‘A beautifully written and deeply compassionate guide for people healing from childhood trauma.' – Dr Susan Simpson, Clinical Psychologist & Founder of Schema Therapy Training Scotland.
Heal Your Trauma is a compassionate and practical guide to recognising the lasting effects of trauma and learning how to heal and recover.
Trauma leaves traces – in our minds, bodies and relationships – long after the original wounds occurred. Even experiences we thought we’d ‘moved on’ from can resurface years later as anxiety, depression, anger, substance abuse or low self-esteem.
Drawing on powerful trauma-informed models – including Internal Family Systems, schema therapy and mindful self-compassion – therapist Dan Roberts shows how to calm your nervous system, reconnect with all parts of yourself and build lasting emotional resilience.
Through clear explanations and guided exercises, Roberts helps readers come to terms with the past and move forward with strength and confidence. The healing process can feel challenging, but the rewards of living an authentic life are transformative. Your wounds do not have to define you – and it’s never too late to heal.
For example, you’ll learn:
- How trauma affects the mind and body – even years after it occurred.
- Practical tools from leading therapy models to soothe and regulate your emotions.
- Techniques for working compassionately with your ‘inner parts’ to resolve old wounds.
- Ways to identify triggers and develop healthier emotional responses.
- Steps for building resilience, balance and genuine self-acceptance.
Whether you’re beginning your healing journey or continuing work in therapy, this book provides an informed, reassuring companion for lasting change.
Grounded in clinical insight and filled with accessible exercises, Heal Your Trauma offers a gentle roadmap to moving beyond survival mode and toward wholeness.
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'An antidote to the sense of isolation and shame we can carry when painful experiences have wounded us.' – Sue Smith MBACP, Certified IFS Therapist & Lead Trainer for the IFS Institute.
'His genuine compassion and deep hope for his readers’ healing shine through on every page.' – Robin Spiro LCSW, Advanced Schema Therapist & Supervisor/Trainer
'I felt seen, validated, and understood, but never judged.’ – Sarah Pagdin CPsychol AFBPsS, Certified Schema Therapist, Trainer & Supervisor
Table of Contents:
Foreword by Claire van den Bosch MA - Internal Family Systems Therapist and EMDR Therapist & Trainer
Introduction
My Long Journey to Becoming a Trauma Therapist
CHAPTER 1. How it All Began
What You Needed as a Child, But Didn’t Get
Exercises included:
Journal: What Kind Of Child Were You?
Journal: Which Of Your Core Emotional Needs Were Not Met?
CHAPTER 2. Your Life Story
What Story Do You Tell Yourself About Who You Are?
Exercises included:
Journal: What Is Your Life Story?
Meditation: Reframing Your Regrets
Journal: What Is Your New Life Story?
CHAPTER 3. What is Childhood Trauma?
The Profound, Long-Lasting Effect of Childhood Trauma and Neglect
Exercises included:
Journal: Did You Experience Small t Trauma?
Meditation: Compassionate Breathing
Journal: What Is Your Ace Score? And How Does That Affect You Now?
Meditation: Safety Bubble Imagery
Meditation: Safe Place Imagery
CHAPTER 4. Soothing Your Nervous System
Healing Your Body’s Traumatic Stress
Exercises included:
Journal: Using Your Mind To Change Your Brain
Meditation: Box Breathing
Journal: Getting To Know Your Nervous System
Meditation: Colour Breathing
Meditation: Mindful Grounding Technique
CHAPTER 5. Learning the Skill of Self-Compassion
Start Treating Yourself Like a Beloved Friend
Exercises included:
Journal: Are You More Compassionate Than You Think?
Meditation: Compassionate Friend
Journal: What Are Your Obstacles To Self-Compassion?
Meditation: Body, Breath, Touch, Talk
Meditation: Learning To Forgive Yourself
CHAPTER 6. Embracing Every Part of You
The New Science of Parts-Based Therapies
Exercises included:
Journal: How Does The Idea Of Parts Land With You?
Meditation: Calming Your Parts
Meditation: Which Part Are Your Blended With Right Now?
Meditation: The Path
CHAPTER 7. Working with Your Protectors
When Your Parts Try to Help in Unhelpful Ways
Exercises included:
Journal: Which Addictive Processes Do You Struggle With?
Meditation: Befriending Your Inner Soother
Journal: Getting To Know Your Inner Worrier
Meditation: Working With Your Inner Critic
CHAPTER 8. Meeting Your Compassionate Self
Learning that Everything You Need to Heal is Already Inside
Exercises included:
Journal: How Do You Experience Self Day To Day?
Meditation: Accessing Healing Self-Energy
Meditation: Taking In The Good
Journal: Write A Letter From Your Self
CHAPTER 9. Learning to Love Your Inner Child
Accepting, Loving & Healing the Little Boy or Girl Inside
Exercises included:
Journal: How Do You Visualise Your Inner Child?
Journal: Write A Letter To Your Inner Child
Meditation: Helping Your Anxious Inner Child Feel Safe
CHAPTER 10. Embracing Post-Traumatic Growth
How You Can Flourish & Thrive After Trauma
Exercises included:
Journal: The Mud And The Lotus
Journal: Taking Stock Of Your Relationships
Meditation: Hardwiring Happiness
Meditation: Imagine A Happier Future
References
Index
About the Author
About the Author :
Dan Roberts MBACP is a psychotherapist based in the UK who specialises in treating complex trauma. Dan has helped hundreds of people recover from traumatic and neglectful childhoods, which have caused problems in adulthood like chronic stress, debilitating worry and anxiety, recurrent episodes of depression, issues with addiction and complex, life-limiting problems such as dissociative disorders.
Dan is an Internal Family Systems Therapist and an Advanced Accredited Schema Therapist, Trainer & Supervisor. In addition to IFS and schema therapy, he also integrates other highly effective models and wisdom traditions into his work with clients including compassion-focused therapy, mindful self-compassion, trauma therapies and somatic therapies. Dan is a long-term meditator and student of Buddhism, so he also weaves in ideas from Buddhist psychology, because this 2,500-year-old tradition offers such rich, wise insights into what causes suffering and how to relieve it.
He is passionate about helping people heal the wounds inflicted by childhood trauma and works with clients, supervisees and students throughout the world. He writes a blog and contributes to online, print and broadcast media. Dan is also a meditation teacher and workshop leader, helping people struggling with the impact of childhood trauma. He has one son and lives with his wife and their cat in a leafy corner of England.
