Maia Szalavitz

From birth, when babies' fingers instinctively cling to those of adults, their bodies and brains seek an intimate connection, a bond made possible by empathy-the ability to love and to share the feelings of others. In this provocative book, renowned child psychiatrist Bruce D. Perry and award-winning science journalist Maia Szalavitz interweave research and stories from Perry's practice with cutting-edge scientific studies and historical examples to explain how empathy develops, why it is essential for our development into healthy adults, and how it is threatened in the modern world. Perry and Szalavitz show that compassion underlies the qualities that make society work- trust, altruism, collaboration, love, charity-and how difficulties related to empathy are key factors in social problems such as war, crime, racism, and mental illness. Even physical health, from infectious diseases to heart attacks, is deeply affected by our human connections to one another. As Born for Love reveals, recent changes in technology, child-rearing practices, education, and lifestyles are starting to rob children of necessary human contact and deep relationships-the essential foundation for empathy and a caring, healthy society. Sounding an important warning bell, "Born for Love" offers practical ideas for combating the negative influences of modern life and fostering positive social change to benefit us all.

Drug overdoses now kill more Americans annually than guns, cars or breast cancer. But we have tried to solve this national crisis with policies that only made matters worse. In the name of "sending the right message," we have maximized the spread of infectious disease, torn families apart, incarcerated millions of mostly Black and Brown people-and utterly failed to either prevent addiction or make effective treatment for it widely available. There is another way, one that is proven to work. However, it runs counter to much of the received wisdom of our criminal and medical industrial complexes. It is called harm reduction. Developed and championed by an outcast group of people who use drugs and by former users and public health geeks, harm reduction offers guidance on how to save lives and improve health. And it provides a way of understanding behavior and culture that has relevance far beyond drugs. In a spellbinding narrative rooted in an urgent call to action, Undoing Drugs tells the story of how a small group of committed people changed the world, illuminating the power of a great idea. It illustrates how hard it can be to take on widely accepted conventional wisdom-and what is necessary to overcome this resistance. It is also about how personal, direct human connection and kindness can inspire profound transformation. Ultimately, Undoing Drugs offers a path forward-revolutionizing not only the treatment of addiction, but also our treatment of behavioral and societal issues.

Gjennom tretti år som kliniker, forsker og foreleser har barnepsykiateren og nevrologen Bruce D. Perry engasjert seg for barn som er blitt utsatt for overgrep og omsorgssvikt. I denne boken forteller han noen av disse barnas historier om traumer og forvandling. Forfatteren belyser de kognitive, atferdsmessige, emosjonelle, sosiale og fysiologiske innvirkningene traumer har på barn og gir en lettfattelig forklaring på hva som rent fysisk skjer med hjernen til et barn som utsettes for ekstreme belastninger og berøvelse av helt grunnleggende behov. Til tross for hjerteskjærende pasienthistorier, er hovedbudskapet i boken både håpefullt og inspirerende. Perry har sitt hovedfokus på behandling og hvordan disse barna faktisk kan hjelpes. Han er opptatt av sammenhenger og de lange linjene og stiller seg stadig spørsmålet Hvorfor ble det slik? Hvorfor ender noen barn opp som helter, mens andre blir hevngjerrige sosiopater? Perrys forskning sies å ha revolusjonert sitt fagfelt og bidratt til et paradigmeskifte. Denne boken blir av mange fagfolk løftet frem som en klassiker for alle som interesserer seg for barns utvikling og ønsker å forstå barndomstraumer.

In her New York Times bestseller Unbroken Brain, journalist Maia Szalavitz took an unflinching look at addiction, challenging the idea of the "broken brain" to offer a groundbreaking perspective on addiction as a learning disorder. Now she turns her keen eye and narrative powers to the surprisingly simple--and extremely divisive--practice of harm reduction, which is a revolutionary means to solving the drug addiction crisis. Drug overdoses now kill more Americans annually than guns, cars or breast cancer. But in the name of "sending the right message," we have criminalized drug addiction, denied those who are addicted medical care, housing and other benefits, and have deliberately allowed the spread of fatal diseases. Yet there is an alternative to our present system, one that has been proven to work, but which runs counter to the received wisdom of our criminal and medical industrial complexes. It is called harm reduction. A surprisingly simple idea with enormous power, harm reduction takes the focus off of drug use and instead works to minimize associated damage. It represents the philosophy behind needle exchange programs and providing heroin addicts with the overdose medication naloxone instead of arresting them. It is focused not on punishing pleasure but on minimizing harm; in essence, it is a wholesale refutation of the American way of justice. Undoing Drugs tells the story of harm reduction. It will show how this concept has begun to transform the treatment of addiction and how it holds the potential to revolutionize how we deal with a range of other urgent behavioral and societal issues. Harm reduction challenges people to prioritize radical empathy and kindness over punishment as a way of not only dealing with drug use, but also in questions related to racism, sexism, disability and inequality. And, as Szalavitz shows, it says unequivocally that we must be more concerned about saving lives and health than about criminalizing quality-of-life crimes. Szalavitz argues for a practical application of the Hippocratic oath to "First, do no harm" beyond medicine and to those who urgently need it most.

