| View Larger Image | Coping with Physical Loss and Disability: A Workbook (New Horizons in Therapy) | Paperbackby Rick Ritter (Author)
| List Price: | $17.95 | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Paperback | | Publisher: | Loving Healing Press | | Page Count: | 104 Pages | | Publication Date: | October 15, 2005 | | Sales Rank: | 441,323st |
|
EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
This workbook provides more than 50 questions and exercises designed to empower those with physical loss and disability to better understand and accept their ongoing processes of loss and recovery. The exercises in Coping with Physical Loss and Disability were distilled from ten years of clinical social work experience with clients suffering from quadriplegia, paraplegia, amputation, cancer, severe burns, HIV/AIDs, and neuro-muscular disorders arising from accidents, injury, and disease. Series Info Coping with Physical Loss and Disability: A Workbook is the second book in the New Horizons in Therapy Series. This series is specifically designed to empower clients to work on their own in a therapeutic setting. As many therapists will state, it's often what the client does outside the session that can make the biggest difference in recovery. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 9 reviews)
|
The good, the bad, the ugly, and in the end, the great! by J. A. Howe  5 Stars
November 11, 2008
"Coping with Physical Loss and Disability" by Rick Ritter, MSW, is a jarring book at 92 pages. When I first got it, I thought it would be a regular self-help book, and I admit I was skeptical. But I opened it and it turned out to be a workbook.
There are six sections of the book, going from what your original loss was to how you could ask for and get help for it. In fact, I really had to consider that particular question. "Describe your loss in detail" was another. That was one of those where I had to write my feelings, and like many with disabilities I've told the story so many times, I figured I'd gotten it to a science. It was a blah story with which I started out, therefore; one I'd told a million times.
Then, something happened inside of me. I got angry. I don't do that too much; usually I'm at most irritated and that's that. Life is irritating to me these days for various personal reasons, so that was what the answer was like till that particular switch in my head went off. All of a sudden, there was a real answer. I actually started yelling "What? You want to know about the stupid primary care physician who said one leg was shorter than the other, when it turned out I had a blood clot in it? You want to know about my parents? What...?"
In the end, the question tore something out of me that I hadn't expected at all.
If you read this book, be prepared to do it slowly. At the end, you'll find a section of resources that is very intense. The author even stuck in movies that deal with disability! The book itself will take you to places inside that you didn't know existed, like that bit of anger -- believe me, I had more than one of those. I cried, I threw things, I felt sorry for myself, I sat for long periods of time thinking hard about questions my mind refused to answer but that on the other hand it wanted to. That test of my own will-power hurt a lot sometimes. But believe me when I say, it's very much worth it.
"Coping with Physical Loss and Disability: A Workbook" - Rick Ritter, MSW; LovingHealing Press 2006.
| |
Best Used In A Professional Setting by Contemplative (Ohio United States)  3 Stars
January 15, 2007
After reading the other reviews I purchased this book. I have a degenerative muscle disease for which there is no treatment. Although I have coped fairly well up to this point, I was finding myself more and more isolated. As I answered the questions, I felt it would be better if I were going through this process with a professional. I answered as fully as I was able, but there doesn't seem to be any suggestions as to what to do with this information. The book suggests that you share your answers with three people. In my case that wasn't possible.I can see that it would be useful in conjunction with therapy. Without that professional input, the book left me hanging.
| |
Just the help we needed. by Joi Ann Warburton (Las Vegas, Nevada USA) 5 Stars
August 01, 2006
As we prepared for our oldest daughter's amputaion, I searched for something to help guide us along as a family. This work book is wonderful. Although my daughter was emotionally ready for her loss, Rick Ritter was able to better address some of what we may have missed prior to her surgery. I strongly recomend this book for anyone dealing with physical loss them selves or that of a loved one. Joi Warburton, Las Vegas, NV
| |
An outstanding workbook! by Nancy A. Draper (Maine) 5 Stars
May 31, 2006
Rick Ritter has written a superb self-help workbook that will benefit readers who have suffered a physical loss or disability. Ritter has included 50 questions to be answered by the reader. He recommends these answers be shared with at least three other people. In responding to these questions, the reader is able to reflect on his or her disability or physical loss. The book engages the reader in discovering ways to deal with their physical loss. To those readers who have experienced such a loss, the workbook will provide a sense of empowerment to those still in grief or depression.
Ritter himself has experienced his own disability. As a social worker(MSW), he has had the opportunity to work with 100 people who have suffered a physical loss or disability. His workbook provides a roadmap for readers to follow to reach attainable goals.
Also included are interesting short stories of people he has worked with ranging from amputation, breast cancer, muscular dystrophy, AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis, and quadriplegia. He recounts how these people were able to cope with their loss.
Having a disability or having suffered a physical loss doesn't necessarily lead to unhappiness. How one responds to that loss is what really matters. Rick also uses spirituality, support systems, and holistic methods as an approach to coping with the loss. Resiliency is crucial in facing any loss or disability.
As a mother of a son with cerebral palsy, I can see how this workbook could be very useful. He is now a happy young man working as an attorney. His disability didn't stop him from being productive. Also, having battled my own muscle disease along with rheumatoid arthritis, I found it helpful. As the daughter of a mother transfused with HIV contaminated blood, I can see how this workbook could have benefited her.
The resources included at the end of his book are certainly a bonus. He has listed helpful organizations, suggested reading, and films relating to physical loss and disability.
Rick Ritter has given his readers a wonderful gift. "Coping with Physical Loss and Disability" is an empowering book that will benefit many readers. I highly recommend this workbook. Thank you, Rick for caring. Your workbook will be appreciated by many people.
