IN YOUR BOOK, YOU DISCUSS A BOTH/AND APPROACH. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN, AND WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO YOUR WORK? In recovery circles, and indeed in many mental health contexts, people tend to think that their approach is the correct approach. We see 12-step advocates do this just as staunchly as 12-step opponents do it, for example. On the mental health side of things, proponents of one therapeutic modality can see [their approach] as a panacea, and ignore wisdom that can be offered from other approaches. Extremist, rigid teachings on health and healing have not been helpful in my experience as a trauma survivor, clinical specialist, and educator. Rigidity is an ultimate sign of unhealed trauma and flexibility is imperative to healing it. So for me, both/and, which is a core application of dialectics, is imperative. Two things can be true at the same time—12-step approaches can help millions of people and still be harmful, especially if applied by dogmatic treatment centers or individuals. The answer for me has never been throwing out 12-step work or other traditional approaches altogether, because in and of themselves they can still help people experience tremendous growth and change. We can honor that experience while still being open to critique how we can serve others more effectively and in a more trauma-responsive manner. YOU ALSO TALK ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF HONORING THE STRUGGLE. WHAT DO YOU MEAN? To meet people where they are on the journey; to validate their experiences before we try to challenge them into action. To realize that everyone coming into recovery has fought a hard battle and to approach them from this place of dignity. IN TIMES OF EXTREME UNCERTAINTY, HOW IS WHAT "THE STRUGGLE" LOOKS LIKE CHANGING? HOW CAN THE WAYS THAT WE HONOR IT CHANGE, TOO? Part of what some of our current circumstances have revealed for me is that everyone’s struggle is different. Some people are dealing with business and work transitions successfully while living in toxic home or family environments, and other people may be content at home while struggling to keep their business or work life viable. Some people are crumbling from the isolation, and others are thriving in it. I am not a fan of that statement going around that “we’re all in this together” because our experiences of it are all so different. Our levels of privilege may allow us to ride out this storm more comfortably. So I’m more likely to advocate for another saying I see going around: “We’re not all in the same boat, even though we might be in the same storm.” I think there are many parallels here to what it means to honor the struggle…we cannot make assumptions about what other people are experiencing based only on our worldview, which may be colored by the fact that we’re riding it out in a more fortified boat. WHAT SOLO PRACTICES CAN BE HELPFUL TO MAINTAINING BALANCE? I am a huge fan of Loving Kindness meditation. In this sacred practice we come into a place of awareness and we offer the following four verses to ourselves (I like to do this with my hand on my heart): May I be free from suffering, May I have physical happiness, May I have emotional happiness, May I have ease of well-being. Then you offer the same verses to someone who is close to you, then to someone with whom you have a neutral relationship, yet experience kinship with as another human being (you might think of someone from the grocery store, or another essential worker for this process), and then someone with whom you struggle (people you actually know, or political/public figures who cause you rage can work). To take it a step further, you then offer the same verses to people living in your town, your state, your country, and in the entire world.
✔ Author(s): Jamie Marich,Stephen Dansiger PsyD MFT
✔ Title: Trauma and the 12 Steps, Revised and Expanded: An Inclusive Guide to Enhancing Recovery
✔ Rating : 4.7 out of 5 base on (529 reviews)
✔ ISBN-10: 1623174686
✔ Language: English
✔ Format ebook: PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Audio, HTML and MOBI
✔ Device compatibles: Android, iOS, PC and Amazon Kindle
Readers' opinions about Trauma and the 12 Steps, Revised and Expanded by Jamie Marich
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