Children’s Therapy and Treatment
Issues that may cause Children Suffering:
• An accident, injury or illness
• Teasing or abuse by peers, sibling or others
• Fears about a speech in front of class
• Distress about divorce
• Adjustment to a parent’s illness (physical or emotional)
The trauma therapies can be very effective with children. We know that children who “bounce back” after trauma often have been assisted by how the aftermath of the trauma is handled.In other words, the way the child is supported in their recovery is often more significant than the severity or type of the trauma itself. This is good news to parents who feel so helpless after their child goes through a traumatic event(s).
Experience has shown that EMDR can resolve symptoms for children even more quickly than it does for adults. This is because they generally do not have the backlog of negative memories that most adults may have. (Similarly, adults with less early experience of trauma can clear one trauma in 1-4 EMDR sessions. Those with more early trauma require more time to desensitize their traumas.)
A child can experience a situation as traumatic even when it is taken to be a minor incident, or goes unnoticed, by others. Of course, children lack the long history of experiences that adults have, and so their understanding of situations is incomplete. As an example, one seven-year-old child overheard his father tell someone on the phone, “I’m worried I may get fired at work.” For two weeks, the boy did not want to eat, nor do his homework, or play as usual. Finally, when urged by his family, he cried out, “Someone is going to burn up Daddy at work!”
EMDR therapists specializing in the treatment of children often meet with the parents first to gain history and detail. The therapist can educate the parent(s) about the process of therapy and offer or loan educational materials. An excellent resource is the book, “Dark, Bad Day, Go Away!” by Ana Gomez, MA. Parents or the therapist may read this book to the child and encourage him/her to bring up any questions.
Once the child meets the therapist, he can spend some time getting acquainted and comfortable. Meanwhile, the therapist notes the parts of the child’s memory that are most upsetting. These memories are then processed with EMDR until they are resolved and have no further charge to them. The rule of thumb for the EMDR therapist is to be extremely flexible with young ones, giving them plenty of choices on how they want to do the therapy, while facilitating complete treatment of the incident or issues.
Interestingly, the very youngest children process even more quickly than school-aged children. A two -year-old child was involved in a very bad auto accident after which he screamed every time the family drove in the car. The therapist spent one session with the parents, seeking the relevant details to help with trauma processing. In the session with the toddler, with just twenty minutes of EMDR processing, the child’s distress was cleared. His family reported he was comfortable in the car from then on.
Complete treatment will also address any fears of something similar happening in the future.
The long-term benefits of EMDR for children with trauma are profound as they are enabled to move forward in their lives, free of the intense distress that was associated with their memories and experiences. If your child’s trauma is less than a month old, there is a chance s/he will make a natural recovery. But if it is more than a month, please do not hesitate to call on our specialists below. They are eager to help your child on the road to recovery.
For older children, also see Adolescent Therapy and Treatment
