Helping children and adolescents who have experienced trauma to feel safe and confident enough to talk, let alone engage in therapeutic work, can be full of challenges - for children and for adults. Conversation-Starters For Working with Children and Adolescents After Trauma aims to make this process easier for practitioners, by offering gentle, playful techniques to help children who are closed or withdrawn to start to open up. With over 80 activities tailored to different styles of communication, all requiring minimal preparation, this flexible resource provides an activity for every situation. From helping a child identify fun things around them to helping them to learn how to control unwanted thoughts, or to understand how feeling states can move from darkness to light, you will wish that you had known about these techniques sooner. Simply choose whether you would like to focus on helping a child with a coping or positive thinking activity, gather the everyday tools you need, and you are all set. Each of the activities can be used in both individual and group formats, and case studies throughout the book serve as a helpful guide on how the activities work in practice. This book is the ultimate toolkit for use with children and adolescents aged between 5 and 17. It is ideal for practitioners working with children who have experienced trauma, physical or sexual abuse, or severe neglect. Those working with children who are experiencing acute depression, anxiety and behavioural difficulties will also find it useful.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps clients to embrace their feelings and use their personal values to improve their lives. Its popularity has grown significantly in recent years, but the number of ACT resources designed to support children is still limited. The ACT strategies and activities in this guide have been designed specifically for use with children aged 5-12, with a particular focus on the uniquely delicate connection needed for a successful practitioner-client relationship. The approach is designed to fit children's stages of development and learning styles, allowing young clients to build skills in a way that suits their age and cognitive patterns. Built from the author's extensive experience in child psychology, this guide offers ways to tailor ACT for effective work with children. It includes specific and detailed guidance on tailoring ACT to specific presentations, including OCD and neurodivergent populations, as well as parenting.

In using this resourceful guide, therapists can develop a comprehensive understanding of how trauma impacts their young clients' brains and sensory systems. Filled with therapeutic strategies and activities tailored to specific regions of the brain, professionals will be able to optimise brain rehabilitation and improve sensory processing abilities. The book includes a wide range of low-cost, budgeted activities that can be applied in a variety of settings, including juvenile justice, rehab, schools, homes, residential care, and foster homes, all of which include guidance on how to engage the wider community in order to maximise the potential for healing. Complete with the latest research on trauma and real-life case studies, this book provides an excellent foundation on understanding the science and applying it in practice. It is an indispensable resource for paediatric caregivers looking to support the children they're working with in healing the impact of trauma.

The definitive Handbook of Trauma-Transformative Practice brings together the work of leading international trauma experts to provide a detailed overview of trauma-informed practice and intervention: its history, the latest frameworks for practice and an inspiring vision for future trauma-transformative practice. The Handbook is interdisciplinary, incorporating trauma research, interpersonal neuroscience, the historical and continuing experiences of victims and survivors, and insights from practitioners. It addresses a range of current issues spanning polyvagal theory, the social brain, oxytocin and the healing power of love, and the neuropsychological roots of shame. It also considers trauma through the lens of communities, with chapters on healing inter/transgenerational trauma and building communities' capacity to end interpersonal violence. Furthermore the Handbook makes the case for a new way of thinking about trauma - trauma transformative practice. One which is founded on the principle of working with the whole person and as part of a network of relationships, rather than focusing on symptoms to improve practice, healing and recovery.

This widely used practitioner resource and course text, now significantly revised, is considered the most comprehensive guide to working with children who have experienced major losses, family upheavals, violence in the school or community, and other traumatic events. Leading experts present a range of play and creative arts therapy techniques in chapters organized around in-depth case examples. Informed by the latest knowledge on crisis intervention and trauma, the fourth edition encompasses work with adolescents as well as younger children. Each chapter concludes with instructive questions for study or reflection. New to This Edition *Expanded age range: now includes expressive therapy approaches for adolescents. *More attention to traumatic stress reactions and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); several chapters address complex trauma. *Extensively revised with the latest theory, practices, and research; many new authors. *Additional topics: parental substance abuse, group work with adolescents, chronic medical conditions, animal-assisted play therapy and courtroom testimony, and more.

