Jason Aronson, Inc.
Pages: 286
Trim: 6½ x 9½
978-0-7657-0845-8 • Hardback • December 2011 • $126.00 • (£97.00)
978-0-7657-0847-2 • eBook • December 2011 • $119.50 • (£92.00)
Subjects: Psychology / Psychotherapy / General,
Psychology / General,
Psychology / Clinical Psychology,
Psychology / Psychotherapy / Counseling,
Psychology / Psychopathology / Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),
Psychology / Mental Health,
Psychology / Developmental / Adulthood & Aging,
Psychology / Developmental / Lifespan Development,
Family & Relationships / Death, Grief, Bereavement,
Psychology / Grief & Loss,
Psychology / Sensation/Perception,
Psychology / Consultation
Witold Simon, MD, PhD, CGP, is Assistant Professor at the Department of Neurotic Disorders and Psychotherapy, at the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Warsaw, Poland.
Preface
Chapter I. Clash of determinism and existentialism: Causal explanations versus contextual meanings
Chapter II. The shattering ramifications of abuse and neglect
Chapter III. Potential traumatic consequences of pregnancy loss
Chapter IV. The anamnesis of two individuals experienced by trauma
Chapter V. The Person One Could Have Become
Chapter VI. Mourning the Person One Could Have Become
Chapter VII. The clinical application of mourning the Person One Could Have Become: the NEST group psychotherapy
Chapter VIII. The role of the therapist in mourning the Person One Could Have Become
Chapter IX. Supervision of the process of mourning the Person One Could Have Become
Chapter X. The clients’ process of defining and mourning the Person One Could Have Become
Chapter XI. Long-term ramifications: Continuous process of transformation beyond the termination of psychotherapy
Chapter XII. Aftermath of clients’ mourning processes
Chapter XIII. Critique of the concept of mourning the Person One Could Have Become
Conclusions
References
Index
Author
Simon's work here is impressive. He illuminates at both the practical and theoretical levels a relatively overlooked but vital aspect of humans and psychotherapy, and he does so by richly relating the work of a host of important existentialists.
— Brent D. Slife, Professor of Psychology, Brigham Young University
This engaging book goes deeply into a very relevant clinical topic. Witold Simon provides the theoretical solid ground of the innovative construct The Person One Could Have Become (POCHB) and its connection to trauma experiences. The author presents the term from a new perspective based on a profound reflection, as well as multiple theoretical approaches with a strong emphasis in an existential-humanistic view. Simon very well depicts how psychotherapy could be an experience of moving from trauma to authenticity, pointing out integrative group psychotherapy as modality fit enough for such a profound transition as mourning the Person One Could Have Become. The role of the therapist and supervision features is subsequently described. Critiques of the POCHB concept are not spared, inviting the reader to widen the scope of study and discussing further research.
— Héctor Fernández L'Hoeste, Aigle Foundation; University of Belgrano
Dr. Witold Simon has created a comprehensive overview of existential approaches to trauma. This book extends our understanding of trauma further than both Jacobsen's European existential summarization of the topic, and Stubrin's recent American humanistic-existential work. I believe he is successful in going beyond manualization and in so doing provides a very stimulating book which will be of great interest to practitioners. Working with trauma is frequently challenging and such encouragement and thoughtful critique is much-needed.
— Simon du Plock, Middlesex University