Children Changed by Trauma

Book excerpt: Written by a specialist in post-trauma treatment with years of experience in the field, this comprehensive guide is for parents, families, educators, counselors, clergy and anyone helping children recover from traumatic life events. Whether a natural disaster, violent crime, auto or plane crash, a sudden or untimely death, most adults are unsure of how to help their children through such intense psychological, emotional, and spiritual injuries. This book was written to help families of children who have been victims of trauma, witnesses to crime or trauma, or impacted by tragedies in the world and in their communities. While this guide is not a substitute for professional therapy, it can be used as a resource for what to say and do when children ask why something happened, or if it will happen again. This guide can't offer a detour around suffering, but it can offer a path and direction through it. Through the author's case examples of her work with children exposed to trauma, she helps the reader better understand and prepare for the impact of trauma and the natural responses children are likely to experience. Step by step you will journey through the heart, mind, body, and soul of children who have healed and see how they did it. Healing is a process that happens in unique ways to each person. This book will help you expand the love, wisdom and knowledge you already possess to help your child through the process. It provides clear and concise healing strategies for emotional, cognitive, physical and spiritual well-being-emphasizing the power of loving bonds in the child's journey toward full recovery.