Traumatic stress in teens can masquerade as behavioral problems, academic issues, self-destructive behaviors, substance use, or even psychosis. Beyond PTSD: Helping and Healing Teens Exposed to Trauma bridges the gaps between existing trauma manuals and textbooks by giving readers a more complete understanding of the teen's perspective. It provides concrete strategies for talking to and engaging teens, as well as for finding the most appropriate evidence-based treatment for them. The first of two parts tackles specific symptoms, including aggression, self-injury, and school refusal. The second part focuses on working with traumatized youth in diverse systems, from schools and hospitals to juvenile justice facilities and pediatric offices. Throughout, tables compare different types of trauma therapies and provide information about how treatments might be adapted to fit a specific teen or setting. Readers, whether clinicians, social workers, pediatricians, school counselors, or parents, will also find concrete, specific clinical pearls—even examples of language to use—to work effectively with difficult-to-engage teens with complex symptoms and behaviors.

This book can help mental health clinicians, pediatricians, educators, and parents to understand adolescent trauma. Realistic case examples illustrate the wide diversity of problems that traumatized teens may develop, and the value of evidence-based trauma-focused therapy, family support, and trauma-informed systems in helping traumatized teens to recover and regain a healthy developmental trajectory.