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Loving Someone with PTSD: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Connecting with Your Partner after Trauma Spiral-Bound |

Aphrodite T. Matsakis

★★★★☆+ from 101 to 500 ratings

$24.58 - Free Shipping
There are many books written for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but few written for the people who love them. In Loving Someone with PTSD, a renowned trauma expert and author of I Can’t Get Over It! presents concrete skills and strategies for the partners of those with PTSD. Readers will increase their understanding of the signs and symptoms of PTSD, improve their communication skills with their loved ones, set realistic expectations, and work to create a healthy environment for both their loved one and themselves. In addition, they will learn to manage their own grief, helplessness, and fear regarding their partner’s condition.


Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can present with a number of symptoms, including anxiety, depression, flashbacks, and trouble sleeping. If your partner has PTSD, you may want to help, but find yourself at a loss.

The simple truth is that PTSD can be extremely debilitating—not just for the person who has experienced trauma first-hand, but for their partners as well. And while there are many books written for those suffering from PTSD, there are few written for the people who love them. In Loving Someone with PTSD, renowned trauma expert and author of I Can’t Get Over It!, Aphrodite Matsakis, presents concrete skills and strategies for the partners of those with PTSD.

With this informative and practical book, you will increase your understanding of the signs and symptoms of PTSD, improve your communication skills with your loved one, set realistic expectations, and work to create a healthy environment for the both of you. In addition, you will learn to manage your own grief, helplessness, and fear regarding your partner’s condition.

PTSD is a manageable disability. While it isn’t your responsibility to rescue your partner or act as his or her therapist, this book will help you be supportive and implement strategies for lessening the negative impact of PTSD—not just for your partner, but for your relationship, and, importantly, for yourself.

Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
Original Binding: Trade Paperback
Pages: 256 pages
ISBN-10: 1608827860
Item Weight: 1.16 lbs
Dimensions: 6.0 x 1.07 x 9.0 inches
Customer Reviews: 4 out of 5 stars 101 to 500 ratings
“Aphrodite T. Matsakis has once again captured the essence of the experience of individuals living with PTSD. This time, she has focused on helping those who love survivors understand the complexities and nuances of the issue. Matsakis has skillfully laid out key communication skills to utilize, as well as the common pitfalls to avoid in order to create trusting relationships. As a clinical social worker specializing in trauma therapy, I will recommend this book to the couples and individuals with whom I work. In addition, as a professor teaching graduate students, I know my students will benefit from Matsakis’s expertise and techniques.”
—Eileen A. Dombo, PhD, LICSW, clinical social worker, Washington, DC, and assistant professor at the National Catholic School of Social Service, The Catholic University of America
Aphrodite T. Matsakis, PhD, is an internationally recognized expert in trauma and the author of several books dealing with traumatic reactions, including I Can't Get Over It!, Trust After Trauma, The Rape Recovery Handbook, and Vietnam Wives: Women and Children Facing the Challenge of Living with Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Matsakis has over thirty-five years of experience working with veterans, abused persons, and other trauma survivors; has taught at several major universities; and has conducted dozens of seminars for trauma survivors and trauma therapists.