Healing from the trauma of abuse is a process that can take many forms. Oftentimes, children come through the doors of Alliance For Children in need of focused treatment to help them process trauma and move forward – and that can mean participating in counseling either individually or in small groups. Our clinical therapists use their expertise to help children as they work hard to learn new coping skills and heal from their trauma. At the end of the child's counseling journey is a graduation ceremony, including the gift of a graduation basket, personalized to each child.
Each basket usually contains a blanket, a water bottle, a stress ball, and a journal. Some examples of gifts that are added to the baskets are nail polish, lotion, candles, coloring books, Barbie dolls, toys, trucks, bears, and more! For individual counseling, the child's last therapy session is marked with being presented a certificate and graduation basket. The child, therapist and caregivers celebrate the child's achievement and the basket is a tangible symbol of all their hard work. For group counseling, the child is able to join a small graduation ceremony with graduating "classmates."
The child graduating either individual or group counseling at Alliance For Children is able to pick the paint color of their choice and put their fingerprint or hand print on the “Healing Tree." This tree represents how many children have completed counseling at that center, and can always be re-visited by the graduate. Healing trees can be found at many of our locations and constantly grow and change as children move through our centers.
Alliance For Children is grateful for generous donors who enable us to give children these personalized graduation baskets.
To learn more about giving to Alliance For Children, click here.
