Integrating both somatic and attachment theories, this manual provides new tools for therapists working with children and adolescents dealing with complex trauma and neglect

This book presents a new model of trauma treatment called Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment (SMART) for treating trauma and neglect in children and adolescents by a three-step process of somatic regulation, trauma processing, and attachment building. This novel approach builds from the bottom up by using gross motor tools to regulate children who are highly dysregulated, then incorporating the trauma material that emerges when children became more regulated, and finally addressing the attachment issues inherent in child trauma work. The book outlines eight tools for somatic regulation and eight therapist tools that are essential to SMART. After elaborating the basic strategies, it describes the fundamental elements of the assessment and treatment process. The SMART concepts are illustrated through three case studies representing early childhood, latency, and adolescence. The book explains how to adapt SMART to different contexts--for example, residential treatment, in-home therapy, and a preschool outreach program--and includes a discussion of how caregivers can learn these strategies by working in tandem with therapists.