Supporting children who have disclosed trauma

Self-blame is a common experience for children who experience mental health disorders, such as anxiety and depression, following sexual or physical trauma. This self-blame can be exacerbated when a child has a pre-existing relationship with the perpetrator.

Without the language to help them move past a story where the abuse was their fault, children may develop ‘loser’ or ‘failure’ conclusions that have negative effects on mental health, safety and the ability to live connected or meaningful lives.

Practitioners have an important role in safely introducing strategies that help children and parents to make sense of their experiences, in ways that challenge self-blame. There are many aspects of children’s stories that contradict self-blame, or that can uncover examples of resilience, strength and hope. Developing a relationship with a child and parents or caregivers that supports the development of these stories is a key skill in helping children to move beyond negative or self-blaming conclusions about themselves.

This webinar will explore:

how self-blame operates and how perpetrators may manipulate children to blame themselves
how to help children challenge feelings of complicity in their trauma experiences by focusing directly on the power difference between children and adults
children’s stories of protests or choices they have made throughout their experiences that kept themselves, or their loved ones, safe, to acknowledge that no child is a passive recipient of trauma.

This webinar is of interest to professionals working specifically with children who have experienced trauma or who work with infants and young children, and/or their caregivers, across early learning and care services, maternal and child health and other family support services.