Managing Trauma Workbook for Teens
This workbook is designed to use with clients who have been diagnosed with or may be showing signs of:
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Trauma & Stressor-Related Disorders
- Acute Stress Disorder
- Adjustment Disorders
- Reactive Attachment Disorder
- Hypervigilance
- Exaggerated Startle response
In this workbook, we've used "trauma" as an umbrella term to describe mental health issues related to these diagnoses.
When people talk about trauma and managing trauma, there is a tendency to associate the condition with adults. For many children who experience trauma, reactions and problems do not manifest until adolescence or adulthood. Children and teens also experience trauma.
For teens, the symptoms related to a traumatic event are much the same as those of adults. Effects and reactions to trauma are significant and stressful. Teens who go through a traumatic event or an overwhelmingly stressful event or series of events will continue to emotionally and physically re-experience the event and suffer from it repeatedly, possibly for a long time.
Trauma can be life-changing. The activities in the Managing Trauma Workbook for Teens can tremendously benefit any teenager who has experienced stress from a traumatic episode.
Because there are so many ways stress from a traumatic event can manifest itself, symptoms can be very difficult to identify and manage. It is critical to be aware of, and understand, how symptoms are commonly experienced. Although most or all symptoms do not have to be present, those present will typically cause significant distress and impairment in a person's daily functioning.
Our main goal for this workbook is NOT to diagnose a mental illness or expect the facilitator to make that diagnosis from this book's content. Our goal is to touch on some of the symptoms and possibilities, create realizations, and provide coping methods which will help people to go forward and perhaps consider the possibility of the need for consideration of medications and therapy.
Our secondary goal is to help teens recognize that other people have the same issues, that no shame is connected to them, and that mental health issues are not to be stigmatized, nor should anyone need to feel like a victim of stereotyping. In this workbook, we use the phrase mental health issues to include ALL types of trauma symptoms and problems, from just losing one's temper to indicators of a serious mental illness.
The reproducible awareness modules contained in the Managing Trauma Workbook for Teens will help you identify and select assessments and activities easily and quickly:
Module I: My Story
This module will help teens share all aspects of their story safely and put it into a positive perspective.
Module II: My Escape-ism
This module will help teens explore the various ways they avoid and numb themselves to forget their traumatic experiences and provide tools for coping with these symptoms.
Module III: My Transition
This module will help teens effectively explore ways to manage trauma and move on from their traumatic experiences.
Module IV: Tools for Coping
This module will help teens explore the various ways they re-experience their trauma and provide tools for coping with these symptoms.
Module V: Erasing the Stigma of Mental Health Issues
This module will help teens explore the stigma of having experienced a traumatic event in their lives and the impact that the stigma has on them.
This workbook is also available in PDF eBook format, making it simple to store on your computer or mobile device and to access with a PDF viewer. The PDF format allows you to easily print copies of the activities and worksheets during therapy and counseling sessions.
Managing Trauma for Teens Card Deck
Use the open-ended questions with groups or individuals to kick-start a session. Each question corresponds to a specific page in the book.
Sample Questions:
Describe how telling your story can be healing. How much of your story have you told to your family and friends?
You may find it hard to trust or feel safe and secure with other people. Who are you able to trust, and whom do you feel that you cannot trust?
Have you ever meditated? If so, please describe your experience using meditation. Then, ask others in the group to share their experiences.
