Healing Big Hurts: Understanding Your Role in Your Child's Trauma Therapy--A Supportive Guide for Parents & Caregivers

When parents seek therapy for their child, they assume that their role will be to find a therapist, set up an appointment, and transport their child to and from each session with the hope that things will get better.

We now know that parents are the missing piece of trauma therapy (though the therapeutic process can leave them feeling out of the loop). It is parents who must provide the safe container their child needs to explore the big hurts that would otherwise remain deeply buried.

Intended for parents of children and teens who have experienced significant relational losses and attachment ruptures, Healing Big Hurts is a road map for navigating the journey of trauma therapy. Whether your child has already started treatment or you are just beginning to look for a therapist, this reassuring guide walks you through each step of the process, including how to prepare other family members, overcome obstacles to involvement, manage the pace of sessions, navigate shifting priorities, monitor your own reactions in session, and more. If you are a professional, this book will explain how to offer families the life-giving experience of parent-child trauma therapy.

Trauma therapy asks your child to step into hard places. When you are able to stay in the room and bear witness, you show them they are no longer alone in it. With this guide, the healing process can feel safer, more predictable, and more hopeful for everyone involved.

Andrea Chatwin, MA, CCC, is a trauma therapist, author, speaker, consultant, and adoptive parent whose unique insight into child development, trauma, and attachment has led to systemic changes in caring for children who have suffered parental loss. She founded A Child's Song to support children, youth, and families impacted by developmental trauma as well as the professionals they depend on. Meagan VanDiermen, MA, RCC, is the clinical director at A Child's Song in Surrey, BC. She has extensive experience as a trauma therapist and has spent the last decade supporting parents to be active participants in their child's trauma therapy. Meagan provides consultation and education on trauma-informed care to social workers, educators, and caregivers.