Mass Trauma and Violence: Helping Families and Children Cope » (1st Edition)

Nancy Boyd Webb, DSW, BCD, RPT-S, is a leading authority on play therapy with children who have experienced loss and traumatic bereavement. Her many publications include Helping Bereaved Children, Play Therapy with Children in Crisis, and Social Work Practice with Children. A board-certified diplomate in clinical social work and a registered play therapy supervisor, Dr. Webb is University Distinguished Professor of Social Work at the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service. In addition to teaching, writing, and consulting, she maintains a clinical practice and supervises and consults with schools and agencies. She lectures and conducts workshops throughout the United States and internationally on play therapy, trauma, and bereavement.

This book describes a range of effective ways to help children and families cope with major traumatic experiences such as community violence, war, and terrorist attacks. Detailed case examples bring to life the complexities of assessment and intervention with children of different ages and cultural backgrounds, including both survivors of one-time traumatic events and those dealing with ongoing stressors like the military deployment of a parent. Expert contributors provide guidelines for setting up and running school- and clinic-based support groups; conducting brief and longer-term interventions with individuals and families; and promoting healing with art, music, and play. Grounded in the latest knowledge on stress and coping, bereavement, attachment, and risk and resilience, and including much-needed tips for therapist self-care, this is an essential clinical resource and text.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Nicholas Greco IV, MS, BCETS, CATSM(Abbott Laboratories)
Description:This is a needed reference for helping children and their families following terrorism and other mass trauma situations.
Purpose:The purpose of this book is to highlight the impact that traumatic stress can have on children and their families and discusses a framework for helping based upon current literature in the areas of stress and coping, trauma, bereavement, attachment, and risk and resilience. Additionally, this book helps to fulfill the unmet need of helping children cope with mass trauma and is due in part to 9/11 and our current state of affairs. Unquestionably, this book exceeds the author's objectives and is an important addition to the field.
Audience:The book is intended mainly for practitioners within the mental health field who work with children and adolescents who have experienced trauma; graduate students in training would benefit as well. The author is a well-known member of the mental health field and is a recognized leading authority on play therapy.
Features:The book is broken down into three areas: Part One discusses a theoretical framework for assessment and treatment, Part Two discusses helping interventions, and Part Three discusses living with traumatic memories and ongoing fears. The contributing authors do an excellent job of discussing how trauma affects children, how long-term grief support groups can be beneficial to families and children. Chapter 7 is a tremendously powerful chapter which highlights "The Kids' Place," a group support center for children which opened after the Oklahoma City Bombing Tragedy of 1995.
Assessment:Undoubtedly, this reference will become a must-read for those who work with traumatized children and their families. It represents a comprehensive, timely, and a strong addition to the field of mental health.