New guide to support working with children who have experienced trauma

A University child psychiatrist has published a new book aiming to help carers and practitioners working with children who have experienced trauma.

Professor Panos Vostanis is the author of A Practical Guide to Helping Children and Young People Who Experience Trauma, recently published by Speechmark.

This is a concise and practical resource for a range of carers and practitioners working with children who experienced trauma. A Practical Guide to Helping Children and Young People Who Experience Trauma highlights their characteristics in contrast with those for children living in stability, and will describe specific techniques and strategies to help them in different environments and situations.

The aim of this book is to equip practitioners with a range of approaches for these groups of vulnerable children, which are appropriate to sensitively meet their needs and make a difference to their emotional well-being.

In the Preface to the book, Professor Vostanis says: "Children and young people who experience traumatic events in their early lives often have multiple needs and are disadvantaged by not properly accessing mainstream services. Despite the challenges that they pose, the way we approach them individually and organisationally is the ultimate marker of values by services and societies alike. Why, after all, do children who are most in need tend to receive so little?

"Despite a number of barriers, our knowledge, evidence and examples of good practice increase all the time. I tried to view children through the lenses of carers, teachers, people working in social care or other youth practitioners who I was privileged to know and work with over the years. Everyone has a role to play within their agency remit and professional or carer role, hence my attempt to highlight both interventions and service models than can best meet vulnerable children's needs."

Provided by University of Leicester