Joining Forces: Empowering Male Survivors to Thrive

About the Book

Joining Forces: Empowering Male Survivors to Thrive is an inspirational new book written to empower male survivors of sexual victimization to develop skills they can use to overcome the effects of trauma and learn to thrive in their lives. Male survivors often struggle to feel any sense of hope for the future, so this book is designed to inspire survivors and their allies with easily learned skills developed over the course of the author's 30-year career, and the real-life experiences of male survivors who have learned to thrive. Each chapter invites survivors to dare to dream that they can take another step in their healing process through leaving their isolation behind, challenging their dysfunctional beliefs and replacing them with healthier functional messages, practicing healing exercises, reading about the struggles and successes of men just like themselves, and learning how to build hope through the use of affirmations.

With a foreword by Tyler Perry, this book is unique in that it is based on the experiences of over 750 male survivors who have participated in MaleSurvivor Weekends of Recovery. The tools taught during those weekends, plus many more developed through the clinical experiences of the author, are presented so that each survivor reading the book has an opportunity to use the skills as he faces the challenges of his recovery. Survivors and their allies learn they are not alone in their struggles. Including the writings of male survivors and their partners will help to end their isolation and help them know others have walked in their path, become stronger, and found a sense of freedom. They will read about how these men and their allies have learned to make healthier choices that have enhanced their relationships, their emotional functioning, their job performance and their lives.

About the Author :
Howard Fradkin received his PhD in Counselling Psychology in 1980 from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and has been licenced as a psychologist in Ohio since 1982. Dr Fradkin has counselled more than 1,000 male survivors as individuals, as couples and in group psychotherapy and weekend workshops over the course of his 30-year career. He was one of the co-founders of the National Organization On Male Sexual Victimization (now known as MaleSurvivor), and has served as an advisory board member for MaleSurvivor since 2001. In 2001, Dr Fradkin became the Chairperson of the MaleSurvivor Weekends of Recovery programme. In this role, he had the primary responsibility for developing and implementing the weekend experience, supervising staff and having primary responsibility for overseeing the emotional experiences of all of the male survivors (and sometimes their partners) who participated in the weekend. In 2010, due to the success and growth of the programme, it became necessary to share responsibilities for the programme, and since that time, he has served as Co-Chairperson. Dr Fradkin has directed 39 Weekends of Recovery since 2001. His expertise was recognized by Oprah Winfrey when she invited him to be her professional guest for two shows, '200 Men' in 2010, focusing on healing for male survivors of sexual abuse. As a male survivor himself, he has learned first-hand about the struggles inherent in achieving recovery, and is able to offer significant hope and encouragement to empower men to thrive in many aspects of their lives. www.malesurvivor.org

Review :
""Howard Fradkin has written a practical and useful guide for the healing of male survivors. His compassionate work is not just another book of survivors' stories or a technical explanation of the process of victimization, but it also incorporates exercises that survivors can use to begin the road to recovery as well as grow to become 'thrivers.'"

""As the mental-health expert on the groundbreaking Oprah Winfrey show that featured 200 male survivors, Dr. Fradkin helped explain the effects of victimization to an audience perhaps unfamiliar with this all-too-common experience that affects one in six men. In leading dozens of healing retreats for men, Dr. Fradkin has the understanding born of decades of practice. He has a clear knowledge of the dynamics and issues for survivors, and provides exercises for men to use in a clear and functional way. "

" "I like this book, and it is a valuable addition to the shelf of any male survivor, loved one, or professional working with this population.""-- Ken Singer, MSW, author of "Evicting the Perpetrator: A Male Survivor Guide to Recovery from Childhood Sexual Abuse"