Afraid of the Doctor: Every Parent’s Guide to Preventing and Managing Medical Trauma
by Meghan L. Marsac and Melissa J. Hogan
Written by two women who care about children, a lawyer and a psychologist, this book helps parents support their children through medical challenges and prevent or manage medical trauma.
Medical trauma can arise from a severe illness or injury, or from the treatment of a serious medical condition. Either way, this book addresses how these healthcare experiences lead to medical trauma in children, affecting their willingness to engage with medical care.
Afraid of the Doctor
Every Parent’s Guide to Preventing and Managing Medical Trauma
The authors’ goal is to give parents knowledge and skills to understand and address medical trauma, to better care for their child’s emotional and physical well-being during medical challenges.
The book offers twelve strategies parents can use to prevent and reduce medical trauma and support their child through medical interventions or chronic conditions.
Readers learn these strategies through character stories, anecdotes, step-by-step guides, examples, and research. These strategies can be adapted for specific groups, like very young children or those with cognitive or communication challenges.
Parents can experience trauma from managing their child’s medical challenges. The authors include tools for parents to recognize and address their response to medical trauma while caring for their child.
Read Sample from Book
Meet The Authors
Meghan L. Marsac
Dr. Meghan Marsac is a pediatric psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky and Kentucky Children’s Hospital.
She is a leader in the field of pediatric medical trauma, having multiple publications. Her primary goal is to improve the experience of living with medical conditions for children and families.
Dr. Marsac serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology and Journal of Traumatic Stress. Dr. Marsac has spoken extensively on understanding and promoting adjustment to injury and illness in children and their families.
She is CEO of the Cellie Coping Company, which has distributed over 2000 coping kits to families of children with medical conditions.
Dr. Marsac trains medical teams in trauma-informed medical care. Clinically, Dr. Marsac promotes evidence-based practices to help families manage medical treatment and emotional adjustment to challenging diagnoses and medical procedures.
She is the mom of two energetic, loving boys. They enjoy playing outside, playing tag, reading, playing video games, and creating projects.
Melissa J. Hogan
Melissa J. Hogan, JD, has a child with a rare, genetic disease who has faced a countless number of surgeries, specialists, and as a result, medical trauma. In addition to advocating for her son’s needs, she consults on clinical trials in rare and neurodegenerative disorders. Her articles have been published in several medical journals.
She founded the leading research and advocacy foundation in Hunter syndrome, Project Alive, which has raised millions of dollars for research.
She has worked as a healthcare attorney and speaks on health care and educational advocacy, rare diseases, and clinical trials.
She lives with her three sons and a service dog outside Nashville, Tennessee.
Authors’ Recommended Resources
After the Injury
Health Care Toolbox
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network
Resource to Download: What is Child Trauma?
Why I recommend Afraid of the Doctor
I found this book browsing at my local library. I had never seen a book addressing this topic so I am glad to find this one.(I put affiliate links in this post.)
This book made me wonder how many children may have experienced trauma from encounters with me as a physician, not something I intentionally caused. I realized procedures that health professionals and even parents consider routine, like an X-ray or drawing blood, can be traumatic to children.
I recommend this book to every parent who wants to prepare their child for encounters with the healthcare system, especially for children with medical needs that require frequent and invasive contact.
The authors present the information in a straightforward, easy-to-understand format, utilizing twelve effective strategies. They explain what to do, how to do it, and offer examples of children and parents who used the strategy.
By the end of the book, we have followed each child’s story and see how they and their parent successfully managed medical trauma.
I recommend this book. If you don’t need it, you probably know someone who does. Do them a favor and forward this review to them.
This information is current as of the date of original publication or update. It may have changed by the time you read this. I invite you to fact-check what you read here.
This information is not intended for diagnosis or treatment. Before making health decisions, discuss with your physician or other qualified healthcare provider to decide what is right for you.
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Another review- a book that teaches kids about the human body
HUMAN BODY Learning Lab-book review
“Human Body Learning Lab” by Dr. Betty Choi offers an engaging exploration of the human body for curious kids. Dr. Choi, a pediatrician and mom, provides an easy-to-understand guide, complete with hands-on activities. The book also includes important disclaimers for parents. Written for kids aged 5 to 9, it’s a valuable resource for parents and…
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The one doctor I still tense up when I visit is the dentist. We went to a dentist who did not believe in cleaning teeth. I didn’t have a teeth cleaning until I was in my mid 20s. He also did not believe in numbing when filling a cavity. He would drill until you flinched when he hit a nerve. All of my siblings have had to have their fillings redone as have I. I sit in the dentist’s chair with my hands clamped together and knuckles white! I may need this book for myself. All kidding aside, I do wonder how many children are traumatized not by the visit but by the expectation set by parents (unknowingly for the most part). Thanks for the review!
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