When Trauma Grips Our Children: The Basic Pyramid System for Counselors, Teachers, and Caregivers to Support Healing

by James E. Levine

Overview

Aimed at school staff and other caregivers on the front lines of providing assistance without in-depth training or an understanding of how trauma manifests, this book offers a detailed approach to helping children who have experienced trauma.

Trauma in children varies in how it presents-in behavior, emotions, learning, and social interactions-and how to address it depends largely on its presentation. Children may exhibit many types of behavior that could be attributed to trauma, such as telling lies and feeling shame, lacking focus or having outbursts in class, and distrusting peers and adults, among many more.

With a sensitive yet structured approach, this book teaches parents and caregivers how to support a child with severe trauma. Discussion of a kaleidoscope of case studies using the new Basic Pyramid model, developed by the author, helps practitioners to determine appropriate intervention.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798216164647
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	01/13/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	444 KB
Age Range:	7 - 17 Years

About the Author

James E. Levine, PhD, LICSW, is founding director of a multi-disciplinary group of more than 30 clinicians that consults for more than 45 school districts.
James E. Levine is Director of James Levine&Associates, a multidisciplinary company in Western Massachusetts that specializes in helping children with developmental, psychological, and behavioral concerns. He is a graduate of Smith College for Social Work and Simmons College. In addition to his psychotherapy practice, he has been a graduate program Adjunct Faculty member at Smith College and Simmons College.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1 Trauma and Psychological Safety
The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Study
Behaviors
Functions and Meaning of Behavior
Chapter 2 Support Planning and the Basic Pyramid
Chapter 3 Differences between the Basic Pyramid and Traditional Behavior Plans
How We Can Talk with Children about the Basic Pyramid
Chapter 4 The Impact of Shame
Chapter 5 Shame and Lying
Chapter 6 Making It Up to Others: Restitutional Practices
Chapter 7Co-Occurring Diagnoses and Children's Meaning Making
Chapter 8 Psychotherapy for Children with Trauma
Adapting Therapeutic Models to Other Settings
Integrating These Approaches into the Basic Pyramid
Promoting Resilience and Post-Traumatic Growth
Chapter 9 Two Students
Speaking of Esther
Learning about Jake
Conclusions and Final Thoughts
References
Index

What People are Saying About This

Sophie Freud

"Dr. Levine’s book will not only be a welcome tool to therapists and teachers, it will be their daily detailed guide in their difficult work of treating troubled children. Most children are troubled some of the time, or at some stages of growing up and parents will also welcome many of the offered suggestions. I especially appreciated the affection and respect that this author shows in all his treatment recommendations. We are fortunate to have such a gift from a deeply experienced clinician."

Paul Podolsky

“This is a remarkable book. Counselors, teachers, and other caregivers can often struggle to make sense of behaviors that, at face value, seem so counter-intuitive. Traumatized kids can lash out when one tries to help them, sabotage relationships that appear supportive, regress into actions of a much younger child and many other reactions that seem odd to a non-traumatized person. Jim provides a plain English roadmap to allow one to navigate such difficult terrain, based on years of practical experience. I believe anyone that is working with traumatized children should read this book.”

Dr. William E. Collins

"Dr. James Levine has demystified understanding and responding to children struggling with trauma for anyone working to help. When Trauma Grips Our Children uses relatable real-world examples from Dr. Levine's decades of experience to transform clinical terminology into easily understandable language for the rest of us. Dr. Levine offers insight into why our common, and well-intentioned, approaches to help children often fall short. While the arrival of this book could not be timelier, I am confident that it will long serve as a staple resource for school practitioners in our increasingly traumatic world. This book should be required reading for every aspiring and veteran classroom teacher, paraprofessional, special education provider, counselor, and school administrator, as well as any parents hoping to reach a child gripped in the psychological aftermath of trauma."

