Letting Go of Self-Destructive Behaviors offers inspiring, hopeful, creative resources for the millions of male and female adolescents and adults who struggle with eating disorders, addictions, any form of self-mutilation. It is also a workbook for the clinicians who treat them. Using journaling exercises, drawing and collaging prompts, guided imagery, visualizations, and other behavioral techniques, readers will learn how to understand, compassionately work with, and heal from their behaviors rather than distracting from or fighting against them, which can dramatically reduce internal conflict and instill genuine hope. Techniques are provided in easy-to-follow exercises that focus on calming the body, containing overwhelming emotions, managing negative and distorted thoughts, re-grounding from flashbacks, addressing tension and anxiety, decreasing a sense of vulnerability, strengthening assertiveness and communication skills, and accessing inner wisdom. This workbook can be used in conjunction with Treating Self-Destructive Behaviors in Trauma Survivors, 2nd ed, also by Lisa Ferentz, to allow therapists and their clients to approach the behaviors from the same strengths-based perspective. Workbook exercises can be completed as homework assignments or as part of a therapy session. In either case, the client is given the opportunity to process their work and share their insights with a compassionate witness and trained professional, making the healing journey even safer and more rewarding.

Treating Self-Destructive Behaviors in Trauma Survivors, 2nd ed, is a book for clinicians who specialize in helping trauma survivors and, during the course of treatment, find themselves unexpectedly confronted with client disclosures of self-destructive behaviors, including self-mutilation and other manifestations of deliberately "hurting the body" such as bingeing, purging, starving, substance abuse and other addictive behaviors. Arguing that standard safety contracts are not effective, renowned clinician Lisa Ferentz introduces viable treatment alternatives, assessment tools, and new ways of understanding self-destructive behavior using a strengths-based approach that distinguishes between the "experimental" non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) that some teenagers occasionally engage in and the self-destructive behaviors that are repetitive and chronic. In the new edition, many of the treatment strategies are cross referenced to a useful workbook, giving therapists and clients concrete ways to integrate theory into practice. In addition, Ferentz emphasizes the importance of assessing for and strengthening clients' self-compassion, and explains how nurturing this idea cognitively, emotionally, and somatically can become the catalyst for motivation and change. The book also explores a cycle of behavior that clinicians can personalize and use as a template for treatment. In its final sections, the book focuses on counter-transferential responses and the different ways in which therapists can work with self-destructive behaviors and avoid vicarious traumatization by adopting tools and strategies for self-care. Treating Self-Destructive Behaviors in Trauma Survivors, 2nd ed, can be used on its own or in conjunction with the accompanying client-focused workbook, Letting Go of Self-Destructive Behaviors: A Workbook of Hope and Healing.

Practical, proven self help steps show how to transform 40 common self-defeating behaviors, including procrastination, envy, obsession, anger, self-pity, compulsion, neediness, guilt, rebellion, inaction, and more.

Control issues are common among those of us who are chemically dependent. This pamphlet provides constructive methods to let go of self-defeating behaviors. Control issues are common among those of us who are chemically dependent. This pamphlet provides constructive methods to let go of self-defeating behaviors.

What is borderline personality disorder and what can people with borderline problems do to help themselves? The treatment of personality disorder is a major concern facing current mental health services. Specialist therapies are often not available and many people with these problems drop out of treatment. Managing Intense Emotions and Overcoming Self-Destructive Habits is a self-help manual for people who would meet the diagnosis of 'emotionally unstable' or 'borderline personality disorder' (BPD), outlining a brief intervention which is based on a model of treatment known to be effective for other conditions, such as anxiety, depression and bulimia. The manual describes the problem areas, the skills needed to overcome them and how these skills can be developed. It is designed to be used with the help of professional mental health staff, ideally in a group with individual sessions to support and coach the person in the application of the skills taught. A minimum of 24 and maximum of 36 sessions are recommended. Areas covered include: * the condition and controversy surrounding the diagnosis of BPD * drug and alcohol misuse * emotional dysregulation and the role of thinking habits and beliefs * depression and difficult mood states * childhood abuse and relationship difficulties * anger management. Borderline personality disorder is a complex and challenging condition. This manual aims to explain the problems experienced by people who may be given this diagnosis in a way that clients and staff can easily understand. It will be essential reading for people with BPD and professionals involved in their care - psychologists, psychiatric nurses, psychiatrists and occupational therapists.

People recovering from codependency, adult children of dysfunctional families, and those seeking healthier relationships will find welcome wisdom and inspiration in the first four A Moment to Reflect booklets, Hazelden's newest inspirational series for Twelve Step living. Each of these four take-along booklets contains 30 topical affirmations that guide us as we work to improve our relationships. The first four booklets in this series address setting boundaries, letting go, accepting ourselves, and living our own lives. The meditations within are dedicated to the important, often difficult task of releasing our old self-defeating attitudes and behaviors. We can move forward toward greater peace and serenity by letting go of the past and the future; obsessions with other people's feelings and problems; old guilt, shame, fear, and pain; destructive relationships; impatience; perfectionism; fearfulness; pessimism; and magical thinking. Letting go frees us to live in the present and build a better future. Without the weight of our old patterns of holding us back, we can move forward along our path of spiritual growth. We can reach for new healthier, happier ways of living.

Why do so many good companies engage in self-destructive behavior? This book identifies seven dangerous habits even well-run companies fall victim to–and helps you diagnose and break these habits before they destroy you. Through case studies from some of yesterday’s most widely praised corporate icons, you’ll learn how companies slip into “addiction” and slide off the rails...why some never turn around...and how others achieve powerful turnarounds, moving on to unprecedented levels of success. You’ll learn how an obsession with volume leads inexorably to rising costs and falling margins...how companies fall victim to denial, myth, ritual, and orthodoxy... how they start wasting vital energy on culture confl ict and turf wars...how they blind themselves to emerging competition...how they become arrogant, complacent, and far too dependent on their traditional competences. Most important, you’ll find specific, detailed techniques for “curing”–or, better yet, preventing–every one of these self-destructive habits. The “cocoon” of denial Find it, admit it, assess it, and escape it The stigma of arrogance Escape this fault that “breeds in a dark, closed room” The virus of complacency Six warning signs and five solutions The curse of incumbency Stop your core competencies from blinding you to new opportunities The threat of myopia Widen your view of your competitors–and the dangers they pose The obsession of volume Get beyond “rising volumes and shrinking margins” The territorial impulse Break down the silos, factions, fiefdoms, and ivory towers