”Bruce Perry og Maia Szalavitz har skrevet denne bog ud fra et dybtfølt ønske om at skabe viden og forståelse for de omsorgssvigtede børn og skabe opmærksomhed om de drastiske skader, der kan påvises både i hjernen og i personligheden. (…) Drengen, der voksede op som hund er ikke mindre end fantastisk til at give indsigt i de alvorlige konsekvenser af traumer og omsorgsvigt hos børn.” - psykolog, ph.d., Susan Hart i bogens forord Bruce Perry er børnepsykiater og en internationalt kendt autoritet i forhold til børn og kriser. Hans forskning og kliniske praksis fokuserer på at undersøge langtidseffekterne hos traumatiserede børn, unge og voksne, og han har i vidt omfang beskrevet, hvordan omsorgssvigt og barndomstraumer kan medføre alvorlige og livslange neurale forstyrrelser og neuralt svind med alvorlige konsekvenser for personlighedsudvikling, adfærdsforstyrrelser og sociale vanskeligheder til følge. Han fremlægger i bogen nyskabende metoder til at lindre disse børns smerte og hjælpe dem til at blive velfungerende voksne. Drengen, der voksede op som hund er skrevet, så den både giver indsigt og er hjerteskærende, og den kan med lethed omsættes til danske forhold. Vi får igennem bogens mange casehistorier kendskab til nogle få omsorgssvigtede børn og kommer til at holde af disse børn på trods af deres massive følelsesmæssige forstyrrelser, og vi kommer tættere på disse børns forældre, som ikke har kunnet give deres børn den følelsesmæssige omsorg, de havde brug for – ofte på baggrund af egne omsorgssvigt i barndommen. 2. udgave er udvidet med bl.a. et nyt kapitel, arbejdsspørgsmål, kommentarer samt et efterord skrevet af psykolog Jesper Birck.

Lige fra fødslen griber spædbarnets hånd fat om den voksnes fingre, og dets krop og hjerne søger instinktivt en tæt relation. Dette livsvigtige bånd mellem mennesker skabes og bliver gjort muligt gennem empati, der er vores helt særlige evne til at elske hinanden og dele hinandens følelser. Men meget tyder på, at vores evne til empati er truet - at der er et underskud af empati i vores moderne verden. Født til kærlighed: Om empati – en livsvigtig og truet egenskab udforsker den kolossale betydning, empatien har i vores liv. Forfatterne beskriver, hvordan empati udvikles, hvilke betingelser der får den til at blomstre eller visne, hvorfor den er afgørende for vores trivsel og for et velfungerende samfund - og hvorfor den er en truet egenskab i den moderne verden. Bogen giver imidlertid også bud på, hvad vi kan gøre for at styrke empatien. Bogen er skrevet af videnskabsjournalist Maia Szalavitz og børnepsykiater Bruce D. Perry og veksler mellem præsentation af den nyeste viden og forskning på området og gribende beretninger fra menneskers livshistorier. Forfatterne har tidligere udgivet Drengen, der voksede op som hund.

In this classic work of developmental psychology, renowned psychiatrist and the co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller What Happened to You? reveals how trauma affects children-and outlines the path to recovery." Fascinating and upbeat.... Dr. Perry is both a world-class creative scientist and a compassionate therapist." -Mary Pipher, PhD, author of Reviving OpheliaHow does trauma affect a child's mind-and how can that mind recover? Child psychiatrist Dr. Bruce D. Perry has helped children faced with unimaginable horror: genocide survivors, murder witnesses, kidnapped teenagers, and victims of family violence. In the classic The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog, Dr. Perry tells their stories of trauma and transformation and shares their lessons of courage, humanity, and hope. Deftly combining unforgettable case histories with his own compassionate, insightful strategies for rehabilitation, Perry explains what happens to children's brain when they are exposed to extreme stress-and reveals the unexpected measures that can be taken to ease such pain and help them grow into healthy adults. Only when we understand the science of the mind and the power of love and nurturing can we hope to heal the spirit of even the most wounded child.

