Resolving Childhood Trauma

A Long-Term Study of Abuse Survivors

Catherine Cameron

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Year: 2000
• Print ISBN: 9780761921295, 9780761921288
• eBook ISBN: 9781452221830
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Psychotherapy
• Index: Psychology

This engaging and compassionate book provides a hopeful and helpful perspective for trauma survivors. Cameron??s documentation of her extensive and innovative research with childhood abuse survivors is also a gift to the field of traumatic stress. She captures the experiences of her research participants-– including the challenging and significant domain of losing and regaining memory– in both quantitative and qualitative terms. Trauma survivors, counselors, and researchers will find in Resolving Childhood Trauma new information, humanity, wisdom, and hope. –Jennifer J. Freyd, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of Oregon "Cameron?s book provides the reader with an unusual depth of information about the long-term course of recovery from childhood sexual abuse. Her findings are rich and detailed, and offer a wealth of information about the process of healing, and about the power of ending silence. Well worth reading, particularly for the therapist new to the treatment of sexual abuse survivors." –Laura S. Brown, Ph.D., Independent Practice, Seattle, Washington "It took me longer to read this book than any of the hundreds I have reviewed! Not because it is dense or difficult to read, but because of the emotional intensity and power of the topic and its level-headed, balanced presentation. Kudos to the author! She has done a thorough piece of significant research and this book can make an enormous contribution to both professional and lay readers." –Barbara F. Okun, Ph.D., Professor of Counseling Psychology, Northeastern University "Resolving Childhood Trauma is an insightful integration of theory and practice for clinicians who treat abuse survivors. Catherine Cameron, through her clinical experience and research, offers the reader a greater understanding of the impact of child sexual abuse and the trauma accommodation syndrome. I highly recommend this volume to clinicians and researchers interested in a better understanding of efforts toward resolving childhood trauma." –Thomas W. Miller Ph.D. ABPP, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Kentucky and Professor of Education and Psychology at Murray State University "Catherine Cameron?s longitudinal, interview study of 51 childhood incest survivors presents extraordinary resources for us survivors from the dark realms. . . . This intimate, scientific portrait can assist CSA survivors in making sense of their own situation and planning a productive course of actions. Cameron has a special gift for naming the unspoken and capturing it with familiar methodology. Survivors of CSA can find in Cameron?s book the means to recover their social dignity and to meet their abusers at eye level, with equanimity." –Jean Maria Arrigo, Ph.D., Social Psychologist Can survivors of severe childhood trauma reclaim their lives as adults? Social psychologist Catherine Cameron addresses this question in a unique 12-year study of adult survivors of sexual abuse. Five successive surveys combine the richness of intensive personal interviews with objective measures of progress. Fifty-one women were consistently faithful to the project, as Cameron sought to understand their early trauma, its lasting impact, and to monitor their progress toward recovery. A final survey (1998) provided the epilogue for their story. As the new millennium dawns, these survivors have become strong, vital, and caring women. They have also provided valuable information, with implications far beyond themselves. Cameron grounds their personal stories by citing stunning parallels to the larger field of national and international trauma. The result is a compelling and deeply human story of trauma and triumph that transcends narrow application. It promotes understanding, dignity, and hope for all survivors traumatized by human design.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Preface
• PART I - About This Book
• Chapter 1 - Background
• Chapter 2 - A Study of Sexual Abuse Survivors
• Chapter 3 - The Women and Their Families
• PART II - Sexual Abuse in Childhood
• Chapter 4 - Childhood Trauma
• Chapter 5 - Cumulative Developmental Damage
• Chapter 6 - Amnesia and Posttraumatic Stress
• PART III - Interim Years Between Abuse and Recall
• Chapter 7 - Long Silent Years
• Chapter 8 - Triggering of Memories
• PART IV - Remembering and Healing
• Chapter 9 - Flashbacks and the Crisis of Recall
• Chapter 10 - The Personal Response to Remembering
• Chapter 11 - Reactions of Others
• Chapter 12 - Confronting the Abuser
• PART V - Moving Beyond Trauma
• Chapter 13 - Changed Lives
• Chapter 14 - Epilogue: Gaining Closure
• Bibliography
• Author Index
• Subject Index
• About the Author