How To Help A Child Recover From Trauma

How do you help a child recover from trauma? Before we answer this question, let’s look at the definition of trauma. According to McCann and Pearlman (1990), “An experience is considered a trauma if it is sudden, unexpected, or non-normative, transcends the individual’s perceived ability to meet their demands, and disrupts the individual’s frame of reference and other central psychic needs and related behaviors.”

Therefore, trauma can take different forms both in childhood and in adulthood. In adulthood, trauma tends to be related to situations of extreme violence such as assault or death, among others. However, childhood trauma is more often related to cases of bullying, abuse, death or alienation of a loved one, fear of rejection and humiliation, etc.

This article addresses trauma generically. Nevertheless, you should keep in mind that trauma can vary from case to case.

Here are some ideas to help a child recover from trauma. It goes without saying that considering professional help should always be the first step. However, each case is different and should be considered individually. Most importantly, make sure you are with your child all the way.

Ask for professional help

The first step in helping a child recover from trauma is to seek professional help. A child psychologist can help your child focus on the problem. More importantly, they can help them integrate the traumatic experience they had.

In fact, instead of overcoming the traumatic experience, the child learns to integrate it as part of his or her experienced experience. However, this can only be achieved with the help of a professional who specializes in this particular field. This is very important, as mental health is a serious issue.

Depending on the trauma itself and the effect it had on the child, you may want to consider whether you actually need to consult a professional. For example, if the trauma was mild and did not affect the child’s life or well-being, help may not be needed. On the other hand, if your life and well-being have been affected, you should seek professional help.

Help the child to express themselves

The first step in helping a child overcome trauma is to encourage them to express themselves. This does not mean that they have to talk about it at any time and how you want. In fact, you need to apply certain strategies to help your child express their feelings. Furthermore, you need to create a comfortable room for them to make them feel safe and calm.

A good tool is to draw, as children are able to express their inner worlds by drawing in a way that is not so intrusive to them. This allows them to express, not only how they feel, but also how the trauma was for them. Remembering the trauma can often help. This can always be done with professional supervision if necessary.

Expressing what they have experienced will help you understand how they feel and how the trauma affected their lives. They can express this through words, drawings, movies, books or movements, no matter what they feel most comfortable with. In addition, although it may be quite limited, all the information they are able to share with you can prove to be extremely valuable.

Maintaining a routine will help a child recover from trauma

Routines help children feel safe. When it comes to trauma, they can help them regain the feeling of living in a controlled environment where they are protected. Such feelings also help them to express themselves.

Consequently, family schedules and rules may be beneficial in helping the child return to the present moment while simultaneously dealing with the traumatic event. You can ask for professional help if you need it.

Do breathing exercises with them

Breathing exercises help reduce anxiety and other symptoms of hyperactivity in the body. In fact, after a traumatic experience, it is common for the body and mind to suffer from these types of symptoms. For example, the child may be on constant alert and “waiting” for the next trauma, or they may feel irritated, worried and anxious.

In these cases, conscious breathing can be helpful. Furthermore, if you do it together, the child will not feel alone. However, it can also be something they can eventually do on their own.

Use reinforcements to help a child recover from trauma

When it comes to helping a child overcome trauma, it is important for them to feel more loved and valued than ever before. This is because it is normal for a traumatic situation to affect your self-esteem. For this reason, it is important that you listen to the child, spend time with them and above all make them feel loved and more valued than ever.

You should take advantage of the times they do something right to reinforce and reward their behavior. It does not have to be with material things. Reinforcement is an act of love. It can be a hug, a kiss, a “we will spend the afternoon together”, etc. On the other hand, reinforcement can also mean appreciating their skills, abilities and efforts. In this way, they do not always have to do something “right” to know that they are valued and that everything is in order.

One last note on how to help a child recover from trauma

It is always important for people to talk about the traumas and how it made them feel. This allows them to rework the experience and integrate it as part of life. However, this is not easy for children. If you notice that your child’s life and well-being have been affected, ask for professional help.

In addition to the above, implementing some of the guidelines we shared can help the child process the traumatic experience and gradually return to normal. Furthermore, they will gain control over their lives and improve their well-being. They need to be able to express doubts and fears and realize that they are not alone. This will allow them to feel protected and regain a sense of security.