On My Terms (A Teen Guide to Understanding Trauma and Choosing Your Future)

A supportive, trauma-informed guide that helps teens understand what happened to them, calm their stress response, and regain hope for the future.

On My Terms is a practical guide for teens who have experienced trauma, written by a social worker with both personal and professional experience in trauma healing. By helping readers understand that trauma responses are normal survival reactions—not personal failures—this book gives teens the language, tools, and confidence to begin healing without shame.

With a compassionate voice and accessible explanations, On My Terms helps teens understand how trauma affects the brain and body. It offers research-based information alongside holistic practices that support physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being. Inside, readers will find tools and strategies for:

• Understanding Trauma - Discover how trauma impacts the mind and body, then use QR code videos to practice simple techniques that help teens feel calmer, safer, and more in control.
• Emotional Regulation & Body-Based Healing - Learn coping skills, mindfulness, breathwork, and movement practices to manage stress, anxiety, overwhelm, and difficult emotions.
• Self-Understanding & Healing - Separate your identity from traumatic experiences, reduce shame and self-blame, and build greater self-awareness, emotional resilience, and confidence.
• Reflection, Journaling & Recovery - Use guided prompts, activities, and journaling exercises to explore experiences, increase self-understanding, support trauma recovery, and strengthen mental health.
• Personal Agency & Trusted Support - Develop skills for making choices, setting goals, communicating with parents, counselors, teachers, coaches, caregivers, and other safe adults, and creating a future beyond survival mode.

This resource is designed for independent teen readers as well as for use in homes, schools, counseling settings, residential programs, juvenile justice programs, and other youth support spaces. It can be read in order or used as needed, making it a flexible, accessible tool for trauma recovery and youth development and well-being.