Clinical Work with Traumatized Young Children (eBook)

Trauma early in childhood can significantly affect development and mental health. Yet recent research and clinical information offer many new treatment avenues for vulnerable infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. This authoritative volume brings together leading experts to address practical considerations in working with traumatized young children and their caregivers. With a focus on building cross-disciplinary collaboration, this is an essential resource for all mental health and human service professionals working with children at risk.

The book explores the impact of severe stress on young children, detailing the effects on the developing brain and attachment processes. Presenting state-of-the-art assessment and treatment approaches, clinically oriented chapters describe a range of ways to team with parents, other caregivers, and support systems to facilitate healing and prevent further traumatization. Aided by detailed case examples, professionals learn how to implement evidence-based treatments for children from diverse backgrounds, including child-parent psychotherapy, attachment-based treatments, and relational approaches. Interventions in pediatric, legal, and community settings are highlighted. Separate sections devote in-depth attention to deployment-related trauma in military families and the needs of children of substance-abusing parents. Other special topics include working with children who have survived natural disasters and strategies therapists can use to manage the emotional impact of trauma-related work.

Timely and comprehensive, this book belongs on the desks of child psychologists and psychiatrists, clinical social workers, and pediatric medical practitioners; child protection workers and legal professionals; and specialists in early intervention, infant mental health, and trauma. It will serve as a uniquely informative text for graduate-level courses.