Hungry for Ecstasy: Trauma, the Brain, and the Influence of the Sixties [Hardcover]

Hungry for Ecstasy: Trauma, The Brain, and the Influence of the Sixties by Sharon Klayman Farber explores the hunger for ecstatic experience that can lead people down the road to self-destruction. In an attempt to help mental health professionals and concerned individuals understand and identify the phenomenon and ultimately intervene with patients, friends, and loved ones, Farber speaks both personally and professionally to the reader. She discusses the different paths taken on the road to ecstatic states. There are religious ecstasies, ecstasies of pain and near-death experiences, cult-induced ecstasies, creative ecstasies, and ecstasies from hell. Hungry for Ecstasy explores not only the neuroscientific processes involved but also the influence of the sixties in driving people to seek these states. Finally, Farber draws from her own personal and professional experience to advise others how to intervene on behalf of the person whose behavior puts his or her life at risk.Sharon Klayman Farber, PhD, is a board certified diplomate in clinical social work. She is the author of When the Body is the Target: Self-Harm, Pain, and Traumatic Attachments.

Farber draws on her personal and professional experience, as well as her research, to explore the human desire for the ecstatic experience. She writes in a straightforward and engaging manner that would appeal to anyone who wishes to learn more about the cultural history, science, and psychology of the experience of ecstasy. . . .Readers will come away with fascinating and thought-provoking perspectives of many different theorists, mental health practitioners, and individuals with their own stories of pain and a desire for an ecstatic experience, which will spark creativity in the therapist when working with individuals who are trying desperately to escape painful emotions. Hungry for Ecstasy is a must read for social workers who work with adults or adolescents who engage in self-mutilating, addictive, or other high-riskl³R