Engaging Foster Parents in Child Trauma Treatment: Strategies for Counselors

Abstract

For children residing in foster care, foster parent engagement could enhance children’s ability to navigate the healing process and experience positive trauma treatment outcomes. However, scant literature exists describing specific strategies to promote foster parent engagement, especially for those facing more challenging circumstances. Therefore, we present a brief review of the literature describing challenges to treatment engagement; we also outline specific engagement strategies that counselors might incorporate into practice. The strategies we discuss incorporate research-supported engagement interventions. Finally, we discuss implications for practitioners, counselor educators, and further research.

KEYWORDS:

• foster care
• engagement
• child trauma
• trauma-focused treatment

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflicts of interest were reported by the authors.