Journey through Trauma: A Guide to the 5-Phase Cycle of Healing Repeated Trauma

For survivors of PTSD and repeated, relational trauma - and the people who love them.

Gretchen Schmelzer watched too many people quit during treatment for trauma recovery. They found it too difficult or too frightening, or just decided that it was too late. But as a therapist and trauma survivor herself, there are three basic principles that Schmelzer wants every trauma survivor to know: Healing is possible. It requires courage. And it cannot be done alone.

Traumas that happen more than once - domestic violence, child abuse, sexual abuse, gang violence, even war - are all relational traumas. They happened inside a relationship and therefore must be healed inside a relationship, whether that relationship is with a therapist or within a group.

Journey through Trauma is written specifically for survivors - to help them understand the terrain of the healing process, see where the hard parts show up and persevere in the process of getting well. Schmelzer shares the five phases that every survivor must go through and explains that the path to healing is not linear - it is circular. Circling back around to a previous stage does not mean defeat - it actually means progress.

Authoritative and accessible, Journey through Trauma provides support for survivors and their loved ones through one of the most challenging but necessary processes of healing that anyone can face.