Traumatization & Its Aftermath
A Systemic Approach to Understanding & Treating Trauma Disorders
Antonieta Contreras, and expert in trauma studies, offers practical and comprehensive answers about trauma in her book, Traumatization and its Aftermath (Routledge, 2023).
You'll gain valuable insights into the diversity and lasting impact of traumatization. Why some people don't heal as easily as others, why some individuals get traumatized from "seemingly insignificant" incidents, and why over-diagnosis has failed so many people. You’ll find out whether you’re traumatized or not, if it’s possible to heal from a trauma disorder, and how best to treat complex trauma.
This book guides readers through each element of the individual struggle for survival and offers compassionate and patient explanations on how to shorten this struggle and even prevent it. Packed with detailed resources and accessible storytelling, Traumatization and its Aftermath is a must-read for clinicians and non-clinicians looking to better understand the mind and body after a traumatic situation, and our natural ability to heal.
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How Deep Is the Wound?
A Guide to Investigating, Understanding, and Resolving Your Emotional Pain
In a world where every difficult experience gets labeled "trauma," millions of people are trapped in a cycle of confusion—unable to distinguish between ordinary emotional wounds and genuine psychological injury.
Mental health therapist Antonieta Contreras reveals the shocking truth: our well-intentioned language inflation is actually preventing healing by teaching people to see themselves as permanently damaged rather than temporarily hurt.
Drawing from over 2,000 client interactions and her own journey from devastating trauma to complete freedom, Contreras exposes how the mental health industry's one-size-fits-all approach keeps people stuck in victim narratives while those with genuine trauma struggle to get appropriate help.
She introduces a revolutionary three-tier framework that distinguishes between emotional wounds, traumatization, and actual trauma—giving readers the precision they need to finally understand their pain and choose healing methods that actually work.
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Through 60 practical exercises and real-world case studies, How Deep Is the Wound? challenges everything you think you know about psychological injury, resilience, and recovery. This isn't another book that treats readers as broken—it's a call to reclaim your innate strength and discover what healing really looks like.
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Stop wondering if your pain is "enough" to deserve attention. Start understanding what it actually needs to heal.