When and How to look for more help for yourself
You have the very important job of making sure your child gets the best medical care for his physical injuries. You are also the best person to monitor how your child is coping, and when some extra help, such as trauma counseling, might be needed. In the first few days after an injury, many kids (and parents) feel a little upset, jumpy or worried, and can use a little extra support from family and friends.
When and How to look for more help for yourself
Sometimes parents need extra help too.
Do you have traumatic stress reactions that:
- get in the way of you getting back to (or enjoying) usual activities
- seem to make it harder for you to talk with your child about what happened
- seem to be getting worse rather than better
- have lasted more than a month
If so, you may want to seek out a professional who can help you.
When looking for a counselor or therapist to help with traumatic stress symptoms, remember to ask questions such as: Do you have experience working with people after trauma? What is your approach to working with this type of problem? What is your success rate?