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Rhythms of Recovery: Trauma, Nature, and the Body
Rhythm is one of the most important components of our survival and well-being. It governs the patterns of our sleep and respiration and is profoundly tied to our relationships with friends and family. But what happens when these rhythms are disrupted by traumatic events? Can balance be restored, and if so, how? What insights do eastern, natural, and modern western healing traditions have to offer, and how can practitioners put these lessons to use? Is it possible to do this in a way that's culturally sensitive, multidisciplinary, and grounded in research? Clients walk through the door with chronic physical and mental health problems as a result of traumatic events--how can clinicians make quick and skillful connection with their clients' needs and offer integrative mind/body methods they can rely upon? Rhythms of Recovery not only examines these questions, it also answers them, and provides clinicians with effective, time-tested tools for alleviating the destabilizing effects of traumatic events. For practitioners and students interested in integrating the insights of complementary/alternative medicine and 21st-century science, this deeply appealing book is an ideal guide.Rhythms of Recovery provides 10 continuing education units through the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselor Education Home study program (exam required): //www.mamhca.org/lmhcs/home-study-program/
- GenresPsychologySocial Work
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 3, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 30, 2013
I was very moved by the depth and breadth of this book. Due to the nature of the work I do, I read a fair amount about trauma. This book, written quite beautifully at times, offered a fresh perspective on the nature of trauma. It will certainly inform the work I do, as well as inform my own self-care. I am much more aware now of the innate rhythms of my own body, and how they are affected by my past, my social network, my work, by nature, by what I eat, and so much more. I did many of the exercises offered within the text of the paperback or online. The added to the experience of reading, helping to embody the process of connecting with the author and her theme.
April 28, 2021
A few weeks ago a friend told me about her experience of hearing Leslie Korn speak, and that she had been impressed. This stimulated my curiosity. My own PhD research was in the field of trauma, but I haven’t really kept up to date these last 15+ years, so I decided to dip into this more recent offering on the subject, to see what new ideas are out there. Also I was curious to discover Korn’s thoughts about the role of nutrition in a more holistic approach to treating trauma. So I bought the book and read it.
(On a side issue, the copy editing was not good - surprising for Routledge - it was sometimes irritating having to guess missing words, and at one point a chapter ended partway through a paragraph. That’s pretty poor!)
Copy editing aside, the book was interesting. When I was in the midst of my own work and research, the field was very dominated by controversies, and by polarised views that were held so strongly that it seemed impossible to write anything without making it clear where you stood on certain matters of what experiences were ‘real’ and whose voices counted. Korn doesn’t spend time on any of this, though her bibliography indicates that she is well aware of it. I was quite glad not to have to go over that excruciating ground again.
Instead she spends the first part of the book unpacking the effects of trauma on mind and body, exploring a history of understanding, and presenting the mind/brain/body as a system of functions and processes that require balance and intentional nurture. She tries to look through a multi vocal, multicultural lens that recognises ancient knowledges and the relationship between our well being and the frames of reference we inhabit. In the second part of the book she focuses on the role of nutrition in addressing the difficult physical and psychological aftermaths of trauma. This was less familiar territory for me. While she does not completely reject pharmaceutical interventions where they may be necessary, Korn takes the view that there are often better alternatives, and proceeds to share much helpful material about the roles of different elements in our diets, and the benefits of various botanical medicines for addressing pain, anxiety and so on. It is truly fascinating and full of detail. I guess it is up to the reader to make up their own mind whether they agree with the information and the kind of science it draws upon. I suppose for me I am inclined to think of it as introductory, and I would want to take responsibility for checking out some of the quoted research for myself before taking it on board. The book covers way too much ground to do all that for you. But the principle of holistic connections in our human bodily reality and integrated healing paths is a very important one I think.
(On a side issue, the copy editing was not good - surprising for Routledge - it was sometimes irritating having to guess missing words, and at one point a chapter ended partway through a paragraph. That’s pretty poor!)
Copy editing aside, the book was interesting. When I was in the midst of my own work and research, the field was very dominated by controversies, and by polarised views that were held so strongly that it seemed impossible to write anything without making it clear where you stood on certain matters of what experiences were ‘real’ and whose voices counted. Korn doesn’t spend time on any of this, though her bibliography indicates that she is well aware of it. I was quite glad not to have to go over that excruciating ground again.
Instead she spends the first part of the book unpacking the effects of trauma on mind and body, exploring a history of understanding, and presenting the mind/brain/body as a system of functions and processes that require balance and intentional nurture. She tries to look through a multi vocal, multicultural lens that recognises ancient knowledges and the relationship between our well being and the frames of reference we inhabit. In the second part of the book she focuses on the role of nutrition in addressing the difficult physical and psychological aftermaths of trauma. This was less familiar territory for me. While she does not completely reject pharmaceutical interventions where they may be necessary, Korn takes the view that there are often better alternatives, and proceeds to share much helpful material about the roles of different elements in our diets, and the benefits of various botanical medicines for addressing pain, anxiety and so on. It is truly fascinating and full of detail. I guess it is up to the reader to make up their own mind whether they agree with the information and the kind of science it draws upon. I suppose for me I am inclined to think of it as introductory, and I would want to take responsibility for checking out some of the quoted research for myself before taking it on board. The book covers way too much ground to do all that for you. But the principle of holistic connections in our human bodily reality and integrated healing paths is a very important one I think.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews