REVIEWS FOR You Can Heal Your Child

Link to review by Cat Wayland, Founder of International Family Magazine

Every parent would love to raise their child to be resilient in the face of painful experiences, and to have to power and skill to undo the harm of trauma if it occurs.You Can Heal Your Child is the answer to this wish.  With clarity and real case studies, Dr. Melrose demonstrates how to engage a child in self-regulating and natural recovery from trauma, so s/he can regain inner peace and joy.

-Naomi Aldort, author of Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves

You Can Heal Your Child is an important book for therapists who work with children, as well as parents.  I completely agree with Dr. Melrose’s philosophy and approach. The techniques she writes about are wonderful and powerful.

-Violet Oaklander, Ph.D, author of Windows To Our Children: A Gestalt Therapy Approach to Children and Adolescents and Hidden Treasure: A Map to the Child’s Inner Self

Stress is a part of life. You Can Heal Your Child gives parents practical steps to help children improve through life’s difficult times.

-Rene Syler, television personality and author of  Good Enough Mother

Stress is a natural and pervasive part of life. You Can Heal Your Child explains the effects of stress on children in a unique and important way. Anyone who reads this book will feel empowered by both its hopeful message and clear direction on what we, as parents, can do to ensure our children’s success.

-Melinda Bossenmeyer, Ed. D., Retired Principal and Administrator, Founder of Peaceful Playgrounds

Dr. Melrose has a strong understanding of children. She understands their challenges and outlines them well. You Can Heal Your Child is a book I highly recommend for those who want to prevent the effects of stress or trauma in children or for those who have children already stressed or traumatized.

-Elizabeth Bennett, author of Peer Abuse Know More! Bullying From a Psychological Perspective

This book is a life saver, one that every parent should read.

-Britt Michaelian, M.A., author of the bestseller Secrets of the Safety Goddess: A Modern Safety Guide for Busy Parents and Co-Founder of Responsible Teachers

REVIEWS FOR Why Students Underachieve:
What Educators and Parents Can Do about It

Dr. Melrose’s reader-friendly book offers a hopeful alternative to the formulaic and often ineffectual anger management curriculum employed in our schools. She addresses not only the psychological, emotional and social implications associated with trauma, but the physiological complexities as well – a critical and often overlooked component in working with this population. Her work is a bold and innovative “must read” for anyone who is serious about interrupting the tired cycle that leaves many of our young people traveling aimlessly through their lives without options.

-Kathryn Goria, M.A., O.T.R., Occupational Therapist, Behavioral Specialist

This provocative and informative volume is an invaluable guide for today’s educators. Dr. Melrose’s wonderful synthesis of scientific evidence and applied insights about the traumas faced by a generation of children is often revelatory and always helpful.

-Jacob A. Burack, Ph.D., Professor, McGill University

Using clear explanation, example, and remedy, Dr. Reggie Melrose steers us all towards better understanding and supporting of the unbalanced individual.

-Susan Mumper, Parent, Resource Specialist Teacher, Adapted Physical Educator

Dr. Melrose has written a concise and relevant book on childhood trauma and its long-lasting effects. As a practicing school counselor, I found the book both informative and practical. With the catch-all label of ADHD being attached to children by everyone from school administrators to teachers to grocery clerks, it is encouraging to know that someone has taken the time to look deeper, more thoughtfully, at the whole child. The book’s use of narratives helps to illustrate the concepts presented and integrate the modalities suggested. Particularly invaluable to the school counselor are the “Tools for Tolerance” presented in Chapter 7. Throughout the book, Dr. Melrose strikes the perfect balance between the presentation of historical perspective, which allows the reader to employ their own theoretical framework to the matter at hand, and practical mediating approaches that give the practitioner – be they school counselor, psychologist, social worker, therapist or teacher – the tools to assist this heretofore mishandled population.

-Kenneth Owens, School Counselor

A beautifully written yet easily read book that has the potential to so positively impact a child’s life. I can’t think of a more important contribution on behalf of children. The practical interventions contained here can turn a tragedy into triumph…and just in time.

–Karen “Charlie” Matsui, Psy.D., School Psychologist, Autism Specialist

Melrose seamlessly integrates cutting edge research with practice. I could not imagine teaching a course in crisis intervention without this text.

-Alberto Restori, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, California State University, Northridge

I have been a school psychologist for 25 years, and I am currently teaching child development to potential teachers, and supervising beginning school psychologists. Throughout my career I have worked extensively with students with a variety of emotional and behavioral problems. Dr. Melrose’s excellent, insightful guide to effective understanding of troubled and troubling students is the book I’ve waited years to read and recommend to teachers and school support personnel! Her description of the students and their acting out of their traumas is so authentic one can almost hear their cries for help, but Dr. Melrose doesn’t stop there. She suggests innovative, creative, natural interventions that teachers and school support personnel can effect to truly assist the traumatized student to regain the equilibrium and regulation necessary to once again function in harmony with her/his environment. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

-Judith A. McBride, Ph.D., School Psychologist, Adjunct Faculty,
California State University, Long Beach

“Why Students Underachieve: What Educators and Parents Can Do about It” is a formidable accomplishment. Dr. Melrose cleverly interweaves diverse literatures including clinical psychology, special education and neurophysiology with vivid clinical narratives to explain the learning challenges that children with traumatic histories encounter in the classroom. This book inspires compassion for traumatized children as well as tremendous appreciation for the teachers and clinicians who mentor them. I am confident that this book will become a resource for teachers and guide training teachers and clinicians to understand the many manifestations of trauma in school age children.

-Grace Iarocci, Ph.D., R. Psych, Assistant Professor, Simon Fraser University