There are two intertwined narratives in this book. The first story is that of Amelia, an educated Latin American woman who fell in love with a vacationing American schoolteacher and eventually followed him to the United States. It's not quite a love story. It's the story of what happens in a loving relationship after the Disney movie ends, after the prince carries away the princess on his white horse to live happily ever after. It's the story of Amelia's life before and after the great romantic connection faded and after the prince's great white horse had been put to pasture. It describes the healing of both the childhood wounds and post-marital wounds that had to heal in order for Amelia's marriage to work. Amelia's story reveals itself--sometimes in current events, sometimes in childhood experiences--over the course of 22 months of psychotherapy.
The second narrative describes how Parts and Memory Therapy works--as it heals Amelia and reveals the fascinating details of her inner world. This world, like the inner worlds of other normal people, contains many selves: angry, sad, lonely, loving and nurturing, young, old, caring and uncaring. As Amelia visualizes her many Parts, or subpersonalities, some appear exactly as she remembers herself at different ages of her life. Others have no resemblance to her at all--in fact they seem to be products of a vivid and sometimes strange imagination.
The story of discovery and work with personified Parts of the self forms the core of the book. (The Disney/Pixar movie Inside Out has already introduced the larger public to the idea that we all have internal thinking and feeling Parts of ourselves that sometimes act on their own.) Amelia's internal Parts of self included Postpartum Me, Old Woman, Head-Banging Little Girl, The Witch, Gypsy, Love, Old Man, Monster-Head, the Hippie, and more.
Parts and Memory Therapy is currently the only psychotherapy that focuses on the traumatized Parts of the self as targets for healing while also explicitly grounding the healing interventions in the neuroscience of memory reconsolidation.
Amelia's therapy healed or brought remission to her overwhelming rage, her stubborn, long-lasting postpartum depression, as well as that depression's apparent side effect of failure in maternal bonding with her daughter. Additionally, and surprisingly, the therapy also brought remission to Amelia's PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome) and more severe PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder).
An important theme throughout the book was Amelia's question about having another child. She wanted to do so but wasn't sure she should, given her rocky marriage and her doubts about whether her husband would be there for her if her depression returned. But following her success in the first five months of therapy, and the major reduction in most of her symptoms, Amelia and her husband decided to have another child. Unfortunately, that decision brought on an internal rebellion of personified Parts of self--led by The Witch--almost violent in their rejection of the idea of another child with an untrusted and sometimes hated husband. Previous gains were lost and symptoms returned. The remainder of the book tells the story of the rebellion and final resolution of Amelia's original question about a new baby.
Industry Reviews
"In Healing Amelia Dr. Noricks takes us once again into the consulting room of a master clinician. This time we are witness to the full-length treatment of a multi-troubled young woman. Along the way we are treated not only to further applications of Dr. Noricks' method for healing problematic emotions, but also to the treatment of the intricate interplay of biology and psychology; and the planful use of new understandings on how memory operates and changes. Both intriguing and touching, there is much to be learned here by the interested layperson and the seasoned psychotherapist alike."--Hugh Marr, Ph.D., Co-author, What Story Are You Living, Clinical Psychologist, Alexandria, Virginia.
"Jay Noricks' approach is pure excellence. All of our Parts serve a purpose and this model has worked wonders for me! Not only have I adopted it within my own practice, but I have introduced it to my clinical interns. Parts and Memory Therapy has provided me with deep insight and we can use it with any population. I would highly recommend this approach for all clinicians. Our mind is a powerful tool and with the right guidance, anything is possible."--Kelley Johnson, LCSW, Director of Social Work & Clinical Services, Behavioral Health Unit, Valley Hospital, Las Vegas, Nevada.
"Loooved what I read! Fascinating! Dr. Jay Noricks has done an amazing job in bringing together Parts Psychology to bear on healing PMS and PMDD.in Healing Amelia. I am unaware of any other author who has connected the dots between the physiological state of PMS and its psychological origins. More fascinating is how he describes Parts and their psychology, and the treatment methods to heal the emotional pain, thereby improving the physical symptoms of PMS. Considering that half of the world's population is female and as many as 40% of them suffer with PMS this is an invaluable contribution. Highly recommended!"--Esly Regina Carvalho, PhD, Author: Breaking Free; Heal your Brain Heal your Body. Clinical & Psychological Coordinator, Trauma Clinic do Brazil, Brasilia
"Jay Noricks' Parts Psychology was one of my first introductions to working psychotherapeutically with an individual's internal 'parts'--or subpersonalities --of the self, and has continued to support my integrative practice with clients. Demonstrated in Healing Amelia, is Jay Noricks' innovative conceptualisation of the psyche through Parts and Memory Therapy, offering effective and sustainable healing for his patients. It is exciting to see his model applied to specific female issues. It is appropriate for both the lay person as well as professionals in the field."--Bree Rhodes, Counselor and Psychotherapist, Brisbane, Australia.
"This book provides a revolutionary and cutting-edge approach to the treatment of PMDD and postpartum depression. Dr. Noricks' Healing Amelia breaks new ground for mental health issues in general and gynecologic associated mood disorders more specifically."--Joseph Urban, MD, Park City, Utah.
