Routledge Grief and Trauma in Children: An Evidence-Based Treatment Manual

Grief and Trauma in Children provides easy-to-implement, ready-to-use therapy materials to help busy practitioners use grief and trauma interventions in real-world settings. All interventions in the book have been developed and researched with clinicians who faced challenging environments, including devastating natural disasters, and in communities where ongoing violence victimized children directly. Even in these stressful environments, clinicians found the interventions easy to implement, effective in helping children acquire coping skills, and effective in decreasing traumatic symptoms in order to proceed with grieving without impaired functioning. Grief and Trauma in Children blends cognitive-behavioral therapy methods and narrative practices to present an integrated grief and trauma model that can be delivered individually, to a group of children, or to a family. The book uses the Draw, Discuss, Write, Witness (DDWW) method to help children explore narratives of resilience and build coping capacity, engage in restorative stories about what happened, and reconnect and reengage in meaningful ways that allow the child to enjoy life again and get back on-track developmentally. Grief and Trauma in Children also provides up-to-date research on childhood bereavement and trauma, a brief description of the theoretical framework of the Grief and Trauma Intervention (GTI) model, a description of session-by-session goals and activities, case examples with ways to address common challenges, and photocopiable tools for clinicians to easily implement the model, such as session agendas, fidelity checklists, handouts for parents, and activity sheets for children. Review "This is the manual I would want to have to treat children with grief. It’s one of the most impressively practical manuals I’ve seen in a long time. With the etched insight from years in the trenches and the unforced wisdom from scholarly empiricism, the manual leads you down the right paths. Salloum’s manual is a model of the straightforward approach needed to address trauma and grief mixed with a developmentally-sensitive approach to keep sessions fun and children engaged." ―Michael S. Scheeringa, MD, MPH, Remy Gonzalez, MD, Professor in Child Psychiatry and vice-chair of research in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Tulane University School of Medicine "Dr. Salloum has given us a gold nugget yet again! This easy-to-use manual includes sample letters for parents, handouts for children, and simple instructions to assure that traumatized children receive a stellar program from their co-facilitators. We have been using it for years." ―Janice Harris Lord, LCSW, ACSW/LPC, Trauma Support Services of North Texas "I highly recommend this book for clinicians working with children suffering from grief and trauma symptoms as a result of losing a loved one. Dr. Salloum provides a theory-driven and practical guide to assist front-line clinicians in helping these often underserved children. This is a well-written, user-friendly resource with ready to use worksheets and handouts. It is a much needed tool in the field of traumatic grief!" ―Alyssa Rheingold, PhD, clinical psychologist and associate professor, National Crime Victim's Research and Treatment Center (NCVC), Medical University of South Carolina About the Author Alison Salloum, PhD, LCSW, is an associate professor in the school of social work at the University of South Florida.