If you’re new to trauma or learning about trauma, this book is only good for step one. By no means do I think this book is helpful beyond that.

As someone who has worked and is still working through PTSD, Morton gives one major piece of advice: find someone who specializes in helping others with trauma. I agree wholeheartedly with that, so since Morton is a licensed marriage and family therapist, I’m sort of confused why she is the author of this topic.

Working through any kind of trauma or grief is not the same among people, so it’s finding what’s best for you. This book made me feel like you need to do one thing or another to feel better or learn to work through grief.

I would recommend finding a book written by someone who specializes in trauma if you or someone who know is in need of help.

Thank you to Hachette for the finished copy and Netgalley for the e-ARC.

Amazing book on trauma. As a social worker, I loved it and will utilize what I learned moving forward. Hoping to purchase a physical copy to have.

A poignant and powerful book on understanding the deeper-rooted questions and psychology of trauma. I think this book will help survivors and those who love them understand their own mental cycles that are perpetrated by trauma. I enjoy the insights from a real therapist rather than someone who is simply doling out advice. Kati Morton's book transported me into a true therapy session; one where I could be honest with myself and begin doing the hard work of healing.

This book felt like an “intro to trauma” crash course so if you’re new to trauma and trauma therapy, this is a great resource for you! Morton does a wonderful job of explaining concepts and theories in a really approachable way.

Now let’s talk about what I didn’t like...I really struggled with the different “questionnaires” throughout the book. They felt driven by self diagnosis and that really doesn’t sit well with me when it comes to trauma. I get the idea behind learning how to identify different symptoms, but it didn’t sit well with me.

This book also largely ignored the intersections of various cultural identities and trauma. While the experience of trauma is universal, identities like race and one’s sexuality can often exacerbate those experiences.

The purpose of Traumatized by Kati Morton is to spread information about trauma. It seeks to and succeeds at showing how a lot of people have experienced trauma, how those suffering from PTSD might not fit the cultural stereotype of PTSD, symptoms of PTSD, different types of therapy techniques and skills taught in therapy and how they are used to treat trauma.
The book is written in a fairly conversational and accessible way. It covers a lot of information, which could be overwhelming for someone who has not heard of many of these concepts and ideas previously, but the tone of the book helps with this. I think it serves as a good general guide to helping those who have experienced trauma to learn some skills to deal, but also what to look for in a potential therapist or ways to talk about one's experiences in therapy.
I've seen a few of Kati Morton's videos on youtube and from what I've seen I like her approach. She seems empathetic and knowledgable. I could very much hear her voice while reading the book. It feels genuine.
The only complaints I have are that the book could have been organized a little better and I didn't find all of the anecdotes helpful. These are just nitpicky things though. Overall, I would say this is a helpful tool and jumping off point for those looking to heal from trauma and the book succeeds at achieving what its aim is.

In this book Morton does a great job of talking about trauma and its symptoms in a digestible way. Including modern examples of how social media, the news, and COVID-19 / quarantine can be traumatic. All of which, I loved because WOW has this time been traumatic! The loss of safety and security from the ongoing pandemic is severe, much more for some than others, and anyone who has spent some time in comment sections of social medias knows how invalidating and scary the experience can be. In addition, this book is incredibly validating for anyone who has experienced trauma in all of its forms, because Morton talks about trauma & symptoms outside of the formal DSM-5 diagnosis. And don’t worry, Morton spends time helping us find ways to cope and self-care!

Overall, this book is a great resource to help provide language and understanding around traumatic experiences and the resulting symptoms, as well as learning ways to start coping in effective and healthy ways!