Peter Levine is the creator of Somatic Experiencing, a body-based approach to trauma recovery, and Maggie Phillips is a psychologist and author. You can see his work at www.traumahealing.com and hers at www.maggiephillipsphd.com. In this helpful paperback, the authors address the millions of people who live with chronic pain. It is estimated that about two-thirds of the people in pain today have been dealing with it for more than five years. Health officials report that most of the people who visit a doctor are seeking relief from pain. Yet many of them are unable to find the right treatment to put an end to their suffering.
Levine and Phillips present a toolbox of methods that can be used to release men, women, and children from the cycle of pain and the accompanying emotions of anger and fear. At the heart of their approach is self-regulation which requires an alliance between mind, body, emotions, and spirituality. The authors cover such salient points as the ways (unresolved emotional traumas) we get stuck in the pain trap, strategies for dealing with dissociation, methods for handling pain of medical trauma, and paths to recovery. Levine and Phillips know that one size does not fit all who suffer from pain and that is why they recommend a variety of treatments including affirmations, message, acupuncture, yoga, chi gong, the practice of gratitude, self-love, and compassion.
