Mass Trauma and Violence: Helping Families and Children Cope

by Nancy Boyd Webb DSW, LICSW, RPT-S (Editor)

Overview

This book describes a range of effective ways to help children and families cope with major traumatic experiences such as community violence, war, and terrorist attacks. Detailed case examples bring to life the complexities of assessment and intervention with children of different ages and cultural backgrounds, including both survivors of one-time traumatic events and those dealing with ongoing stressors like the military deployment of a parent. Expert contributors provide guidelines for setting up and running school- and clinic-based support groups; conducting brief and longer-term interventions with individuals and families; and promoting healing with art, music, and play. Grounded in the latest knowledge on stress and coping, bereavement, attachment, and risk and resilience, and including much-needed tips for therapist self-care, this is an essential clinical resource and text.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781572309760
Publisher:	Guilford Publications, Inc.
Publication date:	12/30/2003
Series:	Clinical Practice with Children, Adolescents, and Families
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	378
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Nancy Boyd Webb, DSW, LICSW, RPT-S, is a leading authority on play therapy with children who have experienced loss and traumatic bereavement. She is University Distinguished Professor Emerita of Social Work in the Graduate School of Social Service at Fordham University, where she held an endowed Chair in Child Welfare Studies and founded the Post-Master’s Certificate Program in Child and Adolescent Therapy. Dr. Webb taught clinical practice at Fordham for 30 years. She has published numerous books on child therapy, trauma, and bereavement, including Helping Bereaved Children, Third Edition; Play Therapy with Children and Adolescents in Crisis, Fourth Edition; and Social Work Practice with Children, Fourth Edition. Dr. Webb is an active supervisor, consultant, and trainer who presents frequently at conferences in the United States and internationally. She is a recipient of honors including the Day-Garrett Award from the Smith College School for Social Work, the Clinical Practice Award from the Association for Death Education and Counseling, and the designation of Distinguished Scholar by the National Academies of Practice in Social Work.

Table of Contents

I. Theoretical Framework for Assessment and Treatment
1. The Impact of Traumatic Stress and Loss on Children and Families, Nancy Boyd Webb
2. A Developmenta—Transactional Framework for Assessment of Children and Families Following a Mass Trauma, Nancy Boyd Webb
3. Treating Traumatized Children and Adolescents: Treatment Issues, Modalities, Timing, and Methods, Kathleen Nader
II. Helping Interventions, 4. Treatment of Childhood Traumatic Grief: Application of Cognitive-Behavioral and Client-Centered Therapies, Robin F. Goodman
5. Creation of a Group Mural to Promote Healing Following a Mass Trauma, Idalia Mapp and David Koch
6. How Schools Respond to Traumatic Events: Debriefing Interventions and Beyond, Mary Beth Williams
7. Ongoing, Long-Term Grief Support Groups for Traumatized Families, Charlotte Burrough and Danny Mize
8. Bereavement Groups Soon after Traumatic Death, Beth Hartley
9. Music Therapy to Help Traumatized Children and Caregivers, Joanne V. Loewy and Kristen Stewart
10. Sandplay, Art, and Play Therapy to Promote Anxiety Reduction, Lois Carey
11. Community Outreach and Education to Deal with Cultural Resistance to Mental Health Services, Lin Fang and Teddy Chen
III. Living with Traumatic Memories and Ongoing Fears
12. Treatment of Psychological Trauma in Children of Military Families, Thomas Hardaway
13. A Drawing Technique for Diagnosis and Therapy of Adolescents Suffering Traumatic Stress and Loss Related to Terrorism, Tova Yedidia and Haya Itzhaky
14. Living in the Shadow of Community Violence in Northern Ireland: A Therapeutic Response, Isobel Reilly, Matt McDermott, and Stephen Coulter
15. Avoiding Vicarious Traumatization: Social Support, Spirituality, and Self-Care, Maddy Cunningham 16. Ongoing Issues and Challenges for Mental Health Professionals Working with Survivors of Mass Trauma, Nancy Boyd Webb
Appendix

Interviews

Clinical social workers, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, counselors, family therapists, and others working with child trauma survivors and their families; students and trainees in these fields. Serves as a text in social work and psychology courses on trauma and PTSD, direct practice with children and families, and crisis intervention.

Editorial Reviews

"A timely book....Practitioners who work with these victims will gain a great deal from the various treatment models presented as well as assistance with helping themselves deal with the stressful nature of their work."

Journal of Trauma Practice

"An indispensable resource for counseling practitioners working with children and families in the contemporary culture....This book is one that could be read in full for the reader interested in learning more about child- and family-focused trauma practice as a whole or in chapters that relate to current needs and interests....I strongly recommend this book for family-based counseling practitioners as it will facilitate the integration of best practices of traumatology into their current and future work in a world that is unfortunately chronically threatened by terror. I also believe this text would serve as an excellent resource for a course, internship, or other curricular experience in family and child counseling."

The Family Journal

"This comprehensive volume should be on the desk of any clinician who works with traumatized children and families, whether in clinical, community, educational, or medical settings. It is an ideal text for both seasoned professionals and graduate students in all of the helping professions. Detailed case examples and descriptions of clinical and community interventions provide 'everything you need to know' about helping clients heal from large-scale traumatic incidents."—Cathy A. Malchiodi, ATR, CPAT, LPCC, National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children

"Much still remains to be learned about how mass trauma affects children and families and how its harmful impact can be reduced. In the absence of decisive evidence, this book fills the gap by outlining what is currently known and making valuable recommendations for practice. Given previous terrorist acts, current threats, and the ongoing separation of children from parents who serve in the military, this book addresses a very timely issue and does so with clarity and wisdom."—Arieh Y. Shalev, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Hadassah University Hospital, Israel

From the Publisher

Reviewer: Nicholas Greco IV, MS, BCETS, CATSM, FAAETS (C3 Education and Research, Inc.)
Description: This is a needed reference for helping children and their families following terrorism and other mass trauma situations.
Purpose: The purpose of this book is to highlight the impact that traumatic stress can have on children and their families and discusses a framework for helping based upon current literature in the areas of stress and coping, trauma, bereavement, attachment, and risk and resilience. Additionally, this book helps to fulfill the unmet need of helping children cope with mass trauma and is due in part to 9/11 and our current state of affairs. Unquestionably, this book exceeds the author's objectives and is an important addition to the field.
Audience: The book is intended mainly for practitioners within the mental health field who work with children and adolescents who have experienced trauma; graduate students in training would benefit as well. The author is a well-known member of the mental health field and is a recognized leading authority on play therapy.
Features: The book is broken down into three areas: Part One discusses a theoretical framework for assessment and treatment, Part Two discusses helping interventions, and Part Three discusses living with traumatic memories and ongoing fears. The contributing authors do an excellent job of discussing how trauma affects children, how long-term grief support groups can be beneficial to families and children. Chapter 7 is a tremendously powerful chapter which highlights "The Kids' Place," a group support center for children which opened after the Oklahoma City Bombing Tragedy of 1995.
Assessment: Undoubtedly, this reference will become a must-read for those who work with traumatized children and their families. It represents a comprehensive, timely, and a strong addition to the field of mental health.

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