Understanding trauma doesn't equate to change.
Understanding doesn’t equate to change. Someone might study all the major trauma psychology texts, accurately identify their attachment style, and still fall into the same behavioural patterns in work, relationships, or their inner life. This isn’t a matter of intelligence; it’s a structural issue, and structural challenges demand structural solutions.
A Field Manual to Healing Trauma
is based on a fundamental principle: healing needs more than just knowledge; it needs architecture. A coordinated set of tools, intentionally ordered, each enhancing the others. The book offers the blueprint, while the companion app provides the operational framework.
Three layers. Two gaps. One system to bridge them
Layer 1
Understanding
Using books, podcasts, and therapy to identify what happened and how it shaped you.
Layer 1.5
The blueprint
This represents the plan: translating understanding into a coordinated selection of therapies. It involves not just one method but a strategic combination of approaches aimed at building momentum.
Layer 2
Professional treatment
Techniques like therapy, EMDR, somatic work, neurofeedback, or psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Layer 2.5
The app
It gathers session data, offers AI-guided analysis, functions as a sparring partner, provides access to clinical resources and professional directories, and triggers actions to keep the plan ongoing. Its PDF export offers a structured summary for the therapist of what happened between sessions.
Layer 3
Integration
The patterns that previously dominated no longer control the process.
Orchestrating four engines into a plan
The system uses 4 „engines“, each supported byclinical data, that strengthen one another to be effective and avoid „therapy dips“.
Engine 1
Understanding the behavioural profile
A non-clinical behavioral profile based on six core inner needs: Significance, Approval, Acceptance, Intelligence, Pity, and Strength. Not personality traits. Need states shaped by early experience that continue to drive behavior in adulthood.
Engine 2
Multi-therapy coordination
Coordination framework for four evidence-supported modalities. Talk therapy. Neurofeedback. Somatic therapy. Psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Legal caveat: Psychedelic substances including psilocybin, MDMA, and ketamine are controlled or illegal in most jurisdictions. Any consideration must involve medical screening, legal verification, and professional supervision throughout. This is non-negotiable.
Engine 3
Doctrine and contra-doctrine
Doctrine
Doctrine is the set of beliefs about the self formed in childhood: through repetition, modelling, emotional experience, and the conclusions a developing mind draws from its environment. These are not conscious opinions. They are structural assumptions.
contra-doctrine
Contra-doctrine is not a new affirmation. It is a structured reversal: a precise counter-statement to a specific doctrine, designed to engage the same psychological mechanisms that installed the original belief.
It works through three principles: specificity (targeted to the precise situation the doctrine governs), commitment and consistency.
Engine 4
Creating your plan
12 structured exercises in Part 3 of the book: Creating your plan. Three movements: self-discovery, vision-setting, and plan construction. Each exercise has a corresponding flow in the companion app.
Full bibliography
Full bibliography mapped to engine. References span multiple engines where indicated.
Author
Work
Year
Engine(s)
Author
Work
Year
Engine(s)
Bandura, A.
Self-Efficacy. Freeman
1997
2
McClelland, D.C.
The Achieving Society. Free Press
1967
1
Beck, A.T.
Cognitive Therapy of Depression. Guilford
1979
2
Mitchell, J.M. et al.
MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD. Nature Medicine 27
2021
3
Bowlby, J.
Attachment and Loss. Basic Books
1969
2
Murray, H.A.
Explorations in Personality. Oxford
1938
1
Carhart-Harris, R. et al.
Psilocybin v escitalopram. NEJM 384
2021
3
Porges, S
The Polyvagal Theory. Norton
2011
3
Chase Hughes
The Ellipsis Manual
2024
1,4
Ryan, R. and Deci, E.
Self-determination theory. Psychological Review 107
2000
3
Cialdini, R.
Influence. Harper Business
2021
1,4
Schwartz, R.
No Bad Parts. Sounds True
2021
2,4
Dutton, D.
The Abusive Personality. Guilford
2007
4
Siegel, D.
Mindsight. Bantam
2010
3
Goffman, E.
The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
1959
2
Skinner, B.F.
The Behavior of Organisms. Appleton
1938
4
Hayes, S.C.
ACT. Journal of Clinical Psychology 60(1)
2004
3,4
Van der Kolk, B.
The Body Keeps the Score. Viking
2014
2,4
Herman, J.
Trauma and Recovery. Basic Books
1992
1,2
Walker, P.
Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving
2013
1,2
Jung, C.G.
Aion. Princeton University Press
1951
2
Wolynn, M.
It Didn't Start with You. Viking
2016
1
Mate, G.
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. Knopf
2008
1,3
Young, J.
Schema Therapy. Guilford
1990
2,4
You do not need permission to heal
You need a plan, a set of tools, and the clarity to use them in the right order.
Book reviews
Sylivia A., 48, childcare specialist.
Neo took a lot of courage to go down this road. This book connected with my stuides and opened for me the door to unlocking new types of therapies, including psychedelics, in a professional environment. A very real story that connected with me.
Robert D., 52, Corporate Executive.
Having made several journeys and still working on my healing, Neo' story shows an uncut version of what it takes to get there. It is an inspiration that it is possible to reach the end. The blend between a raw story, academic literature, AI, and the ability to build my own plan is unusual.
Hana R., 50, Security Consultant.
An incredible story of resilience and a book that made me think about how to further progress. A real hands-on book with relatable parts of the story and exercises to work on. The use of AI is interesting.
Nigel Utton, Craniosacral therapist.
I highly recommend this well researched and richly referenced roadmap to recovery. Neo writes with passion and courage. He clearly explains the root causes of our trauma and guides us systematically through the various healing modalities which supported his journey.
Mirjam S.,44, Marketing Advisor
The conclusions from the App were very interesting and recognizable. The doctrine and contra-doctrines exercises are something to work on. It is interesting to see how many therapies there are and how to combine them.
Alex Abraham, Author of Trauma and Ecstasy: How Psychedelics Made My Life Worth Living.
A rare, honest map of what self-directed healing with psychedelics actually looks like. Neo doesn't just tell you trauma can be healed; he hands you the plan.
H.A. Hans van Wechem, Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist
Experience speaks louder than words and experiences can be too loud to deal with. Words are needed to translate these experiences and can help you in making the unconscious conscious. This field manual feels like a trusted and experienced guide on the challenging path to healing. A guide speaking from the heart and with a clear mind.