Brittany Forrester has 4 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 4 narrators. The most-rated is The Shame Complex: A Depth Psychological Exploration of Shame.
Brain Healing and Trauma
Summary
Approximately 50 percent of the population will experience a traumatic event at some point in their lives. While reactions to trauma can vary widely, and not everyone will develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma can change the brain in ways that everyone should be aware of, especially if you or someone close to you is struggling to cope after trauma. With increased awareness, you can seek treatment to address your symptoms and learn skills that could actually rewire your brain for recovery. Additionally, knowing what’s going on can be immensely helpful because it may help you realize that you’re not "crazy", irreversibly damaged, or a bad person. Instead, you can think of a traumatized brain as one that functions differently as a result of traumatic events. And just as your brain changes in response to past experiences, it can also change in response to future experiences. In other words, the brain is “plastic", and you can change it. The depth or imaginal psychotherapy is highly effective in treating and assessing adult survivors of childhood abuse. Specifically, interventions that use dreams, symbols, and metaphor, as well as expressive art techniques, are deemed especially valuable as they address dissociative changes (affecting regulation, sense of self, and diminished imagination). Specifically, this book proposes that prominent symptoms of PTSD, such as changes in affect regulation, sense of self, and use of imagination, are better neurologically matched to therapeutic interventions that foster right-brain processes. An assessment tool, the Imaginal Sense of Self and Affect Test (which will be further referred to as the ISSA8 Test), has been developed, which evaluates the underlying intrapsychic changes causing these symptoms and gives an enhanced understanding of the trauma-afflicted client, despite her inability to express such insights. By assessing specific depth psychological aspects of the individual’s shattered sense of self, a more focused and efficient treatment plan can be created sooner in the course of therapy.
©2020 Brittany Forrester (P)2020 Brittany Forrester
Emotional Sugar
Summary
From cupcakes to pies to iced coffee drinks, sugar is found in many foods and is almost impossible to avoid. Emotional or psychological dependence on sugary foods and drinks, also known as sugar addiction, is a real cause of concern for health officials in America. Processed foods and refined grains create additional sugar in the body once the body metabolizes the food. Sugar in moderation is not harmful; however, many overdo it. A recent study suggests Americans eat far too much sugar. To be specific, approximately 75 percent of Americans eat excessive amounts of sugar, many of whom could be classified as having a sugar addiction. Sugar consumption can create a short-term high and a spark of energy in the body. Some studies have suggested sugar is as addictive as cocaine. People often enjoy the dopamine release sugar brings. However, due to the addictive nature of sugar, long-term health effects like obesity and diabetes are a risk of sugar overindulgence. Similar to other compulsions or behavioral addictions, sugar addiction is a special risk for people with low moods, anxiety, and stress. This book explored sugar use as an addictive process, through the lens of emotional regulation, addressing the research question: What is the lived experience of emotional regulation through sugar addiction? This study aimed for a greater understanding of the interdependent nature of sugar and emotions. What might a sugar-addicted population express that facilitates recovery and emotional regulation? The lived experience revealed that envy, deprivation, fear of sugar’s control, and lack of support from authority figures contributed to an inability to get enough of comfort foods or to stop overconsumption, and contributed to feelings of guilt, shame, and loss.
©2020 Brittany Forrester (P)2020 Brittany Forrester
EMDR Toolbox
Summary
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and other distressing life experiences, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, and panic disorders. During EMDR therapy sessions, you relive traumatic or triggering experiences in brief doses while the therapist directs your eye movements. EMDR is thought to be effective because recalling distressing events is often less emotionally upsetting when your attention is diverted. This allows you to be exposed to the memories or thoughts without having a strong psychological response. In this audiobook, you will learn about: The history of EMDR The basics of EMDR therapy The mechanisms underlying EMDR therapy The implications for psychotherapy And much more!
©2020 Brittany Forrester (P)2020 Brittany Forrester
The Shame Complex: A Depth Psychological Exploration of Shame
Summary
As a self-conscious emotion, shame informs us of an internal state of inadequacy, unworthiness, dishonor, regret, or disconnection. Shame is a clear signal that our positive feelings have been interrupted. Another person or circumstance can trigger shame in us, but so can a failure to meet our ideals or standards. Given that shame can lead us to feel as though our whole self is flawed, bad, or subject to exclusion, it motivates us to hide or to do something to save face. So it is no wonder that shame avoidance can lead to withdrawal or to addictions that attempt to mask its impact. This audiobook is an alchemical hermeneutic exploration of shame from the depth psychological perspective of a complex. Literature is reviewed related to a definition of the shame complex and understanding its etiology and phenomenological and psychological effects. Through a depth psychological analysis of the author’s personal experience, which includes developing and living with a shame complex, the path toward healing shame is realized as the ability to find the courage to uncover and disclose a personal narrative in the presence of an empathetic analyst, who had the competence to contain and bear witness to his client’s story. For the author, this courageous act has allowed a transformative journey from living with the dehumanizing, toxic effects of shame to realizing a healthy, integrated, humanizing, and enriched quality of life.
©2020 Brittany Forrester (P)2020 Brittany Forrester