Trauma-Informed Practices With Children and Adolescents is a sourcebook of practical approaches to working with children and adolescents that synthesizes research from leading trauma specialists and translates it into easy-to-implement techniques. The approaches laid out address the sensory and somatic experiences of trauma within structured formats that meet the "best practices" criteria for trauma-informed care: safety, self-regulation, trauma integration, healthy relationships, and healthy environments. Each chapter contains short excerpts, case examples, and commentary relevant to the chapter topic from recognized leaders in the field of trauma intervention with children and adolescents. In addition to this, readers will find chapters filled with easily applied activities, methods, and approaches to assessment, self-regulation, trauma integration, and resilience-building. The book's structured yet comprehensive approach provides professionals with the resources they need to help trauma victims not just survive but thrive and move from victim thinking to survivor thinking using the current best practices in the field.

A structured, sequential, and evidence-based approach for the treatment of children and adolescents experiencing trauma or grief Working With Grieving and Traumatized Children and Adolescents features the Structured Sensory Interventions for Traumatized Children, Adolescents and Parents (SITCAP) intervention model, proven in successfully addressing violent situations such as murder, domestic violence, and physical abuse, as well as non-violent grief- and trauma-inducing situations including divorce, critical injuries, car fatalities, terminal illness, and environmental disasters. Filled with practical and proven activities for use with children and adolescents experiencing trauma and grief, this resource is based on the authors' experience working with all types of traumatic events in school-, agency-, and community-based programs across the country.

Originally published in 2005, the Child Trauma Handbook is a user-friendly manual that teaches a comprehensive, research-based, phase-model approach to trauma-informed treatment for children and adolescents. Both new and experienced clinicians will find clear explanations and tips for making the connection between child/adolescent behaviors and traumatic histories; they’ll also learn practical skills for successful interventions. Each chapter and skillset is theory based and includes transcripts, case studies, exercises, and specific strategies for addressing problems.

Far too often, children and youth experience trauma, from rare events such as mass shootings, terrorism attacks, and school lockdowns, to very common occurrences such as bullying, exposure to drugs and alcohol, or various mental health issues. They can experience these events both directly and indirectly (from surfing the internet, watching television, or through their friends). Our children spend a large portion of their day at school interacting with other students, teachers, and school personnel, where these topics are raised and discussed. This edited volume addresses how our teachers and school personnel can help students deal with these potentially traumatic events to reach the most positive possible outcomes. This collection brings together leading experts, including academics and professionals working in the field, to provide the most current evidence-based practices on how to help students who may have experienced or witnessed trauma. It presents research and advice on how to respond to traumatic events regarding bullying; drugs and alcohol; sexual abuse; mental health; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) safety; stranger danger; childhood disruptive behaviors; school shootings and lockdowns; and terrorism. It also includes a chapter focused on how to implement a school safety program. Schools cannot deal with these issues alone; effective strategies must engage family members and the broader community. Hence, the collection includes a chapter on how schools can partner with families and the communities they reside in to bring about positive change. All this work pays close attention to cultural and religious sensitivity, socio-economic variabilities, diversity issues, and developmental stages.

An innovative somatic and attachment-based treatment for working with children and adolescents who suffer from complex trauma and neglect "[This] is a ground-breaking new approach to treating traumatized children, based on the combination of keen clinical observation, sensory integration, and a deep understanding of the latest advances in the neuroscience of trauma."—Bessel van der Kolk, MD, best-selling author of The Body Keeps the Score The SMART (Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment) program addresses three key processes that can be derailed by developmental trauma--somatic regulation, trauma processing, and attachment-building--and uses movement and sensation to target the neurological structures that support emotional and behavioral regulation. Transforming Trauma in Children and Adolescents teaches therapists the eight key skills required for SMART mastery and provides seven regulation tools for clients, helping children and adolescents manage their feelings and attend to developmental tasks like making friends, participating at school, learning to play with others, and developing a sense of self that includes--but isn't defined by--the trauma they've experienced. Enriched with case studies and recommended adaptations, the book includes resources for parents and other caregivers who want to provide ongoing supportive care outside the clinical setting.