Stories to Soothe and Heal Trauma
Children who have suffered an injury, be it physical or psychological, benefit greatly from the healing format of a story - especially from a parent or loved one.
This can be as simple as helping our little ones process a tumble by telling (and allowing them to retell) how it happened. But it can also be as complicated as a therapeutic story that helps a child process a traumatic event with big emotions.
The goal of this episode is to help you define trauma, differentiate between small and large traumatic events, and give you some guidance on the kinds of stories that may work in different contexts. Further resources are provided at the end.
Disclaimer - If you or your child is experiencing significant psychological or emotional stress, please seek the help of a doctor, therapist, or another qualified professional.
In this episode, we define 3 types of healing stories:
Reconstruction and Repetition of Real Events
Soothing/Calming Stories
Therapeutic Stories
Further Resources on Therapeutic Storytelling
Therapeutic Storytelling by Susan Perrow
Using Therapeutic Storytelling With Children by John Sommers-Flanagan, PHD
Guidelines for Therapeutic Story Writing by Susan Laing
Stories to Light the Night by Susan Perrow
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Photo by Jordan Whitt on UnSplash
