Supporting Your Child with Nightmares (Age 5 - 11): A Clinical Psychologist's Guide to Resolving Bad Dreams, Nightmares and Sleep Terrors

Waiting for a psychology referral, and not sure what to do with your child in the meantime? Waiting lists for child psychology services can be weeks or months. This booklet is for the part nobody prepares you for: what to actually do while you wait. Written by a UK Clinical Psychologist with 25 years in adult, child and family work, this booklet is built around one specific problem: a primary-school child whose nightmares have started to take over bedtime. Not a sleep-training manual. Not a guide to what dreams mean. Just the practical groundwork in telling a nightmare from a night terror, what to do at three in the morning, what makes things worse, and how to help your child change the ending of bad dreams. Inside, you'll find:•          A clear way to tell an ordinary bad dream from one that needs more attention•          How to tell nightmares from night terrors, and why it changes what you do•          What to say, what not to say, straight after a nightmare•          Changing the ending: the best-evidenced technique for recurring nightmares, plus a printable worksheet•          Bedtime routines: what helps and what makes things worse•          When to push harder for professional support and how to make that conversation count None of this replaces an assessment or professional input. It's what you can do before, and alongside. Dr Ellis Kalmus is a UK Clinical Psychologist (HCPC Registered, BPS Chartered) with around 25 years' experience in child, adolescent and adult mental health. HELP WHILE YOU WAIT is an expanding series of booklets for individuals and parents awaiting input for psychological services. It aims to provide clear, practical information to help understand and improve things in the meantime.