Trauma-informed practice
Trauma kidsgroups and individual sessions for children and young people from the age of 3. We accompany through grief and fears, develop strategies with them to get out of the spiral and take difficult steps together. We work both in presence in Munich and via Zoom. You can reach us without obligation by email or mobile at +49 160 94467330 in english.

We offer a forest playgroup for families who are interested in child-friendly adventures in the forest. You are welcome, whether you are already taking your first brave steps towards more autonomy, you are looking for accompaniment during a daycare acclimation, a gentle practice field or need advice as parents.

The group sessions and, if desired, individual appointments are led by an educationalist and grief counselor or an educator and trauma pedagogue.

We work in a needs-oriented, trauma-sensitive manner and at the child's pace. The group is also especially aimed at grieving families or families in separation situations.

The offers are adapted to the age of 2,5-5 years as well as 6-9 years.

Procedure

You families come to the clearing by about 3.30pm and I assign a place for your blanket. This is the safe haven for your child, who is free to participate in the activities or to look around at a distance. The children explore the nearby surroundings with the teacher and possibly a large dog and usually stay within sight of the parents' blankets. Due to the woods and the design of nature, there are always moments when the children have to decide whether they want to venture a step further out of sight or whether they want to return to the safety of their parents' blanket. In the beginning, your child will walk between you and the forest. Your child can relieve tension in motion and without pressure, determine for itself when it is tired and find out which situations are currently overtaxing it.

Your role as parents is to calmly and quietly make a busy impression on the parent blanket. Your focus is not on your child now, but you practise giving your child enough space to discover its autonomy. You keep a low profile and do not leave the blanket during the group. Bring your own food and drink, a book, some work on the laptop or something similar.

We discuss the experience with the children in a casual and undramatic way to train their own reflection on their newfound independence. In doing so, we go into the children's strengths, exchange ideas in a way that is appropriate for children, and thus develop more knowledge about feelings in small steps, talk about fears and small successes. To do this, we sometimes paint, build with tools and often take up the children's ideas.


Recurring elements are

little adventures like feeding the birds
cooking and carving
building, carving or playing with sticks
clambering over roots, climbing and jumping
disappearing into the bushes without parents
Painting with watercolours, wax crayons
Handicrafts with wool, clay, scissors
Role play and moderated free play
Punch and Judy shows and Kamishibai stories
Tricks with the dog
Conflicts and finding peaceful solutions

For the older children
Tree climbing and abseiling
Riding in the rickshaw
Playing by the water
Creating the personal fear animal
Doing dog commands
Talking about feelings
Adventures in the forest

Arrival

In the first few sessions, your child will be happy to explore the new situation from the parent's blanket. Before the children can open up, they need security. They need to be able to assess us teachers and the other children, understand the rules and procedures and find their way around. Perhaps your child already dares to come to the offer for a few minutes. Most of the time, they will start to leave the ceiling on their own, at first for a short game, later for a short play. We have enough time and do not push any child, but we always invite them to join us. Your child learns to take the necessary time and to be welcome, even if only for a blink of an eye.

The process of arriving and beginning to feel safe can last a few hours or months. There is room for the fears and barriers to independence that your child or you as a family bring with you. Difficult previous experiences with separation situations can thus be unconsciously shaped by the child once again in a self-determined way.


First independence

More autonomy gives the opportunity to take a few steps towards a discovery in the forest, a dead animal or a difficult abseil. How does that feel? How can the urge for autonomy and the fear of losing control peacefully coexist? The children develop in play how far they already want to go and what they want to do as exercises.

Because we experience your children in the group, we can make suggestions to you parents. What challenges do we see with your child, for example, in relation to the day care situation? What can be practice areas for your family? Where do you need more sensitivity, where more courageous pragmatism? Which of your fears can we share, where are we unsure ourselves?

Our team consists of

An experienced educationalist with years of experience in open children's and youth work. She is also a hospice counsellor and grief counsellor and works with young widowed parents and adults.

A pedagogical specialist (educator) with many years of experience in forest education and in home-based day-care centres. She has specialised in bereaved families, difficult settling-in and separation experiences and also works as a trauma educator.

A child and youth psychotherapist (behaviour therapy) for supervision.

In addition to the Wildkids group, we offer one-to-one sessions, two-to-one sessions for children with similar issues, counselling and support for parents in person and via Zoom, mediation and development of conflict solutions in separation situations or changed life realities of parents, referral to free help services and grief counselling.

Costs

The costs usually have to be borne privately.
There is the possibility of a free trial session. For this, the trial appointment must be booked as 0,- on the website.

Otherwise, a single Wildkids group meeting can be booked for 30,- Eur and a 6-person card for 144,- Eur.
Individual counselling and support sessions for parents as well as individual trauma education sessions cost 90,- (60,- for single parents) per session of about 1-1,5 hours.
Two-group appointments of two children with similar issues cost half per family.
Practice sessions to practise leaving in a trauma-sensitive way cost 15,- per 15 minutes or part thereof. We can only offer this under certain pedagogical conditions.
We also work on an outreach basis and accompany people to traumatically stressed or fear-inducing places by appointment.
 

Please bring
Parents: A blanket, possibly a folding stool/ mat/ hammock.
Something to occupy the child that is unattractive (book, newspaper, laptop with work material)
Snack for yourself, tea/ coffee
Suitable clothing, possibly umbrella, tick spray, sun cream

Children: Own backpack with an extra snack. Healthy and no plastic packed food.
Suitable clothing incl. sunscreen
Children should please be dressed in such a way that they do not have to change clothes until 5.00 pm if possible. Already covered with sunscreen.
Sun hat either on your head or in your rucksack.

Bottle with water or tea
The child should already know the backpack and be able to use the lunch box and the bottle to some extent.

Confidence, calmness, patience and lots of love.