Description
This beloved bestseller—over 180,000 copies sold—has helped caregivers worldwide keep themselves emotionally, psychologically, spiritually, and physically healthy in the face of the sometimes overwhelming traumas they confront every day.
A longtime trauma worker, Laura van Dernoot Lipsky offers a deep and empathetic survey of the often-unrecognized toll taken on those working to make the world a better place. We may feel tired, cynical, or numb or like we can never do enough. These, and other symptoms, affect us individually and collectively, sapping the energy and effectiveness we so desperately need if we are to benefit humankind, other living things, and the planet itself.
In Trauma Stewardship, we are called to meet these challenges in an intentional way. Lipsky offers a variety of simple and profound practices, drawn from modern psychology and a range of spiritual traditions, that enable us to look carefully at our reactions and motivations and discover new sources of energy and renewal. She includes interviews with successful trauma stewards from different walks of life and even uses New Yorker cartoons to illustrate her points.
“We can do meaningful work in a way that works for us and for those we serve,” Lipsky writes. “Taking care of ourselves while taking care of others allows us to contribute to our societies with such impact that we will leave a legacy informed by our deepest wisdom and greatest gifts instead of burdened by our struggles and despair.
Trish W (verified owner) –
I thought I was doing a good job managing my exposure to others’ trauma, until I read this book. What I discovered is that I’m responding in a multitude of subtle ways that have, over time, altered who I am and how I live. Yet, the message I took from the book, is that I chose this path and therefore, as a trauma steward, have a responsibility to manage my trauma exposure response. Instead of feeling hopeless about who I’ve become, I decided to embrace my responsibility and take back control. I started with simple changes, such as answering my phone when it rings instead of letting it go to voice mail. I noticed an internal shift almost immediately. I had not realized how much I had been avoiding connection and keeping myself isolated as a way to cope with my trauma exposure.
The author’s approach to trauma stewardship is systemic and encompasses a variety of domains and ecologies. As a clinical supervisor, I am able to use this material to help my staff recognize and manage their trauma exposure response. We are all using this knowledge to help our clients’ caregivers and the external systems that work with our clients recognize and manage their exposure to our clients’ trauma. The result of our increased awareness has had a direct and significantly positive effect on our work.
Reading this book was a privilege and a gift. It is original, profound, and eye-opening!
Kay Bee (verified owner) –
Great book ~ it gave insight into a phenomena that is rarely recognised by organisations and individuals working with trauma.
It was accessible and readable and I enjoyed it.
I would recommend it for therapists and people working in organisations working with clients who might present with any level of trauma.
dawn (verified owner) –
This book was referenced many times during a volunteer training by an organization devoted to survivors of human trafficking. What struck me about the book was the substantial amount of cartoon material dealing with trauma. I have always been a person with a strong sense of humor, and I use humor to help me deal with stress, but to have so many cartoonists deal with burnout, trauma, depression, mid-life crises, etc shows how prevalent these things are in our lives.
What did I learn from this book? That anyone who tries to do good gets push-back from the universe/system/bad-guys. The profiles in the book range from NGO workers going to war-torn countries to an assistant to a US President and all felt like they had given their last molecule to their causes. I’m older now and I what l learned the hard way was – this is just the way it is. If you are going to try to do good, expect it to be an uphill battles. Laura van Dernoot Lipsky describes the process of burn out, and gives names to the holes into which we can fall which is incredibly validating. This was the main value of her book for me – I did not realize the stages that those engaged in trauma stewardship traverse through actually have names!
Denise Bacon (verified owner) –
Great book. Understanding trauma and self-care are so important for those who do are drawn to doing the hard work of caring for others. Helping the helpers is important and peoe who lead helpers should ensure the culture of your team includes caring for self and caring for each other.
benend (verified owner) –
Reading this as a therapist who works with healthcare workers. This is a great perspective on vicarious trauma, burnout, and how to care for ourselves so we can continue to do the work we love.
Kristin Dodds (verified owner) –
…and so should every school administrator. We will have to think outside the box to make a system that is more sustainable and that doesn’t leave broken humans in its wake.
Miara Rianin (verified owner) –
Social workers, nurses, counselors, teachers, people in emergency services or law enforcement…anyone who faces secondary trauma in their everyday life. One of my professors named this book as basically required reading for a social worker, along with Daring Greatly, The Body Keeps the Score, and It Didn’t Start With You. I ended up dog-earing about a dozen different pages because I kept finding pages that I knew I’d have to come back to!
debbie ann (verified owner) –
A good read. I used the text to do a workshop for counsellors and all loved it. It is however a bit hard to read for people like me who get easily distracted or bored. Nonetheless, it is worth purchasing
B (verified owner) –
This book was exactly what I hoped it would be. It validated my experience, it helped put words to what I was experiencing while working in the trauma field, it posed excellent questions for me to think about and provided practical guidance.