Therapeutic Approaches In Work With Traumatized Children And Young People

Children and Adolescents in Trauma presents a variety of creative approaches to working with young people in residential children's homes, secure or psychiatric units, and special schools. The contributors describe a wide range of approaches, including art therapy and literature, and how creative methods are applied in cases of abuse, trauma, violence, self-harm and identity development. They discuss the impact of abuse and mistreatment upon the mental health of 'looked after' children, drawing links between psychoanalytic theory and practice and the study of literature and the arts. This indispensable book provides useful insights and a fresh perspective for anyone working with traumatised children and adolescents, including social workers, psychotherapists, arts therapists, psychiatrists, counsellors, psychologists and students in these fields.

Based on work carried out by staff at a therapeutic community over a number of years. Therapeutic Approaches in Work with Traumatized Children and Young People provides a clear and comprehensive link between theory and practice. The author shows how practice in residential child care, fostering and other areas of work with children can be developed in a way that is thoughtful and underpinned by a sound theoretical base. An invaluable record of working with emotionally traumatized children, this book is an in-depth account of a 'thinking culture' which provides continual opportunities to respond to children's needs in innovative ways - these include useful suggestions on a range of key issues including education and play, primary provision, sexuality and aggression.

'This book gives extensive coverage to work by staff at the Cotswold Community, a therapeutic community of working with the psychodynamic principle, from 1994 to 2000. It Covers every aspect of the therapeutic way of working in great detail and gives good examples of practice and theory. It also lays out the principles that underpin way of working within a therapeutic environment.' - Children Now 'Trauma for many, is a fact of life. But is the right kind of human environment, so too is recovery.' - Attributed to Paul van Heeswyck from the foreword 'The text draw on the author's experience and wealth of material from staff discussions. The therapeutic framework is applied to this client group and integrated into all aspects of their care. The additional material on child-adult, staff-dynamics, supervision and management, will be of great interest to a wide range of residential staff, social workers, foster carers, therapists and educationalists caring for or working with emotionally needy children and young people.' - Community Care Based on work carried out by staff at the Cotswold Community over a number of years, Therapeutic Approaches in Work with Traumatized Children and Young People provides a clear and comprehensive link between theory and practice. The author shows how practice in residential child care, fostering and other areas of work with children can be developed in a way that is thoughtful and underpinned by a sound theoretical base. Meeting weekly to discuss and review their therapeutic practice in the light of relevant theoretical approaches, the staff at the Cotswold Community produced an invaluable record of working with emotionally traumatized children. The result, brought together here by Patrick Tomlinson, is an in-depth account of a "thinking culture" which provides continual opportunities to respond to children's needs in innovative ways - these include useful suggestions on a range of key issues including education and play, primary provision, sexuality and aggression.

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.

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.

Children and young people in care who have been traumatized need a therapeutic environment where they can heal and which meets their emotional and developmental needs. This book provides a model of care for traumatized children and young people, based on theory and practice experience pioneered at the Lighthouse Foundation, Australia. The authors explain the impact of trauma on child development, drawing on psychodynamic, attachment and neurobiological trauma theories. The practical aspects of undertaking therapeutic care are then outlined, covering everything from forming therapeutic relationships to the importance of the home environment and daily routines. The book considers the totality of the child's experience at the individual, group, organization and community levels and argues that attention to all of these is essential if the child is to achieve wellness. Case material from both children and carers are used throughout to illustrate both the impact of trauma and how children have been helped to recovery through therapeutic care. This book will provide anyone caring for traumatized children and young people in a residential setting with both the understanding and the practical knowledge to help children recover. It will be essential reading for managers and decision-makers responsible for looked after children, child care workers such as residential and foster carers, youth workers, social workers, mental health workers and child welfare academics.

Life story work is an approach designed to enable traumatized children to explore, question and understand the past events of their lives. It aims to secure their future by strengthening attachment with their carers and providing the opportunity to develop a healthy sense of self and a feeling of wellbeing. This new edited volume documents innovative ways in which life story work has been developed. It draws on the work of nine life story centres based around the world and provides understanding and guidance for those working with children who have experienced trauma. The book illustrates current theory and practice and looks at how the approach is being used in a variety of settings including schools, intensive services, youth justice, and post-adoption support, highlighting its versatility. The importance of trauma-informed practice when working with vulnerable children is emphasised throughout, to help practitioners provide the best for the children in their care.

This innovative book brings together a wide range of therapeutic approaches, techniques and models to outline recent developments in the practice of supporting children in out-of-home care. It sheds light on the significance of schools, sports and peer relationships in the lives of traumatized children. It also draws particular attention to the vital importance of taking into account children's cultural heritage, and to the growing prevalence of relative care. Each chapter is set out by acclaimed and world-renowned contributors' specific approach, such as Dan Hughes and his work on conceptual maps and Cathy Malchiodi and her research on creative interventions, and gives practical ways to support children and carers. It also includes contributions from Bruce Perry, Allan Schore and Martin Teicher. This comprehensive volume will open new avenues for understanding how the relationship between child and carer can create opportunities for change and healing.