Book Review – Healing for Hurting Hearts
14 January 2014
By: Cheryl Fawcett, Ph. D.
This book is laid out in 6 distinct sections. It deals with specific topics like Basic 
Counseling Skills, Counseling Sexually Exploited Children,
Forgiveness and Reconciliation in the Healing Process,and Peace Education and Conflict Resolution in very detailed ways. In similar fashion it deals with more general topics like God’s Pattern and Plan for Children, and Trauma and Loss. It ends with a concluding reflection of Jesus and his walk from Mt. Hermon to Mount Moriah, including eight truths that are specific to scripture about Jesus and His truths about children. They are rich in insight!
There is a specific section of the book that deals with the Support and Tools for Children and Counselors that is most helpful. A chapter by Phyllis Kilbourn on Stress, Burnout, and Self Care gives plenty of specific insights into how to care for yourself and the children that God gives to you without doing either any harm but bringing great healing out of all of the circumstances that God has allowed.
Each chapter is careful to cite references from other key texts in this area that are very helpful with insight.
This book has proved to be a very big help to me in thinking about working with children and youth in crisis situations.
Cheryl Fawcett, Ph. D.
