Table of Contents

I. Trauma in Context: Healing in Attachment Relationships
1. Healing Connections: Expanding the Role of Couple Therapy
2. Trauma and Its Aftermath
3. Attachment and Trauma
4. Assessment
5. Interventions
II. Clinical Realities: Couple Therapy with Traumatized Couples
6. Couple Therapy to Create a Secure Base for the Treatment of Trauma
7. Defeating an Anxiety Disorder and Marital Distress
8. The Trauma of Physical Illness
9. Couple Therapy with Combat Veterans, Lyn Williams Keeler and Susan M. Johnson
10. Relationship Traumas: Attachment Injuries in Close Relationships
11. Therapists Who Deal with Dragons

About the Author

Susan M. Johnson, EdD, is Professor Emeritus of Clinical Psychology at the University of Ottawa, Canada; Distinguished Research Professor in the Marital and Family Therapy Program at Alliant International University in San Diego; Director of the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (www.iceeft.com); and Director of the Ottawa Couple and Family Institute. Widely published, she is the leading developer of emotionally focused therapy, which she teaches extensively in North America and internationally. Dr. Johnson is a recipient of honors including the Order of Canada--the highest civilian award given by the Canadian government, for outstanding achievement, dedication to the community, and service to the nation--and the Distinguished Contribution to Family Systems Research Award from the American Family Therapy Academy. Her website is www.drsuejohnson.com.

Reviews

"Most therapists nowadays take for granted the obvious relevance of couple therapy for ruptures of relationship bonds. But what is unique about this book is the vivid and vital way in which Johnson reveals the power of couple relationships to help heal trauma originally experienced by individuals outside those relationships. I hope this book will launch a new era in the psychotherapeutic treatment of PTSD and related disorders. It's that good."--Alan S. Gurman, PhD, University of Wisconsin Medical School

"With the increasing recognition that many couples 'problems are related to the traumas of one or both partners comes the need for a new framework for understanding and doing couple therapy. This book succeeds brilliantly in providing such a framework. Skillfully integrating aspects of attachment theory, traumatology, and emotion-focused couple therapy, Susan Johnson enriches each of these fields while also providing practical guidelines for both beginning and seasoned clinicians. This book represents an important advance in the treatment of couples and of trauma survivors. I will be recommending it to all my students and colleagues."--Richard C. Schwartz, PhD, Center for Self Leadership, Oak Park, IL

"This book is a major advance in the treatment of traumatized individuals and their partners, and a much-needed resource for clinicians. Dr. Johnson clearly shows how the experience of any kind of trauma can resonate in an individual's significant relationships, thereby compounding and extending the reach of the stressful experience. Offering an important theoretical perspective on the significance of attachment to the healing process, the book outlines a sequenced treatment approach and specific strategies and techniques to help couples rework and recover from the devastating effects of past trauma."--Christine A. Courtois, PhD, The CENTER: Posttraumatic Disorders Program, The Psychiatric Institute of Washington; author of Healing the Incest Wound and Recollections of Sexual Abuse

"Johnson offers a highly engaging and readable approach for clinicians working with couples affected by trauma. Her brilliant synthesis, based on extensive scholarship and a depth of clinical experience, applies to couples dealing with childhood trauma as well as those mired in past hurts from the relationship itself. Regardless of theoretical orientation, clinicians will learn much that they can apply to help in their most difficult couple cases."--Karen S. Wampler, PhD, Department of Marriage and Family Therapy, Texas Tech University