MACMILLAN Body Disownership in Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

This book explores the long-term outcomes of severe and ongoing trauma―particularly complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD)―from phenomenological and cognitive perspectives. For example, C-PTSD can result in impairments at the body-schema level. In order to survive, trauma victims may conduct their lives at the body-image level, thus producing a mismatch between body schema and body image. In turn, as in the case of somatoparaphrenia and body integrity identity disorder, this incongruity can result in body disownership, which will affect long-term outcomes of severe and ongoing trauma. Review “Ataria’s views on somatoparaphrenia and BIID are inspiring and allow a nuanced understanding of different types of alienation from the own bod” (Peter Brugger, Professor of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland) “To be in this world through your own body is a blessing. By reading this book, you will find profound acknowledgment of this fact. As Ataria's arguments clearly show, during severe and ongoing trauma one's own body turns into a hostile being. What the author describes as body disownership is not the lack of a sense of body ownership, but rather the very experience of one's ‘own body’ becoming the enemy that totally rejects any sense of familiarity. Gaining an understanding of this will make you aware how blessed you are to be here and now in the world and not to be suffering from C-PTSD.” (Shogo Tanaka, Professor of Psychology, Tokai University, Japan) “In this fascinating phenomenological study, Yochai Ataria presents a brilliant analysis of the ways in which body disownership afflicts certain individuals. His focus on the role of body disownership in complex PTSD, and in particular  how trauma-generated dissociation of the personality is involved, makes this book essential reading.” (Onno van der Hart, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Psychopathology of Chronic Traumatization, Utrecht University, the Netherlands) “Employing original scholarly language, Ataria takes readers on a compelling intellectual journey through the tortured experiences of survivors of chronic traumatization. This outstanding volume is a must-read for scholars and clinicians who wish to deepen their understanding of the consequences of trauma.” (Eli Somer, Ph.D, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Haifa, Israel) “Ataria's book constitutes a significant contribution to the study of psychological trauma in the fields of phenomenology, neuroscience, and contemporary psychiatry. The author's observations of neurological impairments are skillfully interwoven with his observations of psychiatric impairments. Thus, Ataria develops a unified neuropsychiatric phenomenologically-inspired theory of the relationship between soma and trauma.” (Iftah Biran, M.D., Behavioral Neurologist, Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist, and Psychiatric Consultant to the Division of Neurology, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Israel) From the Back Cover This book explores the long-term outcomes of severe and ongoing trauma―particularly complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD)―from phenomenological and cognitive perspectives. For example, C-PTSD can result in impairments at the body-schema level. In order to survive, trauma victims may conduct their lives at the body-image level, thus producing a mismatch between body schema and body image. In turn, as in the case of somatoparaphrenia and body integrity identity disorder, this incongruity can result in body disownership, which will affect long-term outcomes of severe and ongoing trauma. About the Author Yochai Ataria is Senior Lecturer at Tel-Hai College and Researcher at The Open University of Israel.