How to Help Children Through Trauma

Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast

Get your copy of Darby’s Children’s book, Something Scary Happened (Comfort for Children in Hard Times)

Get your copy of Darby’s booklet, When Children Experience Trauma: Help for Parents and Caregivers

Learn more about Darby and her work

Darby Strickland is a Christian counselor who works with individuals and families facing a variety of issues. She was trained at Westminster Theological Seminary where she obtained a Masters of Divinity specialized in Counseling.  

If you are a parent, grandparent, or caregiver counselor Darby wants you to know that you are just the right person to help the child or children in your life when they experience trauma. After a child endures a distressing event, a parent’s (or grandparent’s or caregiver’s) shepherding can play a vital role in the healing process—providing love and security. You can help the children you love to navigate their fears, guide them through their distress, and assist their recovery. The struggling child in your life does not need you to be an expert in trauma; they need you to engage with them as they suffer, pointing the way toward hope and healing.

KEY QUESTIONS:

What are the signs that a child is coping with past or present trauma?

Do you know how to provide what your child (or a child you love) needs when they’ve gone through a traumatic experience?

How can you lean on God to develop the patience, confidence, and compassion to meet the children you love in their suffering?

KEY SCRIPTURE:

Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

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Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Founded by Joni Eareckson Tada, we provide Christ-centered care through Joni's House, Wheels for the World, Retreats and Getaways, and disability ministry training.

Find more encouragement on Joni Eareckson Tada's Sharing Hope podcast and her daily devotional.