Examine a compelling account of a professional caregiver’s inspirational struggle with a mind/body illness and the renewed sense of compassion his recovery provides. This uplifting narrative is the story of a caregiving professional stricken by panic attacks, a wounded healer desperate to be healed. When the Caregiver Becomes the Patient is the candid and compassionate first-hand account of Daniel Langford’s struggle with the anxiety disorder that signals a physical, cognitive, and emotional crisis that paralyzes him, despite his extensive background as a health care professional, social worker, and pastoral minister. His journey from the disorder’s horrifying onset to the understanding and acceptance of its roots, and finally, to an insight that evokes a renewed appreciation for the human spirit is an inspirational guide to healing and recovery. The anecdotal form of When the Caregiver Becomes the Patient lends itself to a personal retelling of Langford’s struggle, detailing his sessions with family physician Dr. David Betat, and colleague and co-author Dr. Emil Authelet as they explore the biopsychosocial and spiritual dimension of Langford’s attacks. Their informal dialogues serve as a model of how a lateral relationship between colleagues can create an environment for healing and recovery that can be passed on to others. The book also critiques and reviews existing literature on panic attacks and anxiety disorders related to the author’s search for understanding. When the Caregiver Becomes the Patient examines:
panic attacks--cause, treatment, and recovery
a critique of existing literature on panic attacks
clinical and spiritual perspectives on anxiety disorders
critical elements of the healing process
effects on the caregiver’s relationship with his/her client
a fresh model for the caregiver/patient relationship
An essential resource for caregivers, counselors and therapists, educators, physicians, and health care and religious professionals, as well as those searching for an understanding of anxiety disorders, When the Caregiver Becomes the Patient reassures those who receive care that the care giver struggles with life as well. That understanding of the mutuality of pain and recovery creates a connection that helps ease the isolation that often accompanies suffering.
Reviews: “THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ. When a therapist tells his own story of recovery and healing, as Dan Langford has done in this remarkable book, we see that caregiving can also be a mutual sacrament of spiritual healing. Written in the form of a conversational dialogue with Langford’s own therapist, this book both INFORMS AND EDIFIES. Armed with clinical insight, seasoned with spiritual wisdom, and permeated with unpretentious self-disclosure, Langford and his therapist Emil Authelet tell their story, which is the story of all who dare to be caregivers and those who seek their care.”
Ray S. Anderson, PhD, Professor of Theology and Ministry, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California “A FINE AND UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE. . . . Rarely are we offered such a powerful book . . . a profoundly moving description of what it feels like to be in the middle of a mental breakdown and a difficult recovery process. Critical, well-focused attention is given to the role of Christian spirituality in healing, as well as the empowering strength that may be shared by the giver and the recipient of care.”
Professor John L. Erlich, Division of Social Work, California State University, Sacramento Contents:
Foreword
Preface
Chapter 1. A Frightening Summer Experience
Chapter 2. Critique of the Literature on Panic Attacks
Introduction
Panic Attack As Defined by the DSM-IV
The Matrix of Panic Attacks
Understanding Panic Using an Integrated Model
Treatments for Panic
Conclusion
Chapter 3. Clinical and Spiritual Perspectives on Anxiety, Panic Attacks, and the Malfunctioning of Our Brains: An Interview with Dr. David Betat
Introduction
A Dialogue with David Betat, MD
Chapter 4. The Frightened Child Hiding Behind the Facade of an Adult
The Dan Langford I First Met
Struggles with a Mission
War in the Classroom
The Crisis of the Inner Child
A New Level of Self-Awareness
Recovery
Chapter 5. The Healing of the Frightened Child
Introduction
The Tyranny of the Inner Child
Ego States and Transactional Analysis
Recovery
Chapter 6. How the Suffering of the Caregiver Benefits the Caregiver-Client Relationship—Part 1
Chapter 7. How the Suffering of the Caregiver Benefits the Caregiver-Client Relationship—Part 2
Introduction
What Makes a Good Caregiver?
We Live Life and Help Others from the Inside Out
The Critical Elements of the Healing Process
The Measures of a Therapist’s Integrity and Success
Conclusion
Chapter 8. Toward a Fresh Model of the Caregiver-Client Relationship: The Oneness of Human Experience—Part 1
Introduction
The Dark Side of the Caregiving Professional’s World
Pathologies in the Therapist-Client Relationship
A New Model of the Caregiver-Client Relationship
Reflection
Chapter 9. Toward a Fresh Model of the Caregiver-Client Relationship: The Oneness of the Human Experience—Part 2
Introduction
The Dark Side of Caregiving
A New Model of the Caregiver-Client Relationship
Chapter 10. Reflections on John Powell’s Book Fully Human, Fully Alive: A Dialogue Between Emil Authelet and Dan Langford
What It Means to Be Set Free Through the Restructuring of Our Thoughts and Perceptions of Ourselves
Strategies for Becoming Fully Human, Fully Alive
The Restructuring of Thought and Vision Therapy
Chapter 11. Finale: Relational Theology and the Circle of Life
Introduction
Thinking and Relating Holistically
Christology
God’s Original Intention and Our Deepest Need
The Mutual Interconnectedness Between Therapist and Client
Authentic Caregiving
Building a World of Caregivers
What Is Health?
The Responsibility of the Therapist
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Reference Notes Included from the publisher's website |
