Part 6: The Landscaping Landscaping may not seem integral to a home, but think of the difference. Imagine a house with no grass or trees, just a yard of dirt and rocks. Now compare that to a home with beautiful green grass, flowers blooming attracting bees and hummingbirds. One of these is clearly thriving while the other is merely existing. That is not unlike the difference we see with children before and after experiencing counseling with Alliance For Children. During the investigation process of a case of abuse, a child may be just existing, barely hanging on from day to day, fearful and traumatized. An opportunity to partake in counseling means that child can move from trauma into healing, in the same way that a garden is purposefully planted, and begins to grow and blossom. Like the implementation of the garden, through counseling these child victims can begin to experience a thriving life, living fully and happily. Alliance For Children offers individual and group counseling services free of charge to confirmed child abuse victims whose trauma symptoms would benefit from therapeutic intervention. Our clinical staff work closely with families to determine an individualized treatment program for each child. Traditionally, our individual counseling serves children who have been victims of severe physical or medical abuse, trafficking, pornography, chronic sexual abuse, or those who have witnessed a violent crime. Our group counseling program serves children who have experienced sexual abuse. This weekly group session is broken up by age and gender, and is open ended, encouraging relatability between victims. Protective caregivers and siblings are also split into groups to ensure healing for the family as a whole. Counseling modalities utilized include Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy through individual and group counseling, Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention, and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. Additionally, we have incorporated Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, play therapy, and art therapy into our curriculum based on the needs of the child. It is not unusual for a child to experience the following after a traumatic event has occurred: • Nightmares • Flashbacks • Sadness • Anxiety • Anger • Poor grades • Fearfulness • Drug/alcohol use • Self-harm Although these can be normal reactions to abuse, it is important for children to learn healthy ways of coping to decrease these symptoms. Even if a child does not exhibit any symptoms, it can be extremely beneficial for them to speak with a trained professional to process what happened to ensure children understand and feel safe expressing their feelings. With the support of a protective caregiver and effective treatment, a child can recover without long-term negative effects. Occasionally a child comes through our doors who is so badly hurt that they need a higher level of care from an in-patient therapy program, in which case we make those referrals to local hospitals who can provide a more beneficial level the best of care for their specific trauma. For the vast majority of our children served, the trauma-informed therapists and different counseling modalities offered at Alliance For Children offer hope and healing to these children, and often times their caregivers and siblings too. As you can see, for a child to recover from abuse, hard work coupled with a listening and understanding therapist, is essential. Alliance For Children is here to till the soil of their past abuse, encourages the planting of the seed of hope necessary to recover, and to feed and water the soul of these victims so that they may grow into healthy and happy children, fully recovered from the abuse they have endured. We are proud to be the gardeners and watch these children flourish! Sincerely, Julie Evans Chief Executive Officer AllianceForChildren.org Donate ‌ ‌ ‌ Alliance For Children | 3609 Marquita Dr, Fort Worth, TX 76116 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!