Embracing Our Fragmented Selves

Trauma fragments the self, leaving behind parts of us that carry fear, rage, shame, hopelessness, and despair. In Embracing Our Fragmented Selves, internationally renowned trauma therapist Dr. Janina Fisher offers a clear and compassionate approach to working with these parts and restoring a sense of inner harmony.

Grounded in structural dissociation theory, parts work, and sensorimotor psychotherapy, this workbook teaches trauma survivors to:

Understand their symptoms as expressions of different parts
Notice, unblend from, and befriend traumatized parts
Recognize self-destructive behaviors as the behavior of protector parts
Offer reparative experiences to wounded young parts

Whether you’re a trauma survivor or therapist, this book serves as a reminder that every part of us, no matter how wounded or extreme, is deserving of care. Healing begins when we meet those parts with support, appreciation, and acceptance.

Author Biography

Janina Fisher, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and a former instructor at Harvard Medical School. An international expert on the treatment of trauma, she is an executive board member of the Trauma Research Foundation and a patron of the John Bowlby Centre. Dr. Fisher is the author of Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors, Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma, and The Living Legacy of Trauma Flip Chart, as well as numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, and is the coauthor, with Pat Ogden, of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. She is best known for her work on integrating mindfulness-based and somatic interventions into trauma treatment. Her treatment model, Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST), is now being taught around the world. More information can be found on her website: www.janinafisher.com.