Tackling a painful issue for most, that is childhood trauma, the writers of this book manage to give us an insightful look at parenting, without staying on theory only. The chapters that include stories from Greece and stories from the Middle East respectively are a sheer delight to read, because it is always significant and helpful to learn the narration of the people who have been traumatized. Parents, Children, Teens, and Psychological Viewpoints on Parenting Practices in Kuwait and Greece is a book that uses an equilibrium between theoretical approaches and lived experience to present us a culture of trauma and give us an alternative route to success and how it was achieved.
— Vasilis Manousakis, Metropolitan College Greece
Exploring parenting as a dynamic, interconnected, and purposeful system is one of the main tenets of this book and stands at the core of a holistic approach to how we can understand the human condition succinctly. It is refreshingly easy to read and understand, scientifically sound, meaningful, and useful for people that want to explore in depth the interconnectivity of the past, present, and the future. The addition of case studies provides a qualitative depth giving voice to daily struggles experienced by parents and how these have been informed by their family system and keeps guiding their own roles today. I am academically and personally pleased to see the extraordinary usefulness of attachment theory as an umbrella framework that can assist everyone to navigate and give answers to essential and fundamental human problems.
— Maria Agorastou, Hellenic American College
Juliet Dinkha and colleagues take readers into the perilous world and journeys of parenting and mental health—the joys, the struggles, and the undeniable cultural underpinnings. This book is a must-read for parents and mental health professionals seeking to understand, support, and believe in both children’s and parents’ well-being.
— Mashana L. Smith, clinical-community psychologist
With her long-term experience of living and working in the Middle East, Dinkha and colleagues have crafted a sophisticated, theoretically grounded, and informed account of parenting a so-called 'ideal' child in a less studied area of the world. Based on personal accounts of people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, religious, and other ethnicities, Dinkha and colleagues fuse scholarship and empirical analyses in an extremely accessible narrative. It will be a welcome addition and an important benchmark for all similar studies on trauma and mental health, not just in the region, but similar studies elsewhere. Pathbreaking .... and a must-read!
— Shoma Munshi, American University of Kuwait
This book provides in-depth look into traumas that originate in childhood and manifest into adulthood and shows us how life events can change people over time. The author’s way of tackling and shedding light on the situation provides readers with the comparative knowledge on the events.
— Ghazlan Al-Enezi, family medicine
The human experience and the ability to long for hope and resiliency when facing life’s adversities are at the forefront of this book. Navigation throughout the text both theoretical and research-based is comprehensive and easy to read, touching upon fundamental psychological models from parenting styles, attachment, the ABC and CBT models to contemporary trauma focused CBT treatment approaches. The personal accounts of the trials and tribulations of childhood and parenthood are importantly presented in a culturally sensitive manner supporting the journey of personal growth from the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive domains of overall holistic wellbeing.
— Alessandra Sax, Hellenic American University
Useful, practical, and definitely relevant. The best thing about this book is that people shared their real-life stories. These were interesting to read and shared valuable information in regard to trauma and coping. These experiences can be used as a tool to allow parents to learn from others in order to build a happy and content life for their children. The authors have also made it an easy read!
— Arwa Al Sheakh Ali, Play leader at Bayt Abdullah Children’s Hospice and Kuwait Association for the Care of Children in Hospital