Description
Traumatic events can leave mental and physical scars—but these scars don’t have to define you. Heal the Body, Heal the Mind takes trauma survivors on a supportive and healing journey toward well-being. By practicing the somatic exercises and mind-body interventions in this compassionate guide, you’ll learn to move past difficult experiences, restore relationships, and cultivate spiritual awareness.
When trauma occurs, the logical mind is hijacked and physiology takes over in an effort to protect you. This leaves an imprint—your body wants to ensure that nothing like that will ever happen again. Being reminded of a traumatic event can trigger these automatic responses, leaving you feeling paralyzed or unable to take action. This book will help you understand why and how unresolved trauma can infiltrate all aspects of your life, including your mind and body—even when you’re not aware of its influence.
With Heal the Body, Heal the Mind as a gentle guide, you’ll learn about different types of trauma, find helpful assessments, and discover how traumatic experiences—even childhood and incidental traumas—can affect all aspects of your life: your relationship choices, the roles you play in them, your sense of pleasure and desire, and how you approach your career, spirituality, and interactions with others.
Using the combination of mind-body interventions, cognitive behavioral theories, research, case studies, and exercises woven into each chapter of this warm-hearted, relatable book, you’ll begin to address the unresolved trauma held in your body and advance your healing process. So, if you’re ready to move beyond the trauma that’s been holding you back in your relationships, at work, and in your spiritual practice, this guide will show you how.
LaffingKat (verified owner) –
This book was a relatively quick read providing easy to understand information about how we’re affected by trauma and how we can heal. Although I’ve already read quite a bit in this area, I still learned new things, and I found the book to be a very good overview, written in a very friendly, soothing voice. I found the chapters on how trauma affects relationships and sexuality to be particularly helpful.
The author has done a nice job of alternating theories, research, case studies, and exercises. Dr. Babbel provides many citations, but she writes in a way that is never dry or boring. I think this book will be really helpful for anyone who has experienced trauma or wants to better understand a loved one who has experienced trauma. That’s probably most of us.
If you create an account on New Harbinger’s website and register this book to your account, you can access the supplementary material. At the time of this review, I was able to download an MP3 of a guided relaxation exercise to promote restful sleep.
I was provided an ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review. Because I have not seen the final published version, I cannot comment on the final editing and formatting. The ARC was neatly formatted and had only occasional proofreading errors.
Amanda U. (verified owner) –
It’s clear that complete healing involves both the body and the mind in therapy. I appreciate somatic approaches to psychotherapy because they acknowledge the whole person, not just a symptom or tendency. Patterns of behavior are lodged in both body and mind, and so any change must address both in a holistic way. The exercises are easy to follow and suitable for everyone, both a lay person and a clinician. I commend Dr. Babbel for writing with a gentle, simple attitude toward what is possible when we bring awareness to our thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Happy Cat (verified owner) –
Dr. Babbel’s simplified approach to moving beyond trauma is user-friendly and applies to so many situations. I am a firm believer in the relationship between body and mind and how the somatic approach works. Learning ways to remove deep-seated automatic responses has given me hope that my old habits will disappear and be replaced by responses that support me. Dr. Babbel’s logic makes sense and has given me a way to understand and move beyond trauma.
R. J. Loughran (verified owner) –
I found Heal The Body, Heal the Mind helpful and illuminating. Dr. Babbel provides solid information and practical tools to support healing from trauma. She shares her expertise as a therapist specializing in trauma with both clarity and compassion. I recommend this for both healers and those seeking to heal.
Judith B (verified owner) –
Heal the Body, Heal the Mind is a valuable and motivating book on how to move past trauma to post trauamtic growth and healing. Written in a compassionate voice, Susanne Babbel offers great insights into the many varieties of trauma, and practical tips on how to cope and heal with trauma.
TKK (verified owner) –
I loved this book! Fills a gap in easy to understand, yet scientifically based information on trauma- what it is and its impact on the mind/body. Holistic in its approach it takes complicated neurobiological information and makes them easy to understand, as well as giving practical skills that individuals can do to resource themselves. I found the tone of the book comforting with a strong emphasis on self care and pacing. Refreshing, insightful and helpful!!
