A new picture book designed as a therapeutic tool for children whose parents live with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) has been launched and is available as a free download a free download.
The book, Learning about Complex-PTSD at Pet Therapy School: Noah’s Story, was co-written by Dr Victoria Williamson, senior lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Bath.
This is believed to be the only storybook created specifically for families where a parent is living with C-PTSD – a mental health condition caused by repeated exposure to severe psychological trauma.
People affected by C-PTSD include military veterans, prison staff, human trafficking survivors, refugees, healthcare workers and those who have experienced child abuse and domestic violence. Common C-PTSD symptoms are vivid nightmares, flashbacks and intrusive thoughts, which can lead to poor sleep, anxiety and withdrawal from daily life.
Individuals with the condition often face serious relationship difficulties, frequent mood swings, emotional dysregulation, impulsive behaviours and a deeply negative outlook on life. For families, this can mean a parent is distant, irritable, angry without reason, withdrawn and unhappy.
Developed from conversations with leading experts as well as input from people with lived experience, including veterans undergoing treatment at Combat Stress, the new book aims to help children and families understand psychological changes and support loved ones on their journey to recovery.
The story follows siblings Zamen and Lucy, their Air Force veteran mum Cindy, and paramedic dad Hassan. At its heart is Noah – the family therapy dog – whose endless patience and gentle support help Cindy as she struggles with C-PTSD.
The book was inspired by Dr Williamson’s own therapy dog, Noah, who volunteers with Pets As Therapy. The illustrations by Tanya Cooper are based on Noah. Other co-writers were Dr Marg Rogers from the University of New England in Australia and Professor Dominic Murphy from veterans’ mental health charity Combat Stress and a researcher at King’s College London. Contributions were also made by academics from the US and Canada – all leading experts in child wellbeing and the psychological impact of trauma.
Why this book matters
Dr Williamson said: “When something frightening happens, a parent can change in ways that are confusing or worrying for a child. This storybook is designed to help children and families understand those changes and make sense of what it can be like when a parent is living with complex-PTSD.
“The book aims to offer comfort, clarity and reassurance by explaining difficult experiences in a gentle and accessible way. It’s intended to help families care for their feelings together, and to give children and parents a shared language for talking about hard things and supporting one another.”
Professor Murphy said: “The development of this book was in response to feedback from veterans who told us that they wanted support for how best to speak to their children about the impact psychological trauma has had on them, and their symptoms of complex-PTSD.
“The book was co-produced with families, veterans with PTSD and an international team of experts, in the hope of providing a valuable resource for families to speak about the impact of trauma and complex-PTSD, and enable children to better understand what is going on for their parents.”
This therapeutic resource has already received recognition, winning the Council for Humanities Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS) award for ‘Book Project’ within the Children’s Family Resilience Programs.
Currently, the book is freely available online and can be translated under a Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–ShareAlike (CC-BY-NC-SA) licence. Over the coming months, the creators plan to release an audiobook version, followed by a printed edition.
Funding for the project came from The Ian Potter Foundation, UNE Vice-Chancellor Funding, the Foundation of Graduates in Early Childhood Studies and Combat Stress.