Beyond PTSD: Helping and Healing Teens Exposed to Trauma

by Bruce D. Perry (Foreword), Patrick Heppell PsyD (Editor), Ruth Gerson (Editor)

• New

  Paperback
  2018

  $44.55

  Impulsivity, poor judgment, moodiness, stubbornness: a number of traits have come to be associated with adolescence, particularly in Western culture. But what if some of the more problematic behaviors -- academic issues, self-destructive behaviors, substance use, even psychosis -- point to unspoken trauma? Beyond PTSD: Helping and Healing Teens Exposed to Trauma bridges the gaps between existing trauma textbooks and manuals by giving readers a fuller understanding of the teen's perspective and providing concrete strategies for talking to and engaging the teen, as well as for finding the most appropriate evidence-based treatment for them. Nearly twenty contributors from different systems describe the challenges and importance of working with and understanding youth exposed to developmental adversity or trauma in two distinct parts. The first deals with specific symptoms, including aggression, suicide and self-injury, school refusal, and trauma symptoms in youth with physical and developmental disabilities. The second part focuses on working with traumatized adolescents in different systems, from schools and hospitals to juvenile justice facilities, pediatric offices, and even within families. Throughout the text, tables compare different types of trauma therapies and provide information about how treatments might be adapted to fit a specific teen or setting. Readers will also find concrete, specific clinical pearls -- even examples of language to use -- to work effectively with difficult-to-engage teens with complex symptoms and behaviors. This guide provides adults working with traumatized youth, whether clinicians, social workers, pediatricians, school counselors, or even parents, with the information, context, and strategies they need to help the teen in front of them.