1. My Very BRAVE Story!A story about my private part abuse
A guide to assist young children in telling their stories of sexual
abuse.
Written By:
Heather Wilkerson, MSW, LCSW
Illustrated By:
Austin, Az’Jah, Chloe, Jaden, Kaleb, Madison, Marley, Natalia,
Rahmel
Put your picture here!

2. How to Use this Book
• Perform gradual exposure.
• Share a book with a similar story to that of
the client.
• Tell the child you think he/she would do an
amazing job creating his/her own story and
you have a book that could help him/her do
just that.
• Show this book to him/her.
• Have him/her fill in the blanks with words or
drawings.
2

3. How to Use this Book
Continued
•Once complete and shared with the caregiver,
the child should choose a way to “get rid” of
this book e.g., shred it, rip it up, burn it, etc.
•The child should not take the book home or
keep it.
•Reading the book repeatedly could cause the
child to ruminate on the trauma or to
continuously
re-experience it.
3

4. 4

5. 5
YOU are

6. 6

7. 7

8. 8

9. 9

10. 10

11. 11
You are very
The End!

12. Heather Wilkerson, MSW, LCSW has spent
countless hours sitting in an office attempting to
get adolescents and ultimately small children to
discuss the bad things that happened to them.
She searched for ways children could begin to
express the difficult stuff. Heather thought that
a workbook that planted seeds, but remained as
interactive as possible might do the trick. Out of
that process evolved, “My VERY BRAVE Story”.
Knowing that the outdoors, animals, art, play,
sand and other creative interventions work best
when working with children and adolescents, she
started her private practice Hope-thru-Horses,
Inc. in 2006 in North Carolina where she
specializes in treating childhood sexual trauma.
12

13. 13
You can contact the author, Heather Wilkerson, MSW, LCSW
at (910) 494-5888 or hthi@hthi.us