BIBLIOTHERAPY: What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Bruce D. Perry, MD, PhD, and Oprah Winfrey

When I was in college studying psychology, trauma wasn’t a word, I remember hearing! Even when I was in graduate school for psychotherapy and counseling, trauma was rarely mentioned, and less understood. It’s only been in the last several years that trauma has become better understood and I’ve noticed terms like trauma-informed, trauma-responsive, or trauma-sensitive showing up across systems.

When Oprah writes a book about trauma, you know trauma awareness has hit the mainstream! In What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing, Dr. Perry and Oprah write about the paradigm shift from the question of “What’s wrong with you? to “What happened to you?” They discuss the developmental impact of trauma on the brain, pointing to how formative the first year of life is. They converse on regulation and rhythm, balance, connectedness, transgenerational transmission of trauma, and ways to move towards healing. This book serves as an introduction to trauma, or a review for the trauma specialist.

I work from a trauma-informed lens and believe most mental health symptoms are trauma responses. Trauma exposure impacts the brain and stress-response system, and all aspects of self: physical, mental, emotional, psychological, relational, and spiritual. Healing is possible following traumatic experiences! Reach out to Coriander Living Collective to learn more about EMDR and BRAINSPOTTING treatments.