Raising an Emotionally Healthy Child When a Parent Is Sick (a Harvard Medical School Book) - Paperback

by Paula K. Rauch (Author), Anna C. Muriel (Author)

For families with a seriously ill parent--advice on helping your children cope from two leading Harvard psychiatrists

Based on a Massachusetts General Hospital program, Raising an Emotionally Healthy Child When a Parent is Sick covers how you can address children's concerns when a parent is seriously ill, how to determine how children with different temperaments are really feeling and how to draw them out, ways to ensure the child's financial and emotional security and reassure the child that he or she will be taken care of.

Back Jacket

"A must for any parent dealing with a serious illness. Its wisdom, insight, and commonsense advice are also invaluable to the spouse, partner, brother, sister, or friend supporting one who's facing the demands of raising children while struggling with illness."
--Soledad O'Brien, anchor, CNN, "American Morning"

Two Harvard Medical School psychiatrists help you prepare for the special parenting challenges that come with illness. Based on the Massachusetts General Hospital's acclaimed PACT program (Parenting at a Challenging Time), Raising an Emotionally Healthy Child When a Parent Is Sick helps you:

• Communicate with your child about the illness
• Understand each child's unique temperament
• Organize a family support system
• Maintain a daily routine and reestablish normalcy
• Prepare for hospital visits
• Answer tough questions about death and dying

"This book helps you deal with the twin challenges of illness and raising children. Whether you are feeling confident or overwhelmed, Rauch and Muriel's logic and caring advice help you understand your child's perspective and respond in healthy ways. In doing so, you'll nurture everyone's hope and happiness in hard times."
--Wendy S. Harpham, M.D., FACP, author of When a Parent Has Cancer and Happiness in a Storm

"Drs. Rauch and Muriel . . . provide sophisticated, developmentally appropriate advice, practical suggestions, and simple wisdom clearly and without jargon. I highly recommend their book."
--Gerald P. Koocher, Ph.D., professor and dean, Simmons College, School for Health Studies, and president, American Psychological Association, 2006

Author Biography

Paula K. Rauch, M.D., is founder and director of the PACT program at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she also serves as chief of the Child Psychiatry Consultation Service. She is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Anna C. Muriel, M.D., M.P.H., is on the PACT staff at Massachusetts General Hospital and an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.