In this volume, John Wilson and Jacob Lindy explore the language of both individual and collective trauma in an era dominated by globalization and interconnectedness. As Wilson points out in the first chapter, Western psychiatrists have increasingly found that their ideas of trauma were not always easily translated to other cultures.
Through lucid, careful discussion, this important book builds a bridge between the etymology of trauma-related terms commonly used in Western cultures and those of other cultures, such as the Burundi-Rwandan ihahamuka. It also provides the clinician with a framework for working with trauma survivors using a cross-cultural vocabularya "one often based in metaphora "to fully address the experienced trauma and to begin work on reconnection and self-reinvention.

John P. Wilson, PhD, is professor of psychology at Cleveland State University, a Fulbright scholar, and a widely recognized expert on PTSD. He is co-founder and past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), a diplomate and fellow of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, and a fellow of the American Institute of Stress.

Jacob D. Lindy, MD, is a clinical professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and a training and supervising analyst at the Cincinnati Psychoanalytic Institute.

1. Understanding Psychic Trauma and Metaphor in an Era of World Globalization 2. The Language of Trauma in Metaphors 3. Metaphor and Disturbed Internal Posttraumatic Psychic Structures 4. Trauma Recovery: Perils in the Journey from the Abyss of Trauma to Self-Integration 5. The Nurturing Guide 6. Trauma Specific Metaphors (TSM) and Mapping Clinical Pathways 7. Transforming Metaphors and Metaphoric Transformations of Trauma 8. New Configurations: Trauma Metaphors and Cognitive Behavioral Therapies (CBT) 9. Traumatic Stress Disorder Pedagogy: Teaching the Complexity of Posttraumatic Intrapsychic Processes, Trauma Metaphors, and Adaptive Mechanisms in Psychotherapy 10. Future Implications: Metaphors of Trauma and Where Do We Go From Here? References