by Toby Ingham
This book shows clearly how psychotherapy works and it is rare in that, while personal details have been altered, it is not a composite case study but the story of one man`s journey over eight years of therapy from a place of emotional pain to the regaining of his creativity, through which he becomes able to draw what has happened to him and recover. Toby Ingham was William Smith`s therapist. William suggested that Toby write a full account to accompany his illustrations (shown in the published book) and they have collaborated on the text.
Extract from A GUILTY VICTIM: RECOVERING CREATIVITY AFTER TRAUMA AND ABUSE
(Please see Download to the right-hand side for Intro and 1st 6 chapters).
At 13, William is being sexually abused by a priest. Thinking both early childhood trauma and sexual abuse were his fault, he starts a 40-year period of alcohol abuse to cope with his self-loathing, lack of self-worth and depression. He leads a secret life away from everyone else, even his family, despite having a happy home and a successful career.
At 54, William starts therapy with Toby and, after years of difficult conversations on both sides, his troubles begin to emerge and he is not only able to talk honestly for the first time but to illustrate his story and this has led to their collaboration on A GUILTY VICTIM: RECOVERING CREATIVITY AFTER TRAUMA AND ABUSE. The detail in both text and illustrations is extraordinarily revelatory. (To buy the book go to A Guilty Victim https://www.karnacbooks.com/product/a-guilty-victim-recovering-creativity-after-trauma-and-abuse/97952/).
You may also like to listen to this podcast:
Toby Ingham (Audio); Navigating Trauma: A Therapeutic Journey. Unveiling the Layers of Psychotherapy from The Locked Up Living Podcast by David Jones & Dr Naomi Murphy