Luise Reddemann

Over the last thirty-five years, our understanding of trauma has dramatically changed. We now know that most people live through at least one traumatic event—which can cause disorders that range from depression, addiction, and anxiety, to cardiovascular disease and diabetes. But when leading German psychotherapist Luise Reddemann became head of a psychosomatic clinic in 1985, many doctors were routinely dismissive of patients’ trauma. Dr. Reddemann has devoted her career to this question: How can survivors of complex trauma and PTSD heal—and even help themselves to heal? In Who You Were Before Trauma, she presents her groundbreaking method, along with positive therapeutic strategies, to therapists and patients alike. Psychodynamic Imaginative Trauma Therapy (PITT) incorporates imagination work at every stage of the three-phase trauma therapy model: Establish safety and stabilizationCome to terms with traumatic memoriesIntegrate and reconnect with others. By guiding patients to unearth their buried strengths, envision an inner refuge, evoke helpful guiding figures, and ultimately build an “internal counterweight” to their trauma, Reddemann’s approach avoids the counterproductive dynamic where the therapist becomes the patient’s only source of comfort. This definitive trauma resource shows the way to empower survivors—by making them true partners in their recovery.

Zunehmend werden therapeutische Moglichkeiten von spirituellen Ressourcen diskutiert. Die in diesem Bereich erfahrene Psychoanalytikerin und Artzin Luise Reddemann stellt die psychodynamische Arbeit mit den Aspekten Mitgefuhl und Achtsamkeit vor. Dies kommt insbesondere seelisch traumatisierten Patientinnen und Patienten zugute. Mit einer Haltung teilnehmender Offenheit fur die Patienten treten Achtsamkeit, Sorge und Haltefunktionen in den Vordergrund. Fallbeispiele illustrieren neue kreative Interventionen, zu denen auch eine meditative Praxis gehort. Den Abschluss bilden personliche Uberlegungen zu Mitgefuhl und Achtsamkeit als Grundbedingung jedes therapeutischen Handelns.