Children suffering from early childhood trauma have big secrets which they need to tell along their healing journey. Some of these secrets are of abusive things that were done to them. Other secrets are of bad choices that child has made himself or herself - maybe something the child stole, lied about, damaged, or someone they hurt. The secret could even be the truth about a big feeling they’re having such as “I am embarrassed” or “I think no one likes me” or “I’m really mad at someone or think things are unfair”.
Typically, traumatized children only tell their secrets when they have repeatedly experienced that the adult with whom they are sharing is strong enough and smart enough to see through lies and manipulations. The children must also have experienced that this adult continues to accept the child despite their bad behavior choices and big feelings (a.k.a. rages). They don’t tell their secrets to the nicest person. They tell their secrets to the person they perceive to be the strongest, someone they might be able to trust to still like them and to truly keep them safe even after knowing this dark secret.
“I promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.”
That oath may be the way that witnesses are sworn into court, but it is NOT how children let out their secrets. First of all, they generally don’t let out their secrets just because someone asks! Secondly, when a child is working toward telling the truth it is very typical for the child’s behavior to degenerate and their mood to spiral out of control. Those can be good signs that pressure is building toward a release of important secrets. In general, the confession process often looks like this: a child will first…
tell a lie,
then a small partial truth,
then more truth,
then recant,
and then more truth again.
This process can take days, weeks, months, or years. (See how simple it is to parent traumatized children?! Just kidding!)
The lie is all about “testing the waters” and therefore may have nothing to do with anything. For instance, the child may be working toward a confession of physical abuse by a neighbor, but what the child says is, “I stole an eraser from my sister,” an event that didn’t even happen! The lie is a test to see how you will respond to negative information. So you say, “That might be true. And if it is, then good job telling the truth! I love you no matter what.” It is best to not full agree to anything that you cannot verify. If you cannot verify the eraser theft, then don’t fully agree that it happened. In fact, the child is more likely to perceive you as strong because you did NOT immediately accept her story as true than if you had! Why? Because the child wants to know that you are smart enough to not be manipulated. So, your answer demonstrated your strength to not be conned as well as your strength to accept the child despite their bad behavior. WIN. You will continue to be a candidate in that child’s mind for receiving the secret about her victimization.
Then comes the partial truth. The purpose of the partial truth is to dampen the gravity of what happened - just in case you can’t handle the full reality - and usually also to hide the child’s own culpability or perceived culpability in that situation. Partial truths might include statements like “It only happened that one time, a long time ago” when actually it’s been happening repeatedly and as recently as last week. It is VERY IMPORTANT TO VALIDATE what you can. For instance, you could respond with, “I’m so glad you told me. You are right that that person should not have hurt you in that way. That is not ok. Let’s make a plan together to keep you safe from that happening again.”
Another partial truth might be, “But I told her to stop!” when actually there was no refusal. (The absence of a refusal does not take away the child’s victim status. Fear can make children feel like they have no choice in the matter.) A good response to such partial truths is, “That would be a good response if you did that! And, I want to help you whether you said that or not.” Again, you are agreeing with the hypothetical possibility and then affirming your commitment to helping your child be safe and grow strong, no matter what the truth is. Because the confession process is riddled with partial truths, you cannot hold the child to every detail in her story. Agreeing with hypothetical possibilities provides acceptance while also leaving room for the child to adjust the details closer to the truth as she is ready.
When a big truth finally comes out, the child may display a sense of relief from that weight be lifting off her shoulders. The child may be exhausted or anxiously wired. Behavior may suddenly boomerang back to good choices and respectful attitudes. And then, it may all fall apart again because there is still more that needs to be told…
But what’s left to tell might be REALLY, REALLY scary to confess. It might be so riddled with shame that the child would rather destroy their favorite belongings, try to run away, self-harm, or other destructive behaviors instead of letting out that truth. So the next best thing to do (in the child’s mind) is…RECANT! “You know that thing I told you about, Mom? I lied. I made it all up. It wasn’t true.” This can be so stressful for parents! Your mind is still reeling from the horrible news which she told you two days ago, and now she’s trying to convince you that it was all fake. It’s easy to feel completely disoriented, frustrated, and maxed out! One good response is, “I wouldn’t want that story to be true either. It feels scary to tell the truth, especially if you feel ashamed or embarrassed, but the truth sets us free. It opens the door so we can learn and grow and move on. I love you no matter what. You take some time to think about whether you want to carry the heavy secrets or tell the truth so you can grow stronger.”
The child’s behavior after this may give you some indication about what the truth really is. You may learn the truth in time through the discovery of evidence, or you may not. The child may confess the truth or stay stuck. Either way, you will have validated that you are committed to the child’s well-being and strong enough to handle terrible news as well as big feelings.
Truth-telling is an important part of the healing process. If a child cannot confess what she has done, then she cannot take responsibility. How will she ever have a successful life without being able to take responsibility for her own thoughts, feelings, words, and actions? She can’t. Confession, repentance, and restitution are necessary part of every human’s life if they want to grow healthy and enjoy strong relationships. Secondly, a child’s ability to tell the truth about what was done to them is an important part of getting power over that victimization. If a victim cannot tell the truth about what happened, then that victim is still bound by the power of that event. Simply saying the truth out loud and having it validated by another who also embraces us breaks the power of fear and unlocks us to grow stronger than our pain.
Be patient with the litmus test lies, the partial truths, the denial of culpability, and retractions. Those are the painful path which hurts follow as they make their way out of the deep places of the soul.