Published 2014. Updated and Revised 2014, 2016, 2017.

Affectionately known as 'the Rainbow Book', this book by Vivian Broughton has proved particularly popular. It has been translated into German, Dutch and Russian, with work in progress on a Swedish and Norwegian version.

Vivian devised the book to appeal to anyone interested in understanding themselves better, and taking their trauma seriously. Originally it was intended to be a gift to give to her new clients, but is now regarded as a best-seller in the field of Identity-oriented Psychotrauma Therapy (IoPT), and is often shared between friends as a starting point on this journey to healthy autonomy.

It is short, just 85 pages, and includes cartoon drawings and diagrams that help to address a challenging and charged topic in a manageable and friendly way. It does intend to be a 'handbook', the object of which is to provide helpful information about how to become the authority of one's life rather than a hostage to one's life.

We think of trauma as the big and obvious events, such as major catastrophes like 9/11 or a tsunami. These are important of course, but there are other potential traumas that are rarely talked about. They happened at a time that we do not remember and cannot discuss.

This handbook offers a journey of hope. Trauma can be healed and resolved. You can't do all the work of healing on your own, but this handbook can help you understand yourself better, gives you some basics to help you on your way, and gives you some pointers to finding the appropriate help.

Drawings in this book are by Karen McMillan