Recrafting a Life: Coping with Chronic Illness and Pain

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 300 pages
• Published by: Routledge
• Edition: 1st Edition February 22, 2002
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1583913564
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1583913567
• Book Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 1.3 pounds

Product Review
This book uses the 18th century novel, Robinson Crusoe as an archetypal metaphor for thos individuals who sufer and must learn to surive with their own island of pain. The authors describe how one's journey of survival of living with chronic illness or chronic pain is comparable to the 27-year journey of Crusoe stranded on a desert islandThis book is interesting to read as well as a helpful companion for therapists, clients and family members. I particularly like the metaphor the authors use of the turning point in the novel where Crusoe becomes more aware of the small blessings arounf him and begins to appreciate that, indeed, not only might he survive on this isolated island, but, in fact, using his skills and intuition, he may be able to create a satisfactory life for himself. There are lessons and great insights to be learned from adversity, lessons allowing one to deepen their relationship with the mystery of everyday life.
–Death Studies, November, 2003

This book uses the 18th century novel, Robinson Crusoe as an archetypal metaphor for thos individuals who sufer and must learn to surive with their own island of pain. The authors describe how one's journey of survival of living with chronic illness or chronic pain is comparable to the 27-year journey of Crusoe stranded on a desert islandThis book is interesting to read as well as a helpful companion for therapists, clients and family members. I particularly like the metaphor the authors use of the turning point in the novel where Crusoe becomes more aware of the small blessings arounf him and begins to appreciate that, indeed, not only might he survive on this isolated island, but, in fact, using his skills and intuition, he may be able to create a satisfactory life for himself. There are lessons and great insights to be learned from adversity, lessons allowing one to deepen their relationship with the mystery of everyday life.
–Death Studies, November, 2003



Product Description
Chronic pain and chronic illness can be overwhelming for both patients and the clinicians who treat them. Patients must navigate an unfamiliar psychological and physiological landscape with few (initially) recognizable resources. These challenging circumstances, in turn, require that the clinician develop an integrated skill set that addresses the patient's painful physical symptoms while effectively dealing with the feelings of hopelessness, defeat, and fear that inevitably accompany the experience of chronic pain and illness.
urvive on their own isolated "island" of chronic Recrafting a Life: Solutions for Chronic Pain andof Illness directly meets this complex challenge bys have presenting a new treatment approach that creatively. By incorporates powerful Ericksonian hypnosis interventions to with effective solution-focused therapy techniques. Resource focused and rooted firmly in self-care theory, this integrative approach enables the clinician to effectively reduce physiological pain and suffering while successfully addressing the psychological issues associated with a chronic condition.
Engaging the reader with the transformational metaphor of Robinson Crusoe , the authors describe the five stages of recrafting a life through which patients pass in the journey to transcend their chronic condition. The clinician can utilize the dynamics of this framework to construct therapeutic strategies that best fit each stage, substantially improving treatment outcomes. The rich case examples that illustrate this process are accompanied by specific hypnotic and clinical interventions.
Readily accessible for both clinicians and their patients, the clinical material in Recrafting a Life: Solutions for Chronic Pain and Illness is supplememted by a virtual "self-care toolkit," offering interactive scales and inventories, solution-finding interview interventions, self-hypnosis protocols, self-care experiments, and healing homework assignments.