Helping trauma survivors move forward: therapist offers tools and clinical guidance

Navigating the holiday season and moving into the new year can be difficult for many people, but especially for those who carry trauma. Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Darla Gale’s mission is to get her book, Sifting Through the Ashes: Finding Beauty, Peace, Love, and Strength Through Trauma, into the hands of as many people who need it as possible.

The devastating Camp Fire of 2018 left many people traumatized and without a home. Soon after the fire, Gale decided to help survivors process their trauma by providing therapy sessions for the community. Sifting Through the Ashes was born from these interactions, and its purpose is to provide stories, clinical guidance and practical tips for those who have suffered a traumatic event of any kind.

“PTSD is like a prison in your brain…it gets trapped in your brain: sights, sounds, smells,” Gale said in a recent interview. “But the cool thing is it doesn’t have to be a life sentence.”

Sifting Through the Ashes features real stories from survivors of the 2018 Camp Fire, and Gale invites readers to journey alongside the survivors as they share their experiences and search for strength and resilience in the face of tragedy.

Clinical guidance and helpful tips for self-care are also included to help readers process their own experiences. The book provides self-help exercises; psychoeducation on mental health topics like PTSD, anxiety and depression; and other valuable resources.

Sifting Through the Ashes aims to be an impactful read for survivors of fires and other disasters, first responders, anyone with PTSD, and therapists who work with trauma survivors.

“It is a powerful reminder that we can all rise above even the darkest of moments and find hope in the midst of darkness,” Gale added.

About the Author

Darla Gale is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the CEO and Founder of two companies: Heartstrings Counseling Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit; and Darla Gale Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapist Inc. Gale earned a master’s degree in psychology with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy from Brandman University. She is trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and is a First Responder therapist.

Gale is passionate about providing healing to those who are hurting and desires to give each individual the resources for positive change. She believes that people cannot change the past, but they can be strengthened by it. In her spare time, she enjoys road trips with her husband and their two dogs, swimming, reading and relaxing. Sifting Through the Ashes is her first book, and all profits from the sales of the book go into Heartstrings Counseling’s Crisis and Disaster Program, which provides free sessions to trauma survivors and first responders (California residents only).

Connect with Gale on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hearstrings2014. For more information, visit https://siftingthroughtheashes.com.

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Sifting-Through-Ashes-Finding-Strength/dp/057899951X/

Sifting Through the Ashes: Finding Beauty, Peace, Love, and Strength Through Trauma

Publisher: DGC Publishing

ISBN-10: 057899951X

ISBN-13: 978-0578999517

Available from Amazon.com and Siftingthroughtheashes.com