Nancy A. Draper (Author) A Burden of Silence: My Mother's Battle with AIDS
| |
Recommended!! by Reader Views (Austin, Texas) 5 Stars
May 05, 2006
Reviewed by Christina Gonzalez, LMHC for Reader Views (5/06)
The author starts this very unique workbook with a compelling quote from Christopher Reeve, "So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable". This book is a way to help those who have found their dreams become impossible, find new ways to restructure their life, their ways of thinking and their ways of being in order to find ways to help their dreams become inevitable.
This book is oriented towards those who have experienced some type of a physical loss, whether from a disability, accident or including serious, chronic illnesses and pain. His examples range from people who have suffered knee injuries to quadriplegics, to individuals who have undergone a mastectomy from breast cancer to debilitating illnesses like muscular dystrophy. I would see value for individuals with ANY chronic health condition benefiting enormously from this book.
The author suggests that individuals who use this book consult with at least three people in their lives with whom they can share the results of the exercises which is very wise. The author takes the reader through a series of written exercises and anecdotes through six main chapters: Past and Future, Self Care and Support, Dealing with Loss: Feelings and Beliefs, Understanding Disability, Transforming Circumstance, and The Ongoing Process of Loss and Recovery. Each of these remain only questions and words on paper until the reader takes these questions and looks into their lives and then shares them with another.
As a therapist I will be recommending this book to my clients who are struggling with any chronic health issues. I would love to use this workbook with my clients in their therapy as well as suggest they share the information obtained about themselves with others in their lives. The author includes some excellent exercises to help the reader determine what people in their lives might be supportive to this process of recovery from physical loss and/or any chronic health condition.
The appendices include some excellent resources regarding therapeutic techniques and alternatives, suggested reading for coping with loss and disability, films on issues related to physical loss and disability, guidelines for watching films, and a listing of organizations and other resources that can help individuals coping with loss and disability.
As the mother of a child with Cerebral Palsy and as a psychotherapist myself, I found this book to be highly valuable for people dealing with any type of physical loss. As I mentioned above, just buying the book will not do anything. Filling out the exercises will help, but will not make a huge change. Filling out the exercise, following the author on the journey that he is leading the reader on and sharing with those close to the reader will make a great deal of difference. Some of the exercises I found helpful for those suffering from debilitating mental or emotional illnesses and even less acute health conditions such as asthma or others. This book is highly recommended to any individual who has suffered a physical loss and is still struggling to find their dreams. It would make a great gift from a supportive loved one who is also willing to make a stand to be there with the reader as they go through these exercises, and it would make an excellent aid to an individual who is currently seeing a therapist. I would not recommend this to someone who just wants to do the exercises randomly, haphazardly or in order to just keep their answers to themselves and not share them with another.
| |
SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
| The Pain Survival Guide: How to Reclaim Your Life (APA Lifetools)
by Dennis C. Turk (Author), Frits, Ph.D. Winter (Author)
If you suffer from chronic pain, this proven 10-step program brings hope and relief, showing you how gradual changes in specific behaviors can lead to great improvements in your ability to cope. Psychologists Turk and Winters’ recommendations are based on solid research that shows what works and on their success with thousands of patients. Unlike the authors of other pain books, they promise no miracle cures, but they do help you learn "not to let your body push you around" so life becomes...
| 
| Life After Trauma: A Workbook for Healing
by Dena Rosenbloom PhD (Author), Mary Beth Williams PhD (Author), Barbara E. Watkins (Author), Dena Rosenbloom (Author), Mary Beth Williams (Author)
Trauma can turn a person's world upside down--afterward, nothing may look safe or familiar. This supportive workbook helps trauma survivors find and use crucial skills for coping, self-understanding, and self-care. Even when the worst has happened, this book shows how it is possible to feel good again. Filled with comforting activities, relaxation techniques, self-evaluation questionnaires, and exercises, the workbook explains how and why trauma can throw you for a loop and what...
| 
| Lower Limb Amputation: A Guide to Living a Quality Life
by M.D. Adrian Cristian (Author)
This is the first book to combine medical, prosthetic, and psychosocial facts about lower limb amputation into one convenient volume. The author demystifies the medical process by using plain, optimistic language and offers practical advice about how to cope with the life changes caused by lower limb amputation. Due to diabetes and an aging population, among other factors, lower limb amputation is now relatively common. Feelings of loss and grief, difficulties in learning to walk with an...
| 
| The Chronic Pain Care Workbook: A Self-treatment Approach to Pain Relief Using the Behavioral Assessment of Pain Questionnaire (A New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook)
by Michael J. Lewandowski (Author)
Sixteen years ago, psychologist Michael Lewandowski devised a series of questions for patients suffering from chronic pain that identifies specific factors that aggravate and perpetuate pain. Those questions became the Behavioral Assessment of Pain Questionnaire, which is now used throughout the world in the treatment of chronic pain. By using this questionnaire, doctors are able to customize pain-management programs to the specific needs of individuals. Now Lewandowski brings this powerful set...
| 
| The Self-Esteem Workbook
by Glenn R. Schiraldi (Author)
A host of dysfunctional and self-destructive patterns arise at minor and acute levels if an individual dislikes him- or herself. Despite the importance of self-esteem, surprisingly little attention has been focused on building it directly, until now. Designed in an easy-to-use format, The Self-Esteem Workbook presents a course in self-esteem based on new research and sound principles. Checklists, fill-ins, and exercises show readers how thoughts, emotions, physical health, and behavior impact...
|
|
|