Caroline V. (verified owner) –
Great book! Dr. Babbel’s book is easy to understand, well-written, and a great resource for people who are on a journey of healing – either on their own or with the help of a Therapist/Holistic healer. She explains what is trauma from a somatic approach (body, nervous system), and share tools to help recover and heal different types of trauma. I really enjoyed her holistic approach – considering the whole person – YES!
I particularly liked that she mixed her Psychotherapist therapist approach/knowledge, with her own life experience and clients’ case studies. I could easily relate to some of her examples. The quizzes and exercises she shares are the things I found most helpful. This book really helped me on my journey.
Martina Augsburg (verified owner) –
The book ‘Heal the body, heal the mind’ is easy to read and to understand, it explains trauma and what impact it can have on life and relationships. It is written for professionals as well as for anybody who has experienced trauma or struggles with situations in live without knowing why.
Dr. Babbel is an experienced trauma therapist, very gentle and empathetic and she encourages the reader to take good care about themselves at all times whilst reading the book if they feel uncomfortable.
I like Dr. Babbels holistic approach and knowing from being a professional as well as from own experience that the somatic approach is very effective and really works, the book is of great value.
Dr. Babble gives useful information how to move beyond trauma and how to overcome barriers that keep us away from living the life we want and we deserve. I can can highly recommend reading this book!
kirby sanchez (verified owner) –
I bought this book for my 31 yr old Son for Christmas this year. I felt this was the perfect gift, the gift of healing. It is written for the average person to read and I am so happy I bought it for him. The techniques offered in this book are easy to understand. I really recommend this book to help lead a healthy healing life.
Michael Maxey (verified owner) –
This book does a great job helping me understand how trauma affects different people in different ways, and why people behave the way they do. Most books about trauma & healing are written for professionals but this book was written so non-professional people such as myself can understand. I believe there are a few chapters in the book if not all of them that will apply to most people’s situation.
Nicole (verified owner) –
I am so grateful for this book. I consider it a somatic trauma healing bible. It is so informative, has such helpful explanations, is very concise, and is written with so much heart. Heal the Body, Heal the Mind also offers many extremely enlightening tips, short quizzes, and exercises that aid greatly in healing. I have been working on undoing my childhood related PTSD for many years, and Susanne’s wisdom and actionable steps are aiding me so much. I have read a number of books on trauma healing, and I find Susanne’s book to be a stand-out gem. It should be a New York Times Best-seller. Add to cart. (;
Something Said (verified owner) –
This book is good but fairly basic. Would be a great starting point for someone exploring how their traumatic experiences impact their wholistic wellbeing. May also be helpful for those that think they may have experienced abuse/trauma, but aren’t sure. Missing from the book is a discussion of how disability or chronic illness can be traumatic both in the short and long-term.
Carrie (verified owner) –
Amazing book! I would recommend this book to anyone with any type of trauma!
Arja Salafranca (verified owner) –
A very useful guide to trauma – the author explains clearly how trauma impacts on us, and how trauma lives on through the years. Eye-opening and enlightening. But this book is about healing, and there are both case studies and exercises, which you can do on the journey to understanding and healing.
Dina (verified owner) –
This book leads you gently through steps to begin healing if you have suffered trauma by offering exercises and by using case studies as examples. For me, the book greatly expanded what I imagined trauma to be and this allowed me to begin examining my past experience with a new lens which has been very helpful in healing. Dr. Babbel’s warmth and caring is reflected in the writing and it feels like she is with you on your journey in a very open and compassionate way. I highly recommend this book as a road map to helping you begin your healing journey.
Elaine (verified owner) –
Been looking for this book, all my life. Confirms all I ever knew and who I am. Thank you so much.
Raye (verified owner) –
Answered a few questions and has helped with my work
Isabella Shatto (verified owner) –
This opened my eyes, unlocked hidden memories, and helped me learn and overcome so much