Little else could be more destructive to a family unit than a child who is violent and aggressive towards their adoptive or foster parents.

In this week's episode,  our expert guest, Jane Mitchell,  tells us that children can show superhuman strength when their fears are adrenaline-fuelled.

The result can be harm to the parents and costly damage to the family home.

As Jane explains, this behaviour is a symptom of the child's sense of overwhelm triggered by traumatic memories. They're not conscious of what they're doing and parents need to put into place careful plans and strategies to cope. 

There's plenty of good advice here on effective de-escalation  techniques and Jane also refers to two courses* provided by the National Association of Therapeutic Parents (the NATP) as well as to the non-violence resistance courses available through many local authorities in the UK.

The vast majority of children who behave this way learn to control their fears with the right kind of therapeutic parenting - and to move forward into a more settled way of life. 

*Therapeutically De-escalating Violence 6-week Programme and the Introduction to De-escalation and Protective Interventions are available through COECT's  partner agency, the Inspire Training Group 

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COECT, The Centre of Excellence in Child Trauma is an umbrella organisation combining resources, research and knowledge from cutting edge experts in the sector – Inspire Training Group, National Association of Therapeutic Parents, Sarah Naish – Keynote Speaker and Author, The Haven – Parenting and Wellbeing Centre and Safer Fostering. 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CoEChildTrauma

Telephone – 01453 519000 

Email – [email protected] 

Website - www.coect.co.uk