Outshining Trauma

Outshining Trauma combines Richard Schwartz's Internal Family Systems (IFS) model with Buddhist meditation practice to offer an approach to healing that goes beyond the usual. Author Ralph De La Rosa sets this evidence-based therapeutic model within meditation to show that working through trauma can lead a person toward their deepest spiritual nature.

It is meant for readers who have tried therapy and meditation but still find themselves caught in the same patterns and emotions. The book lays out clear frameworks for understanding trauma, post-traumatic growth and the close link between healing and spirituality.

Journal prompts, experiential exercises and guided meditations help readers learn to:

See the mind as made up of separate parts, each with its own views and intentions, which can become stuck in traumatic experiences. Recognize common kinds of inner parts in the IFS model, such as Managers, Firefighters and Exiles. Separate from a part that holds grief, pain or other hard feelings, and then draw out its concerns and wisdom. Use meditation to open to self-compassion and self-love.

De La Rosa writes in a personable voice. He draws on his own life as a survivor of abuse and addiction to tell stories that show what this path looks like.