Description
Have you noticed that no matter how much time you spend in talk therapy, you still feel anxious and triggered? That is because talk therapy can keep you stuck in a pattern of reliving your stories, rather than moving beyond them. But, most of all, it’s because trauma doesn’t just reside inside your mind—much more importantly, it locks itself in other parts of your body. When left unresolved, that trauma continues to live there, impacting your life, your relationships, your sense of safety, and your ability to experience joy in very real ways.
In Moving Beyond Trauma, Ilene Smith will introduce you to Somatic Experiencing, a body-based therapy capable of healing the damage done to your nervous system by trauma. She breaks down the ways in which trauma impacts your nervous system and walks you through a program designed to process trauma in a non-threatening way. You will discover a healing lifestyle marked by a deeper connection with yourself, those around you, and with everything you do.
JAM (verified owner) –
Moving Beyond Trauma by Ilene Smith is a must read for anyone that is interested in learning more about how our bodies hold trauma and what it takes to really heal. If you have found that talk therapy isn’t working as well as you like it to… That’s because you need to work on your nervous system as well. This book Is easy to read and really helps you to make simple changes that will impact your health and wellness.
Cori (verified owner) –
This is a beautiful piece of work and has helped me tremendously. I have not read or experienced a book like this one.
Lori Losch (verified owner) –
If you have experienced trauma, (and really, who hasn’t?) this book is for you. Ilene explores so many facets that are way beyond the typical talk therapies. If you want to move forward in life, but something is holding you back, it may be that your trauma is stuck in your body. And until that shizzle gets moving, it will be hard for you to! Well done, Ilene. 🙂
Wayne Mundy (verified owner) –
Amazing and insightful. Whether you are looking for help with current barriers in your life or need a different viewpoint on other peoples pasts this book will help. In my line of work and personally I need both, and have much experience in many of the topics discussed in Moving Beyond Trauma. Sometimes you need a guide to take different things you know and have learned, and have it make more sense. The personal stories and experiences are what really pull the book together and make me a huge fan. We are all similar as we are different, and we can all learn from others wisdom and our own bodies.
Horrible delivery (verified owner) –
I have had the pleasure of working with Ilene personally through some trauma trapped within my nervous system, but reading this book was particularly helpful to gain better clarity about my own journey and the healing process. The assessments towards the end were very helpful and I have done them with my whole family! Nobody is immune to trauma in their own bodies, and could benefit from this book.
Caitlan Park (verified owner) –
The author does a beautiful job of explaining trauma with lots of stories that are easily digestible. It’s an easy read while very educational and informative. Highly recommend giving this is a read as it’s a great starting point for anyone who’s tried talk therapy or struggling with mental health issues.
Terry (verified owner) –
I’ve been in and out of therapy for years and never felt like much “stuck,” leaving me, well, STUCK. Moving Beyond Trauma helped to open my eyes as to why. The book was really interesting and easy to read. Understanding what happens in the body and nervous system has really helped me have more self-compassion, and the exercises were easy to learn and definitely have helped me feel more centered. Thank you for this book! I will be recommending to friends and family.
Beri Golding (verified owner) –
This book is a wealth of information and wisdom pertaining to a subject that can so often be misunderstood and overly intellectualized. Trauma as we know is inevitable. Unfortunately, what is not always so obvious is how we can heal in a way that allows us to live our best lives and to feel like our best versions of ourselves. Ilene offers valuable insight in a clear, loving, and compassionate way. In addition, she offers tools and exercises to give her readers a chance to not only read about and understand but also to feel and experience what it means to actually be on the path to healing. It is a brilliant and beautiful piece of work! I recommend this to book to everyone and anyone who has been searching and seeking the path to getting “un-stuck.”
M.B. (verified owner) –
I really learned a lot from Moving Beyond Trauma. As someone who is consistently researching and reading on trauma, Ilene Smith’s work really enlightened me to the power and practice of Somatic Experiencing.