Joanne Marqusee

“When Trauma Grips Our Children is an excellent book that educators, therapists, parents, and anybody working with children who struggle should read. By thoughtfully analyzing the root causes of the behavior of children who have suffered from all sorts of trauma, Dr. Levine provides practical and effective ways to support the many kids who have suffered and minimize further trauma. I particularly appreciated how readable this was for someone like me who is not an educator or a therapist. In addition, the book’s many stories about children that the author has worked with and acknowledgement of what he learned from his patients adds to the tremendous value and readability of the book.”

Roger Anderson

"Anyone – teachers, counselors, other caregivers – faced with children’s or adolescents’ complicated, challenging behaviors should read this book. And if you find yourself uncomfortable with interventions that feel too punishing and lacking empathy or are frustrated with so-called tried-and-true methods that are ultimately ineffective, you should keep this book near and refer to it often. Having so many years of clinical experience with children - with trauma histories, autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities, and virtually every other behavioral health difficulty - enabled Dr. Levine to design a system of intervention that can be effective with any struggling child. This is a framework that is applicable to classrooms and many other settings. Every time I found myself thinking 'Yes, but what about…' I found the answer. In short, this is a new way to conceptualize challenging behavior that is critical for us to consider closely and thoughtfully."

Editorial Reviews

Dr. Levine's book will not only be a welcome tool to therapists and teachers, it will be their daily detailed guide in their difficult work of treating troubled children. Most children are troubled some of the time, or at some stages of growing up and parents will also welcome many of the offered suggestions. I especially appreciated the affection and respect that this author shows in all his treatment recommendations. We are fortunate to have such a gift from a deeply experienced clinician.” —Sophie Freud, Professor Emerita, Simmons University, USA

“When Trauma Grips Our Children is an excellent book that educators, therapists, parents, and anybody working with children who struggle should read. By thoughtfully analyzing the root causes of the behavior of children who have suffered from all sorts of trauma, Dr. Levine provides practical and effective ways to support the many kids who have suffered and minimize further trauma. I particularly appreciated how readable this was for someone like me who is not an educator or a therapist. In addition, the book's many stories about children that the author has worked with and acknowledgement of what he learned from his patients adds to the tremendous value and readability of the book.” —Joanne Marqusee, President and CEO of Cooley Dickinson Health Care, USA

“This is a remarkable book. Counselors, teachers, and other caregivers can often struggle to make sense of behaviors that, at face value, seem so counter-intuitive. Traumatized kids can lash out when one tries to help them, sabotage relationships that appear supportive, regress into actions of a much younger child and many other reactions that seem odd to a non-traumatized person. Jim provides a plain English roadmap to allow one to navigate such difficult terrain, based on years of practical experience. I believe anyone that is working with traumatized children should read this book.” —Paul Podolsky, founder of Kate Capital, LLC and Still Press, USA

“Anyone – teachers, counselors, other caregivers – faced with children's or adolescents' complicated, challenging behaviors should read this book. And if you find yourself uncomfortable with interventions that feel too punishing and lacking empathy or are frustrated with so-called tried-and-true methods that are ultimately ineffective, you should keep this book near and refer to it often. Having so many years of clinical experience with children - with trauma histories, autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities, and virtually every other behavioral health difficulty - enabled Dr. Levine to design a system of intervention that can be effective with any struggling child. This is a framework that is applicable to classrooms and many other settings. Every time I found myself thinking 'Yes, but what about…' I found the answer. In short, this is a new way to conceptualize challenging behavior that is critical for us to consider closely and thoughtfully.” —Roger Anderson, Clinician, USA

“Dr. James Levine has demystified understanding and responding to children struggling with trauma for anyone working to help. When Trauma Grips Our Children uses relatable real-world examples from Dr. Levine's decades of experience to transform clinical terminology into easily understandable language for the rest of us. Dr. Levine offers insight into why our common, and well-intentioned, approaches to help children often fall short. While the arrival of this book could not be timelier, I am confident that it will long serve as a staple resource for school practitioners in our increasingly traumatic world. This book should be required reading for every aspiring and veteran classroom teacher, paraprofessional, special education provider, counselor, and school administrator, as well as any parents hoping to reach a child gripped in the psychological aftermath of trauma.” —William E. Collins, Superintendent of Schools, Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District, USA

From the Publisher