If your family recently lost a loved one, such as a beloved grandparent or friend, your child may suffer greatly from the loss. If you don't know how to help your child overcome their grief, you may be worried a great deal about their health. Your child may actually benefit from trauma therapy. Trauma therapy helps people of all ages get through their grief without causing further harm to them. Learn more about trauma therapy and how it may help your child below.

What's Trauma Therapy?

Many people associate trauma with accidents and similar situations. However, trauma may also affect people who experience the death of a loved one. The experience can affect an individual's financial standing, mental state, physical health, and spiritual outlook on life. Trauma therapy can help individuals affected by death get through their grief.

Trauma therapy addresses the long-term negative effects of traumatic experiences. A number of individuals, including children, can develop numerous symptoms from their ordeals, including nightmares and uncontrollable outbursts. Some children may engage in risky behaviors to overcome their trauma.

There are different types of trauma therapy children and adults can use to combat the symptoms above, including cognitive processing therapy and trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy. Each type of therapy helps change the way children and other individuals see the world around them after the death of a loved one or another stressful event.

The therapies may also treat or prevent individuals from participating in harmful practices or behaviors. If your child has developed negative behavior after the death of their loved one, such as talking back to you or ignoring their school work, trauma therapy may help them stop doing so. Your child will learn how to cope with their grief in a more positive way. 

If you think trauma therapy can benefit your child, reach out to a counselor now. 

Can a Counselor Help Your Child?

The first thing a counselor may do is assess your child's symptoms. The symptoms caused by traumatic experiences can have a great impact on a child's therapy treatments.

For example, if your child exhibited harmful behaviors after the loss of their loved one, trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy may be something they need right now. Therapy can help your loved one express their loss without harming themselves or their family members. 

A counselor can educate you on the various types of trauma therapies available to your child when you contact them for services.

Learn how to help your child overcome their trauma event by contacting a counselor at a service such as Birch Psychology today.