Treating of Complex Trauma: A Sequenced Relationship-Based Approach, by Christine A. Courtois and Julian D. Ford, 2012, 378 pages (ISBN-10: 1462506585, ISBN-13: 978-1462506583, Hard Cover $60.00 CDN)Reviewed by HEATHER B. MACINTOSHDOl: 10.1037/a0033867Building on a long-established partnership, Courtois and Ford follow up from their 2009 book, Treating Complex Traumatic Stress Disorders: An Evidence-Based Guide, with this edition that provides clinicians with a welcome, in-depth view of the phase-oriented approach to treating complex trauma from a relational perspective. While a number of authors have written on the phase-oriented approach to treatment in the context of complex trauma (Lebowitz, Harvey, & Herman, 1993), Courtois and Ford take this further and provide the reader with a comprehensive and illustrative guide to this challenging work with highly traumatized patients.The text includes an overview of complex traumatic stressors and sequelae, the process of treatment including preparation, goal setting, detailed illustrations of the three phases of treatment, and systemic approaches to treatment that include couples and families. In addition, chapters are included that provide important insights into dissociation, the therapeutic relationship with complex trauma survivors, and the transference/countertransference matrix in the context of complex trauma. Woven through the text are important discussions about managing crises, working with severe affect dysregulation and dissociation, and dealing with the emotional impact of this type of work on the clinician themselves. With its relational emphasis, the emotional impact on the life of both the patient and the clinician are highlighted in this text. This thorough guide is illustrated throughout with two detailed case examples that are utilized to provide the reader with illustrations of how to plan and implement the phase-oriented approach. These illustrative cases put flesh and skin on the concepts being introduced and bring the challenges and value of a strong therapeutic relationship in the treatment of patients with complex trauma very much to life.A unique and important aspect of this text is the consistent emphasis on integrating evidence-based treatments, such as exposure paradigms, with important advances in relational and interpersonal theory in the context of complex trauma. This integration advances a field that has been bifurcated by conflict over approaches to treatment with those in the science camp working, on occasion, in opposition to those in the psychodynamic or relational camp. This is a bifurcation that does not allow the field to grow in strength by bringing together the work of both sides into an integrated whole. This is a welcome integration of important concepts in treatment of complex trauma.In addition, it is only recently that researchers and clinicians have made significant attempts to include the partner and family in treatment for individuals with complex trauma (Johnson, 2002; Macintosh & Johnson, 2008; Monson, Fredman, & Dekel, 2010), and this edition is lauded for its inclusion of illustrations of systemic treatments. Ignoring the attachment context of these highly traumatized patients or assuming the treatments to be too complex and challenging leads to partners feeling left out and individuals working to change themselves while living in static systems. …