Stress and Trauma

by P. Resick

Stress and Trauma provides a well-written, accessible overview of traumatic stress studies. It reviews the full range of clinical disorders that may result from extreme stress, with particular emphasis on the most common disorder - post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The book reviews research on the prevalence of trauma and the prevalence of relevant disorders following trauma. It goes on to look at psychological theories of stress and trauma, the biology of stress and trauma reactions, and the factors prior to, during and after traumatic events that place people at particular risk for the development of psychological problems. The book goes on to look at treatment of trauma-related psychological problems, and covers the use of medication and a range of psychological treatments. Different types of therapy are described and research findings on these approaches are reviewed. Stress and Trauma will provide a valuable overview of the area for advanced undergraduates, early post-graduate training, and mental health professionals seeking an update of recent developments.

Genres: Psychology

216 pages, Paperback

First published December 21, 2000

Reviews

[jade · Rating 2 out of 5]

This clinical psychology book, Stress and Trauma, appears to be more of a general collection of case studies and their results, than a complete, informative textbook on everything related to stress and trauma. Granted, it’s been divided up in several topics in which the author presents the findings of the reviewed case studies, followed by a summary of what might be concluded from these findings, but that doesn’t seem like something a (psychology) student couldn’t do themselves by searching for articles on the subject in either the university library, or online via a search machine such as Web of Science. In short, it feels like a simple summary of research findings.

That is the main problem that I have with this book. I understand what it’s trying to do, and it’s definitely useful in some ways as it provides insight on the most important topics in stress and trauma, and how they’re being supported by research results. It presents chapters on classifying reactions to stress and trauma, on the prevalence of traumatic stress, on psychological theories and biological bases of stress and trauma, on different types of risk-factors, and treatment.

It’s probably a good start if you’re looking to specialize in stress and trauma, and most certainly a good refresher course since it presents all important topics and findings in a row (focusing especially on PTSD, by the way). It’s most certainly concise, and a proper introduction of the field of stress and trauma. It is, however, not entirely my own cup of tea, especially since it seems to bring nothing new to the table, and feels like a summary of existing knowledge.