The Truth about Trauma and Dissociation

'In a lively and conversational tone of voice, Valerie manages to provide a succinct yet rich overview of two related psychotherapeutic concepts: trauma and dissociation. [...] Woven throughout the book are quotes from the arts, literature and poetry, which Valerie beautifully uses to illuminate the often unspeakable and timeless nature of trauma and dissociation. This adds an emotional experiential depth to her insightful commentary for the reader.'

-- Letticia Banton, TR Together, 2024

'This amazing little book helps each of us to speak and understand the unspeakable. Are we brave enough to know the truth in this dangerous but lifegiving journey? The book warns and encourages us that knowing can retraumatise at each life stage but also make us strong. Enjoy the clarity and beauty of Valerie’s whistle-stop tour of trauma and dissociation.'

-- Baroness Hollins, Emeritus Professor, University of London; Emeritus President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists

'Valerie Sinason ventures into troubled emotional spaces to hear what we don’t know and, often, don’t wish to know. In plain language she enables us to see forms of cruelty and the psychic consequences which lead to the extreme splitting of psyches into dissociated and multiple self-states … A book of interest to clinicians and a much wider audience.'

-- Dr Susie Orbach, Psychoanalyst and founder of The Women’s Therapy Centre, London, and author of Fat is a Feminist Issue, The Impossibility of Sex, and Bodies

'This is a small but powerful and thought-provoking book written by a leader in the field of dissociative studies. [...] Sinason writes at her best, with evocatively worded phrases and powerful metaphors. [...] And the device of starting and ending with the same short poem was brilliant, and one of the ways that Sinason tried to actively engage her readers. She also writes with a deeply humane voice—non-judgemental, caring, and compassionate to us when we cannot bear to know or cannot help some-one.'

-- Susan Wr