Warum Liebe wirklich heilt: Fallgeschichten eines Kinderpsychiaters Wie die Seele wieder gesund wird: Der renommierte Hirnforscher und Kinderpsychiater Dr. Bruce Perry erzählt zehn berührende Geschichten von Trauma und Transformation. Dabei offenbart er die erstaunliche Fähigkeit des Gehirns zur Heilung: "Beziehung ist das, was Veränderung bewirkt. Die stärkste Therapie ist menschliche Liebe." Wie die Seele wieder gesund wird: Der renommierte Hirnforscher und Kinderpsychiater Dr. Bruce Perry erzählt zehn berührende Geschichten von Trauma und Transformation. Dabei offenbart er die erstaunliche Fähigkeit des Gehirns zur Heilung: "Beziehung ist das, was Veränderung bewirkt. Die stärkste Therapie ist menschliche Liebe." Was geschieht, wenn ein Kind traumatisiert wird? Wie beeinflussen Terror, Missbrauch oder Katastrophen den kindlichen Geist - und wie kann er heilen? Der angesehene Kinderpsychiater und Hirnforscher Dr. Bruce Perry hat Kinder behandelt, die unvorstellbarem Horror ausgesetzt waren: Kinder, die mitansehen mussten, wie ihre Eltern ermordert wurden, die in Wandschränken oder Käfigen aufgewachsen sind, Opfer von familiärer Gewalt etc. In diesem Buch erzählt er ihre Geschichten: Geschichten von Trauma und Transformation. Perry erklärt, was im Gehirn geschieht, wenn Kinder extremem Stress und Gewalt ausgesetzt sind, und wie innovative Behandlungsweisen ihren Schmerz lindern und ihnen helfen können, zu gesunden Erwachsenen heranzuwachsen. Durch die kenntnisreichen und bewegenden Darstellungen von körperlicher, geistiger und seelischer Heilung wird deutlich, wie stark das kindliche Gehirn von einfachen Dingen wie einer sicheren Umgebung, Zuneigung, Sprache und Berührung beeinflusst wird. "Beziehung ist das, was Veränderung bewirkt. Die stärkste Therapie ist menschliche Liebe", sagt Bruce Perry. "Es ist gut, dass die Hirnforscher in den letzten Jahren zeigen konnten, wie tief frühe traumatische Erfahrungen im Gehirn verankert sind. Aber es ist noch viel wichtiger zu wissen, dass diese Auswirkungen überwunden werden können und dass es Wege gibt, traumatisierten Kindern zu helfen, wieder glückliche Kinder zu werden. Genau das zeigt Bruce D. Perry in diesem mutmachenden Buch." Prof. Dr. Gerald Hüther, Leiter der Zentralstelle für Neurobiologische Präventivforschung, Uni Göttingen Ein Buch, das zur Pflichtlektüre alle pädagogischen Berufe werden sollte. Amazon, W. Stanzick "Verblüffende, wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse und berührende Schicksale werden so fesselnd erzählt, dass sich das knapp 330-seitige Buch stellenweise liest wie ein Roman. Es vermittelt jedem, der mit Kindern zu tun hat, leicht verständlich, was kleine Menschen brauchen, um gesund und glücklich groß zu werden." Kinder, Stephanie Albert

A clear and compassionate guide to overcoming substance problems "A no-nonsense, state-of-the-art guide."—Laurie Garrett, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Coming Plague "Comprehensive, illuminating, easy to read."—William Cope Moyers, Vice President of Public Affairs, Hazelden Foundation In Recovery Options: The Complete Guide, Joseph Volpicelli, M. D., Ph. D., an award-winning addiction research pioneer, and Maia Szalavitz, a Pulitzer Prize–nominated journalist and former addict, provide frank and impartial appraisals of all the major treatment options, including: *Alcoholics Anonymous *Moderate drinking programs *Alternative treatments *Therapeutic communities *Cognitive therapies *Other 12-step programs *Medications *Methadone *Harm reduction *How families can help In Recovery Options: The Complete Guide, you will learn what addiction is—and what it isn’t. You will examine both the mechanism of addiction and how you can make the best treatment choices . . . why some people are particularly prone to substance problems . . . and the genetic and learning mechanisms that help create these conditions. You’ll explore the various types of treatment and the ideas on which they are based, and find out how effective each treatment is—and which ones are not effective. Finally, you’ll find supportive information on staying clean and sober, preventing relapse, and minimizing damage caused by slips that may occur. Featuring the dramatic real-life stories of patients’ experiences (both good and bad) with various methods of recovery, this warm, sympathetic, and accessible guide to overcoming alcohol and other drug problems will help you and your loved ones begin the journey away from substance misuse toward a better life.