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Medical Physician & Patient

Damaged

Childhood Trauma, Adult Illness, and the Need for a Health Care Revolution

by (author) Robert Maunder & Jonathan Hunter

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Nov 2022
Category
Physician & Patient, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Child & Adolescent, Mental Health, Counseling, Health Care Issues
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781487528379
    Publish Date
    Aug 2021
    List Price
    $22.95
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781487528348
    Publish Date
    Oct 2021
    List Price
    $31.95
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781487528355
    Publish Date
    Nov 2022
    List Price
    $22.95

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Description

Childhood adversity that is severe enough to be harmful throughout life is one of the biggest public health issues of our time, yet health care systems struggle to even acknowledge the problem. In Damaged, Dr. Robert Maunder and Dr. Jonathan Hunter call for a radical change, arguing that the medical system needs to be not only more compassionate but more effective at recognizing that trauma impacts everybody’s health, from patient to practitioner.

 

Drawing on decades of experience providing psychiatric care, Maunder and Hunter offer an open and honest window into the private world of psychotherapy. At the heart of the book is the painful yet inspiring story of Maunder’s career-long work with a patient named Isaac. In unfiltered accounts of their therapy sessions, we see the many ways in which childhood trauma harms Isaac’s health for the rest of his life. We also see how deeply patients can affect the doctors who care for them, and how the caring collegiality between doctors can significantly improve the medicine they practice.

 

Damaged makes it clear that human relationships are at the core of medicine, and that a revolution in health care must start with the development of safe, respectful, and caring relationships between doctors and patients. It serves as a strong reminder that the way we care for those who suffer most reveals who we are as a society.

About the authors

Robert Maunder, MD is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and holds the Chair in Health and Behaviour at Sinai Health. His research focuses on how close relationships influence health, and on the compassionate support of resilience in healthcare workers. Clinically, he provides psychiatric care for people with chronic physical illnesses.

Robert Maunder's profile page

Jonathan Hunter, MD is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and holds the Pencer Family Chair in Applied General Psychiatry at Sinai Health. His research and clinical practice focus on the psychiatric and psychotherapeutic care of cancer patients and other people with serious medical and surgical illnesses.

Jonathan Hunter's profile page

Awards

  • Commended, Foreword INDIES 2021 honourable mention for Health

Editorial Reviews

Damaged is not for the faint of heart – many events from Isaac’s past can be hard to read. But those who persist will find much to consider.”

<em>Publishers Weekly</em>

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