Connecting with Kids Through Stories

Book excerpt: Children whose early development has been damaged by abuse or neglect are notoriously difficult to reach. Through many years' therapeutic work with adopted children and their families, the Family Attachment Center of Minnesota has developed an exciting and innovative technique which uses stories as the main mode for helping parents to communicate and connect with their troubled children. Connecting with Kids through Stories is an accessible guide to Family Attachment Narrative Therapy for the parents of adopted or fostered children, and for the professionals who work with them. Providing a thorough theoretical grounding, and detailed information on therapeutic techniques and how to assess progress, the book shows parents how to create their own therapeutic stories to promote increased attachment and improved behavior in their child. The authors describe how different kinds of narratives can help with specific difficulties and illustrate their techniques with the story of a fictional family who develop their own narratives to help their adopted child heal. The Family Attachment and Counseling Center of Minnesota works to promote the growth and healthy functioning of individuals and families through professional guidance, with a particular emphasis on services for children. The Center's Family Attachment Narrative Therapy program has been especially developed to help children whose development has been compromised by early life trauma and attachment relationship difficulties.