Healing Magazine
Schnecksville, PA
Fall 2002

Experiential Treatment for PTSD: The Therapeutic Spiral Model
by M. Katherine Hudgins, Ph.D., TEP

Healing the effects of personal trauma not only benefits the victims of trauma, it also has an added benefit to the larger community - stopping the cycle of violence that begets war, terrorism, and generations of family pain.

So asserts M. Katherine (Kate) Hudgins, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and internationally recognized speaker and presenter on innovative trauma treatment. Hudgins believes that healing from trauma can happen surprisingly quickly when using methods that directly address how trauma is stored in the brain and the body. Her book details the holistic model for treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that she developed and "road tested" in hundreds of workshops from Israel and Northern Ireland to Turkey and South Africa, consistently meeting with positive results.

In offering this step-by-step guide for using her methods safely, Hudgins presents the theoretical foundations of her model, research and theories on trauma, and a strong case for experiential psychotherapy as the treatment of choice for PTSD when the treatment is anchored in clinical theory and practice. Each chapter contains action vignettes and case examples to demonstrate the process and progress of the spiral technique with its six clinical action structures, and 14 advanced intervention modules. Following the clients' progress within the model, Hudgins shows how each is able to come to terms with his or her history of trauma.

Hudgins is the founder of Therapeutic Spiral International, a non-profit organization based in Charlottesville, Virginia, that provides training in the model. More information is available from www.therapeuticspiral.org, which also lists a number of papers, essays, and links for other information on trauma. -- Karen Carnabucci, MSS, CICSW, LSW, TEP

Published: 2002
Springer Publishing Company
536 Broadway
New York, NY 10012
www.springerpub.com