Anna (verified owner) –
This book is a wonderful read! I encourage everyone to order a copy – especially during this time. It has helped me tremendously.
fashionista (verified owner) –
I’ve been in talk therapy for years, and while this has helped me become aware of my triggers and understand myself on such a deeper level I still feel like my body hasn’t caught up to my brain. Anxiety has been something I have struggled with for some time now and can’t quite get the feeling out of my body and this book (and Ilene) have helped me realized it has just been stuck, literally “our issues are in our tissues” I’ve had the pleasure to work with Ilene one on one and have experienced the “release” of touch therapy, it’s truly amazing. I’m thankful there is another way of finding the balance I have been looking for. Thanks Ilene for helping me heal!!!
Maniac2018 (verified owner) –
Wow what an important part of healing this book is. It’s easy to digest and if anyone is suffering from anxiety or related issues I recommend at least reading this as the exercises and understanding I know have related to anxiety have changed my life considerably. All you need is an open mind and effort to “do the work”….
LaffingKat (verified owner) –
In Moving Beyond Trauma, Somatic Experiencing practitioner Ilene Smith shares her own experience with trauma and both cognitive and somatic therapy, explains how trauma affects our nervous system, offers assessments to help readers better understand their own reactions to trauma, and suggests healing exercises. She accomplishes this in a friendly, easy to understand style accompanied by references to peer-reviewed journals and other professional literature.
I thought this book offered a particularly good discussion of nervous system dysregulation, and I appreciated all of the case studies the author presents. I was already familiar with most of the concepts discussed, and yet I felt like I gained a better understanding of how I have been affected by trauma and why I react the way I do at times.
Part of what sets this book apart are the research-based assessments, which were interesting and really helped me perceive where I am struggling most, as well as the areas that are more of a strength for me. My only disappointment is that the suggested exercises are a very small portion of the text and not connected to the assessment results as clearly as I might have hoped. I do like the exercises offered though; they were easy to understand, and I like that the author encourages readers to get curious, start slowly with small changes, and celebrate small victories.
The assessments can be taken online for free. I like this option because the scoring is done for you. However, you will be asked for your email address.
I think most people could benefit from reading this book. Even if you think you haven’t experienced trauma, you may learn that you have been affected by past events more than you realized. This book will also help you better understand why other people might behave the way they do.
I was provided an unproofed ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review, but I also purchased my own copy.
Kelly F (verified owner) –
Beautifully written book to help people take small steps into their own hands to heal
Ritu K. (verified owner) –
This is a good book about healing trauma stored in our bodies. I have read other books on somatic therapy, so I was familiar with a lot of the concepts. This book does a good job of laying an overall framework and introducing readers to how trauma is stored in the body and can be moved and accessed through body-based experiencing. We tend to stay stuck in our heads, but it’s our bodies that remember those moments frozen in time. So, it’s our sensory experience that needs to be shifted. This is a good book to start healing trauma!
Poth (verified owner) –
Well worth the read
Shannon G (verified owner) –
**I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. Readers of this review should also note this review is being authored by a psychologist who works primarily with survivors of traumas.
Ilene Smith created a book in which she integrated the basics of trauma treatment knowledge with basics of Somatic Experiencing therapy. Regarding the former, I really enjoyed how Ms. Smith does a lovely job explaining the impacts of trauma in general, the impacts of trauma on the body, and the differences between bottom up and top down approaches. I also liked the integration of assessments along the way. About the SE side of the book, I’m not trained in the therapeutic model, but do have an interest in it. Ms. Smith does a lovely job explaining about the therapy.
Overall, I truly think anyone who has experienced trauma, treats trauma, or who has a loved one who has experienced trauma could benefit from this book. It’s a pretty quick read, which I also appreciate. This allows for those with poorer attention spans to make it through.
