Supporting Kids With Trauma

Hey Parents & Caregivers, 

Have you ever tried something new and hard? Like a new complicated recipe, or sewing a quilt, or rock climbing… We can enter these activities with the best of intentions – with a vision for how it will go and how we would like to imagine the finished product or outcome… But without skill, direction, and practice, we’re likely to fall short of our imagined end result. The recipe won’t likely turn out if we don’t know basic cooking, the quilt will be an effort in frustration if we don’t have the right tools and knowledge, and rock climbing could be downright dangerous without the proper equipment, training and guide. Despite best of intentions and clear mindset, we lack what we need to achieve what we’re setting out to do. 

When working with kids with trauma, we see this often play out in families working so hard to support them. Parents, caregivers, and others involved in the life of the child have, without question, the very best of intentions. They have a vision for how they see their family, how they imagine healing will transform the challenges they are facing – and yet without the requisite skills, tools, and guide, families are often left making it up as they go along, and feeling lost in the weeds nowhere near the goal or vision they imagined.  

This is exactly why I created the Trauma Attuned Parent Program. After watching parents and caregivers feel helpless and hopeless in working to support their child or children through experiences of trauma, I saw a place to offer hope. As a social worker and clinical counsellor who has worked with trauma surviving children and families, I know that as parents and caregivers, YOU are the greatest influence in your child’s life and this includes their healing. By equipping you with the skills laid out in the Trauma Attuned Parent Program, you will have what you need to walk alongside your child in their healing journey – not just with best of intentions, but with the actual capacity to make a meaningful difference in their story of recovery and healing from trauma.  

Journeying alongside you,

~ Heather

PS. This training program has been used by group home staff and related care providing teams, if you are interested in group access to this program please contact support@thrive-life.ca to learn more.