Trauma and the Soul: A psycho-spiritual approach to human development and its interruption

As a survivor of early trauma, this is the only book that I have ever read that relates to me at a depth or analytical psychology level. It is a very advanced understanding of the mind of those traumatised and the self care system we (or some of us) developed. I quote from page 52: "It seems that the process of becoming the self you were intended to be (Jung’s definition of individuation) involves the materialisation of something spiritual. Some seed of true self-hood needs to make a perilous journey through very dangerous territory from the world of eternity to the world of time, from spirit to matter, from divine to human, in order to become a human soul. Along the way this ‘seed’ will face many trials and suffer great disillusionment and it may never be able to make a full commitment to this hopeful journey if its suffering into reality is too great. It may even be forced to split into two, sending part of itself back into the imperishable world from which it came, to make sure that the soul is not annihilated. Sometimes it will be able to return from this dissociation and enter life again. Along the way glimpses of the ‘light’ of its origins and its true companion may support it in its suffering, And if, through all the brokenness of the human condition, it finds enough of those sunny days when life seems possible, enough of those resonant images, empathic self-objects (Kohut) and optimal sufferings (Winnicott) that make love worth the sacrifice of omnipotence…if it makes it to these shores with some of its original identify intact and not as a false self…then in the language of T. S. Eliot it will have “arrived where it started, and know the place for the first time.” There is nothing further that I can say that will add to the above quote, but I hope this will give you an understanding of this simply amazing book (life time work of the author)

This wonderful book was recommended by my psychotherapist. Kalsched brings both great therapy experience and human sensitivity and empathy to his subject. I can speak as one in therapy and not as a practitioner. It has enlightened the process for me. Kalsched evokes a Jungian perspective, using archetypes and dream work, and he interprets areas of human experience in ways that other therapists might regard as unscientific. However Kalsched shows there is an art in psychotherapy and demonstrates the need to look inward to the unconscious as well as outward to external experience. I was very taken by his use of myths and stories to examine the human mind. I personally responded to his interpretations of Dante and The Little Prince and other stories. He shows the power and illumination of human experiences that some of us would call religious. I lean towards Buddhism so at first I struggled with the concept of a soul but Kalsched shows how we can see it as a vital, animating subjective experience. Our world exists beyond just material forces. This is an optimistic book as it shows the resilience of the human soul and its capacity to become whole again even after severe trauma. I would recommend it to anyone in therapy or anyone interested in a human and Jungian approach to psychotherapy.

An absolutely fascinating book written by a leading Jungian author. I found his interpretation of Dante's Inferno eye-opening.

Brilliant writing from an analyst who clearly understands trauma

Just began to read this book. I am excited about this subject. At last a book for those working in the field of Psychotherapy that acknowledges all that we would like to believe but was afraid to entertain thoughts of.

It looks like Kalsched may have written a definitive book on the subject of trauma and one that will be a point of reference for many psychotherapists in the years to come. He's also thrown a lifeline to trauma sufferers who will find so much that resonates in this book. He's tried to make it accessible not only to clinicians but also to a wider, educated readership and the theoretical basis of the work does not overly impinge on this aim. It really is a masterly piece of work, hugely informative but at times also very moving.

This book is a clear and compassionate elucidation of dissociation' it will be of as much value to the 'client' as it will to the therapist. It explains from a psychological perspective one of the disorders known commonly to western shamans as 'soul loss'. It could be read alongside Sandra Ingerman's 'Soul Retrieval' for further explanation. Brilliant!

I'm not a psychologist but this book still is a great read for those of us who aren't professionals and read it for personal healing. I felt that there was a great deal more hope for healing in this book than in his first. I loved both however.

A book that draws the psychological and the spiritual together and shows how the two overlap and enhance understanding of the wounded self. It is carefully presented with case studies and theoretical critiques but is not a dry read. Truth resonates, speaks through the pages.

Through extended clinical vignettes, including therapeutic dialogue and dreams, he shows how depth psychotherapy with trauma’s survivors can open both analytic partners to "another world" of non-ordinary reality in which daimonic powers reside, both light and dark. This mytho-poetic world, he suggests, is not simply a defensive product of our struggle with the harsh realities of living as Freud suggested, but is an everlasting fact of human experience — a mystery that is often at the very center of the healing process, and yet at other times, strangely resists it. With these "two worlds" in focus, Kalsched explores a variety of themes as he builds, chapter by chapter, an integrated psycho-spiritual approach to trauma and its treatment including: * images of the lost soul-child in dreams and how this "child" represents an essential core of aliveness that is both protected and persecuted by the psyche’s defenses; * Dante’s guided descent into the Inferno of Hell as a paradigm for the psychotherapy process and its inevitable struggle with self-destructive energies; * childhood innocence and its central role in a person’s spiritual life seen through the story of St. Exupéry’s The Little Prince; * how clinical attention to implicit processes in the relational field, as well as discoveries in body-based affective neuroscience are making trauma treatment more effective; * the life of C.G. Jung as it portrays his early trauma, his soul’s retreat into an inner sanctuary, and his gradual recovery of wholeness through the integration of his divided self. This is a book that restores the mystery to psychoanalytic work. It tells stories of ordinary patients and ordinary psychotherapists who, through working together, glimpse the reality of the human soul and the depth of the spirit, and are changed by the experience. Trauma and the Soul will be of particular interest to practicing psychotherapists, psychoanalysts, analytical psychologists, and expressive arts therapists, including those with a "spiritual" orientation.

Wonderful book that is a must read for mental health professionals.

El. Libro estaba en muy buen estado, pero el paquete llegó roto

I absolutely love this book! Really makes you think outside the box if you are just the clinical approach to cognitive functioning, if you are like many folks out there who know that in order to achieve balance, you have to have all areas addressed, physical, mental, emotional AND SPIRITUAL. This book is fantastic.