Families dealing with trauma experiences often benefit from counseling services to help with healing. But with so many things to consider, it can be hard to decide if now is the right time or if it would be better to wait for some time to pass.

To address this need, the Institute for Translational Research in Children’s Mental Health (ITR) designed a brief worksheet for families to use. It is based on information shared by families about their own experiences. We hope going through this worksheet will help families make decisions about their readiness to start trauma counseling and feel more prepared when the time comes.

The worksheet is a collaboration between ITR, the Family-Informed Trauma Treatment Center at the University of Maryland, and National Child Traumatic Stress Network. View it at crf.umn.edu/readiness.