area- Trauma Through a Child's Eyes and Trauma-Proofing Your Kids. Levine's original contribution to the field of Body-Psychotherapy was honored in 2010 when he received the Life Time Achievement award from the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP). For further information on Dr. Levine's trainings, projects and literature, visit www.traumahealing.com and www.somaticexperiencing.com.
"In An Unspoken Voice uses the author's experiences as a
clinician and a student of comparative brain research to explore
the nature and impact of trauma on the body and brain... Case study
examples blend biology and body-oriented psychotherapy in a fine
collection of insights highly recommended for college-level
psychotherapy holdings."
-Midwest Book Review
"In this masterpiece Peter Levine has captured the essence of
trauma as residing in the 'unspoken voice' of our bodies. Combining
a thorough study of animal ethology, brain research, and indigenous
healing rituals with vast clinical knowledge, Levine provides a
marvelous and original perspective on how trauma results in
injuries that can be transformed and healed by attention to the
natural healing powers of that reside deep within every human
being."
-Bessel van der Kolk, MD, medical director and founder of the
Trauma Center at Justice Ressource Institute, director of the
National Complex Trauma Treatment Network, and professor of
Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine
"With this book Peter Levine secures his position in the forefront
of trauma healing, as theorist, practitioner, and teacher. All of
us in the therapeutic community-physicians, psychologists,
therapists, aspiring healers, interested laypeople-are ever so much
richer for this summation of what he himself has learned."
-Gabor Mate, MD, author of In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close
Encounters with Addiction
"Peter Levine's work is visionary common sense, pure and
simple."
-Laura Huxley, lifetime partner and collaborator of Aldous
Huxley
"Peter Levine's first book, Waking the Tiger, changed the
world of trauma treatment: somatic therapy, specifically Somatic
Experiencing (R), the name of the specific approach he developed,
no longer alternative fringe practice, became a major player in the
world of the mainstream psychotherapies. Like an anthropologist
acquainting us with a different culture that he has made his own,
Levine, in his new book, In an Unspoken Voice,
systematically and engagingly initiates us into the ways of the
body and the nervous system that animates it: how it works, what
makes it tick, how to make friends with it, how to understand it,
how to communicate with it and, last but not least, how to treat it
and release it (and with it, us) from the hold of post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD). No longer unspoken, all that is held in the
body--in trauma and in health, in psychosomatic illness and in
resilience-is described, articulated and made coherent. The result
is a masterful, fluent book that seamlessly moves between
evolution, science, Polyvagal theory, mind-body practice,
impassioned defense of our animal natures, self-disclosure and
specific step-by-step guide to treating trauma and restoring
resilience. It is erudite, it is impassioned, it is learned and it
is accessible."
-Diana Fosha, PhD, director of The AEDP Institute, co-editor of
The Healing Power of Emotion: Affective Neuroscience,
Development and Clinical Practice, and author of The
Transforming Power of Affect: A Model for Accelerated
Change
"To be traumatized is to be condemned to endless repetitions of
unbearable experiences. In this beautifully written and engrossing
book, Peter Levine explains how trauma affects our body and mind
and demonstrates how to call upon the wisdom of our bodies to
overcome and transform it. The accounts of his personal and
therapeutic experiences, integrated with the essentials of the
sciences of trauma and healing, are highly informative and
inspiring. His distinctive voice should be widely heard by
survivors, clinicians and scientists."
-Onno van der Hart, PhD, Honorary Professor of the Psychopathology
of Chronic Trauma, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands,
and co-author of The Haunted Self: Structural Dissociation of
the Personality
"Like a wise old weaver Peter Levine painstakingly blends together
strands of many dense colors into ever-fresh patterns emerging from
his honed intelligence and fertile imagination. These strands
comprise careful reflections on his own personal healing, his work
with others, insights from studies with animals, different views
from indigenous peoples here and elsewhere, various scientists
exploring the biologies of the body, spiritual practices in many
traditions and whatever else passes in front of his sparkling eyes.
His first (and now iconic) book, Waking the Tiger, is now
part of the canon for the education of therapists. This major new
book is a welcome landmark in his long history of creating an
intricate tapestry of Somatic theory and practice."
-Don Hanlon Johnson, PhD, professor of Somatics at California
Institute of Integral Studies, founder of the first accredited
graduate studies program in the field, and author of Bone,
Breath, and Gesture: Practices of Embodiment and Everyday
Hopes, Utopian Dreams: Reflections on American Ideals
"For more than forty years, Peter Levine has gently, humorously,
and with stunning simplicity, shown us how trauma responses are
part of a brilliant psychological self-protection system; a
protection system that we, professionals and laypeople alike,
unwittingly block with our many 'normal' responses. If you want to
grasp the essence of how and why the trauma response can help
people heal, read this book. If you want to help a traumatized
person lessen the impact of the trauma while it's happening, read
this book. If you want to understand your own journey through
stress and trauma, read this book. If you want some trail markers
for a path from the daze of dissociation to the reemergence of deep
vibrant aliveness and spiritual feeling, read this book."
-Marianne Bentzen, international trainer in Neuroaffective
Psychotherapy, Copenhagen, Denmark
"Peter Levine conveys his profound scientific understanding of
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) so vividly that the reader
can sense, feel and identify with the many traumatized children and
adults he has worked with. Levine helps us to understand the
complexity of PTSD seen from the outside as well as felt from the
inside. He invites us into a spiritual dimension that draws equally
on science and experience. Through his poetic style the reader is
conducted from the built-in reactions of the nervous system to deep
mental scars, and to how the skilled PTSD therapist can guide
far-reaching healing processes. Levine's understanding is vast in
its scope, from an evolutionary understanding of the source of
trauma to a spiritual dimension of how we as human beings can be
strengthened by healing from trauma."
-Susan Hart, Danish psychologist, author of Brain, Attachment,
Personality: An Introduction to Neuroaffective Development and
The Impact of Attachment: Developmental Neuroaffective
Psychology
"This book stands as a worthy sequel to Levine's groundbreaking
Waking the Tiger. He expands his concepts of the
neurophysiological basis for trauma with a thorough review of the
science of trauma and his own creative theories, providing rich
insights for application to the business of healing. Valuable case
studies illustrate the 'whys' of the behavior of the trauma victim,
and useful tools help the therapist enlist the body in the
process."
-Robert Scaer, MD, author of The Trauma Spectrum and The
Body Bears the Burden
"Peter Levine's approach to understanding and healing trauma is
innovative, vital and thoroughly creative. The map for therapy that
he introduces is very helpful to any healer of trauma. Once again
Levine reminds us that our evolutionary ancestors are not so
removed from us. That we and the other animals are all one family
and that we should learn from them, as our survival and sanity
depends on it. Levine's suggestion to change post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) to post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI) is much more
realistic as we are healing the hurt and not the disorder."
-Mira Rothenberg, author of Children with Emerald Eyes and
founder of Blueberry Treatment Centers
"In the detailed, thoroughly researched, and easy-to-read
book, In An Unspoken Voice, Peter A. Levine gives readers a
fascinating new perspective on dealing with and healing from stress
and trauma. ... Anyone working in the holistic health and wellness
field, or even a contemporary health care practitioner, will derive
great amounts of knowledge from this book that can be applied and
practiced within their own healing environments."
-CirclesOfLight.com
"In an Unspoken Voice is a life enhancing read."
-Bipolar Disorder Batesy
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