Review - Therapeutic Treasure Box

Review

It’s not often that the title of a book so perfectly describes its content - this book truly is a treasure box and is packed full of resources, examples and ideas to support carers working with children who have experienced developmental and relational trauma.

The author is a clinical psychologist who has worked in the NHS and children’s services for several years with families and children in or on the edge of care. She has extensive experience in the areas of trauma, parenting and attachment. This book is very accessible and will be useful for many people working with children, including social workers and carers, but the author is very clear of the need to apply the strategies in the book under the guidance of a qualified practitioner.

This book is completely different to a lot you’ll find on therapeutic techniques - the theories and models are included, but it goes a huge step further in helping you put these into practice - a total ‘‘how to’’ book.

At first I was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer size of the book. It's quite dense in places and I found that I had to read some things a couple of times to properly absorb them, but the detailed contents really helps, and the language is very accessible. There will be sections of this book which you’ll want to read completely and others you can dip in to depending on your circumstances or the support you need.

There are over 100 worksheets which you can either copy from the book or download and print from a PDF version - a well thought through extra. It’s also full of photos, examples and case studies to bring things to life further.

Crucially there is a brilliant chapter - Caring for the Caring - full of tips on how to integrate self-care in to your day-to-day routines with some great worksheets to help you identify your triggers. I found this really helpful.

Don’t feel like you have to read this book cover to cover but make sure it is on your bookshelf.