Grief and Trauma in Children: An Evidence-Based Treatment Manual

189 Pages·2015·2.54 MB·English

by  Alison Salloum

Grief and Trauma in Children
Grief and Trauma in Children provides easy-to-implement, ready-to-use therapy materials to help
busy practitioners use grief and trauma interventions in real-world settings. All interventions in the
book have been developed and researched with clinicians who faced challenging environments, includ-
ing devastating natural disasters, and in communities where ongoing violence victimized children
directly. Even in these stressful environments, clinicians found the interventions easy to implement,
effective in helping children acquire coping skills, and effective in decreasing traumatic symptoms in
order to proceed with grieving without impaired functioning.
Grief and Trauma in Children blends cognitive-behavioral therapy methods and narrative practices
to present an integrated grief and trauma model that can be delivered individually, to a group of
children, or to a family. The book uses the Draw, Discuss, Write, Witness (DDWW) method to help
children explore narratives of resilience and build coping capacity, engage in restorative stories about
what happened, and reconnect and re-engage in meaningful ways that allow the child to enjoy life
again and get back on track developmentally. Grief and Trauma in Children also provides up-to-date
research on childhood bereavement and trauma, a brief description of the theoretical framework of
the Grief and Trauma Intervention (GTI) model, a description of session-by-session goals and activi-
ties, case examples with ways to address common challenges, and photocopiable tools for clinicians
to easily implement the model, such as session agendas, fidelity checklists, handouts for parents, and
activity sheets for children.
Alison Salloum, PhD, LCSW, is an associate professor in the school of social work at the University
of South Florida.
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Grief and Trauma
in Children
An Evidence-Based Treatment
Manual
Alison Salloum
First published 2015
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2015 Alison Salloum
The right of Alison Salloum to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. The purchase of this copyright material confers the right
on the purchasing institution to photocopy pages which bear the photocopy
icon and copyright line at the bottom of the page. No other parts of this
book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any
electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Salloum, Alison, 1966-
Grief and trauma in children : an evidence-based treatment manual /
by Alison Salloum.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Psychic trauma in children—Treatment. 2. Grief in children.
3. Grief therapy. 4. Child psychotherapy. I. Title.
RJ506.P66S25 2015
618.92´8521—dc23 2014033306
ISBN: 978-0-415-70828-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-70829-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-88613-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Perpetua and Bell Gothic
by Keystroke, Station Road, Codsall, Wolverhampton
Contents
Overview vii
Acknowledgments ix
1 Introduction 1
Current Research on Childhood Bereavement and Trauma 1
Development of an Evidence-Based Grief and Trauma Intervention (GTI) for Children 5
Framework for an Empirically-Informed Grief and Trauma Intervention for Children 10
Steps for Narrative Activities – DDWW: Draw, Discuss, Write, Witness 12
Goals and Outline of GTI for Children 14
2 Getting Ready to Implement GTI for Children 17
Environmental Support 17
How to Use This Manual 19
Tips for Facilitating the Sessions 19
Criteria for Participation 20
Abuse, Neglect, and Domestic Violence 21
Critical Logistics 22
3 Practitioner Support 26
Worker Stress and Self-Care 26
Trauma-Informed Care 28
Pre and Post Clinician Meetings 31
4 Screening and Evaluating 36
Assessment Tools and Evaluation 36
Evaluator 38
First Meeting with Child: Individual Screening with Child 39
Group Composition and Co-Leaders 47
Use of the Clinical Chart 47
v
CONTENTS
5 Parents and Other Important Adults 50
Parents/Caregivers 50
Parent/Caregiver Meeting Agenda 51
Teachers and Staff Education and “Check-Ins” 59
6 GTI for Children Sessions 63
Procedures for Missed Sessions 63
Number of Sessions 64
Session 1 65
Session 2 69
Session 3 73
Session 4 76
Session 5 78
Session 6 80
Additional Individual “Pull-Out” 84
Session 7 86
Session 8 88
Session 9 90
Session 10 92
Ending GTI for Children 93
7 GTI for Children in Action 95
Common Questions, Responses, and Vignettes 95
8 In-Session Guidance 106
Session Agendas 106
9 Treatment Adherence 120
Adherence to GTI for Children 120
Adherence Checklist 122
Appendix: GTI for Children Activity Sheets 130
Index 175
vi
Overview
Grief and Trauma in Children: An Evidence-Based Treatment Manual focuses on how to help children
who are experiencing grief and trauma. This manual describes an evidence-based grief and
trauma intervention called Grief and Trauma Intervention (GTI) for Children. While informa-
tion on research and theory is included, the emphasis is on providing an easy-to-implement,
ready-to-use therapy manual to help busy practitioners use GTI for Children in real-world set-
tings. GTI for Children was developed and underwent research with clinicians who were faced
with implementing GTI for Children in challenging environments such as in the aftermath
of devastating disasters or in communities where ongoing violence surrounded children who
were participating in GTI for Children. Even in these stressful environments, clinicians found
GTI for Children easy to implement and effective in helping children acquire coping skills,
and in decreasing traumatic symptoms in order to proceed with grieving without impaired
functioning.
This manual incorporates all of the lessons learned regarding how best to simplify imple-
mentation and incorporate techniques that work in the real world. GTI for Children, a brief
intervention, blends cognitive-behavioral therapy methods and narrative practices to help chil-
dren who are experiencing both grief and trauma. GTI for Children is an integrated grief and
trauma model that can be delivered individually, to a group of children, or to a family. It uses
the Draw, Discuss, Write, Witness (DDWW) method to help children explore narratives of
resilience and build coping capacity, engage in restorative stories about what happened, and
reconnect and re-engage in meaningful ways that allow the child to enjoy life again and get back
on track developmentally.
vii
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Acknowledgments
This manual is the result of working with many excellent clinicians and researchers. The
Children’s Bureau of New Orleans, Inc. Project LAST, Loss and Survival Team, over the years
has constantly strived to provide accessible, affordable, and effective services to children experi-
encing grief and posttraumatic stress. I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the Project
LAST team members and to the children who bravely participated in the Grief and Trauma
Interventions.
Thank you also to Dr. Stacy Overstreet, Tulane University, Department of Psychology, who
joined me after Hurricane Katrina to continue to evaluate GTI for Children; and current and
former Presidents/CEOs of Children’s Bureau of New Orleans, Inc.: Paulette Carter, LCSW,
MPH; Nina Kelly, Ph.D.; Ronald P. McClain, LCSW, J.D.
This manual is based on three evaluative projects, and the people who assisted with these
studies are listed below:
Evaluation Team:
Alison Salloum Tye Kelley
Stacy Overstreet Sarah Larke
Abbe N. Garfinkel (Project Coordinator 2008–2010) Jessica Messia de Prado
Laura Garside (Project Coordinator 2006) Kathryn Moore
Lou Irwin (Clinical Consultant) Lauren Sampson
Adrian Anderson Carl Segura
Wendy Baum Carlolice Shepherd
JoAnn Bruster Angelique Trask-Tate
Berre Burch Sarah Van Thompson
Clarissa Colley Mullady Voelker
Daisy Cummings Stacy Washington
Lauren Eckstien Jill West
Anita Francois (Project Director) Mia White
Sharon Gancarz-Davies Carrie Wilson
Lauren Hensley
ix