Anya (verified owner) –
This is book is easy to read, well presented and the content is great, so informative and soo helpful for individuals suffering from the ill effects of trauma. Actually the knowledge I believe is great for all to know. Personally I found this book very helpful.
halli conkel (verified owner) –
Good info, knew most of the information. Great for a new to the process person
tami Remen (verified owner) –
I am a somatic experience practitioner and trauma healer. I have recommended this book to all of my clients and have gotten fabulous feedback. Ilene explains the impact of trauma on our day to day functioning and gives exercises to being the process of healing. Additionally, the case studies Ilene uses in her book are relatable and easy to understand. I highly recommend Moving Beyond Trauma for anyone struggling with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addiction or any other mental health issues.
Lisa (verified owner) –
This book has been a wonderful read for me. It’s the first book where I wrote all over it on the inside to write feelings. Thoughts or acknowledgment. This is well written with information, case studies and quizzes for self evaluation. Honestly so grateful to have found a review about this on youtube and decided to purchase!
River H. (verified owner) –
Over a lifetime of struggling to cope with and heal from C-PTSD, I’ve read just about everything I can find, worked with therapists, gone to workshops . . . and this truly is the best book I have found. (The audiobook version is excellent, too.) I have read the whole book through and am now starting to work her program step by step, but even just my first reading has turned around my thinking about how to address my trauma. Ilene Smith’s “somatic experiencing” approach really gets to the core of healing from trauma. She doesn’t discount talk therapy, but she is spot-on when she brings us back to our bodies as the place where we learned to feel danger and must reconnect in love.
Caitlyn (verified owner) –
Loveeeeee this book!!!!
Robin Holihan (verified owner) –
We all have had some type of trauma. This book identifies the many types, and how it is stored up in your body to create disease and emotional negative loops. Eye opening and written in a style that is easy to understand. I would recommend this book in order to know what is going on in your life, why, and what to do about it. Even if you think you have not experienced trauma…you have! If you have been in talk therapy and have gotten no where, this book explains why.
Great book, thank you.
T in CA (verified owner) –
WELL worth a read. If you have issues in your tissues, this book explains why and will give you a bit of a direction in how to become free of the muck. Highly recommend. Wish I’d discovered this book sooner!
Benita Neufeld (verified owner) –
Great book for someone starting a journey of healing.
Sandra (verified owner) –
This book made me feel seen in ways I never knew I could be seen, partially because there were things I didn’t want to look at. But I’m so grateful this book came across my path. It really jump-started my healing and gave me
hope when I was starting to feel doubtful about myself in talk therapy. Highly recommend!
Sebastian Poblete N. (verified owner) –
Este libro me ha permitido ver y entender que es clave en la sanaciĂłn psicolĂłgica permitir que las sensaciones ocurran sin tener que ponerle tanta cabeza. Hay mucha memoria de nuestras experiencias pasadas que se manifiestan a traves de sensaciones, y permitir que estas fluyan, sin tener que racionalizar lo que esta pasando, es un paso clave para la sanaciĂłn.
Muchas gracias por este libro!!
JenneticallyMe (verified owner) –
Awesome book definitely buy it.
aksana (verified owner) –
I like this book . Super helpful
Joanne Plamondon (verified owner) –
I really enjoyed the “tests”. It taught me a lot about myself that I wasn’t aware of. It helped me understand that I can’t talk or think my way through trauma because trauma is a very physical thing.
I am happy that the exercises leave me with a great tool box I can refer to when triggered.
I highly recommend!
Sadie (verified owner) –
I’ve been recommended a lot of self-help books that people say are indispensable breakthrough concepts. Usually, it just doesn’t work for me. Even The Body Keeps the Score wasn’t it for me. This book helped me to finally crack the nut and come out on the other side of my therapy/treatment. It’s easy to follow, practical, useful, and it actually explains what somatic experiencing really is. I own several Peter Levine books that just didn’t seem to offer any answers other than to see another kind of therapist, and they don’t have somatic experiencing practitioners in my town.
Isabella H. (verified owner) –
A good reading for the soul