4 Treatment Options for Children with PTSD

by jphilo | Nov 22, 2013 | Different Dream, Prevention/Treatment, PTSD

4 Treatment Options for Children with PTSD

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) affects children as well as adults. That’s been the clarion call of my series over at Friendship Circle during the past few years. So far, the series has explored myths and misconceptions about this mental illness, definitions, causes, risk factors, symptoms in babies and toddlers, as well as symptoms in older children and teens. Pretty heavy stuff. Hard to read. Kind of like peering at the dark side of childhood.

But my most recent post at Friendship Circle of Michigan shines a light on four effective treatments available for children with PTSD. Because effective treatments are available. In fact, according to Ann DiMarco, a trauma therapist and director of child therapy at Intensive Trauma Therapy, Inc., PTSD is the easiest childhood mental illness to treat. The trick is finding the most effective treatment available for the individual child.

Our son’s treatment for PTSD changed his life. I hope one of the treatment methods will bring healing and hope for your child and family.

To read the rest of this post, visit the blog at Friendship Circle of Michigan.

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Jolene Philo is the author of the Different Dream series for parents of kids with special needs. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. She’s also the creator and host of the Different Dream website. Sharing Love Abundantly with Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and at Amazon. The first book in her cozy mystery series, See Jane Run!, features people with disabilities.

Author Jolene Philo

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When our son was born in 1982, we asked doctors and nurses about how the separation from family, surgery, post-op pain, and countless medical procedures would affect him. Over and over, we were told, “He’s so young, he won’t remember.” Research has proven those words to be untrue, but here’s the bad news. Parents of newborns are still being told their children won’t remember early medical treatment. Medical professionals who say that are wrong. What they should be saying is the good news.

Enter, Peter A. Levine and Maggie Kline

The good news is that much medical trauma can be prevented and the rest can be treated early, and in most cases, easily. Two good resources for parents are Trauma-Proofing Your Kids and Trauma Through a Child’s Eyes, both by Peter A. Levine and Maggie Kline. They not only help parents view trauma from a child’s point of view, but also provide ideas about how to prevent trauma and remediation exercises to do with kids when trauma occurs. The second book provides a wealth of information about avoiding trauma at birth, at school, during natural disasters and during medical procedures. They also advise parents about when trauma is serious enough to require professional treatment.

However, neither book deals with the cutting edge theory and treatment coming out of the Intensive Trauma Therapy Institute. If your child is dealing with long-standing trauma issues, visit their website for more information. The healing they do in one week can be miraculous.

If you know of other good trauma therapy resources, please tell us about them.

Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop up box and the second at the bottom of this page.

Critically Ill Kids and Military Vets Have What in Common?

by jphilo | Oct 9, 2009 | Different Dream, Prevention/Treatment, PTSD

A few weeks ago Claire Shackelford interviewed me about A Different Dream for My Child. While we talked, I thought about the double whammy military wives with special needs children deal with every day. My only desire was to encourage the moms as they care for their kids.

But as Claire listened to our son’s story, she recognized a second link between my son’s story and the families of combat vets: post-traumatic stress disorder. Claire hopes that the interview, which you can hear at this link, will minister to struggling veterans, their spouses, and children.

Intensive Trauma Therapy, Inc.

If you suspect your special needs child or returning war vet has PTSD, I urge you to visit Intensive Trauma Therapy, Inc’s website and see what they have to offer. Read their literature. Check out their statistics. Call them and see if your loved one can take the diagnostic test and perhaps qualify for treatment.

Our son’s life was changed after a week of outpatient treatment. Maybe your vet’s life can be changed, too.

Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop up box and the second at the bottom of this page.

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