OUR VOICES: TOUCHING TRAUMA AT ITS HEART

Resources for parents, professionals and educators

written to empower trauma-informed families, schools and communities

Search by category, keyword or phrase.

Making a Difference in a Time of Dis-Ease

ATN’s COVID-19 Response

TOUCHING TRAUMA AT ITS HEART EMPOWERING TRAUMA-INFORMED FAMILIES, SCHOOLS, AND COMMUNITIES You are not alone ATN knows that the social distancing going on now can

Read More »
thank you written with calligraphy pen

#TSS 2021–Thank You!

Thank you for the conference… This Mom can’t say thank you enough for the Trauma Sensitive Schools Conference in February 2021. What a great experience

Read More »

The Re-Set Process

It began at TSS In February 2021, I had the honor of moderating Dyane Carrere’s session, “A New Way to Respond to Challenging Behavior: The

Read More »
illustrated cover of courthouse with little boy. Title Monty's Day in Court

Monty’s Day in Court

Helping children from hard places If you’re reading this blog, chances are that you are either parenting a child from a hard place or know

Read More »
#ThankATeacher: Help ATN thank teachers for all the hard work they do.

Teachers Are Heroes

Teachers are Heroes Being a teacher is more challenging than ever before. Teachers have long been the adults who care for, protect and inspire the

Read More »
Thank you with yellow pencil above

Let’s Thank Our Teachers

Teaching then… Long before COVID-19, social distancing, or mask mandates, we had teachers. Every August, after a few precious weeks of summer and many projects

Read More »
handwriting "new normal times"

A Different Normal

What do I mean, “different normal”? A few years back, I went to a retreat for moms with kids who had experienced trauma and had

Read More »
black and whit pause symbol

Hitting Pause

The day it all shut down The migraine started around 2 a.m., following a late-night 3-hour drive. I took the pill I’d been prescribed and

Read More »

Holding Compassion

Blog manager’s note: Carol sent me these thoughts on compassion a little while back, in the height of “shelter-in-place.” I find it speaks to me

Read More »

Boys in School

A word about gender Before I talk about boys in school, let me start by acknowledging that gender is complicated. We learn more every day

Read More »

What #OneCaringAdult Can Do

Every caring adult can make a difference in a child’s life At the Attachment and Trauma Network (ATN),we hear many stories about parents, teachers, therapists,

Read More »
Gold fish jumping from a small bowl to large bowl - Failing Forward

Failing Forward

-by Meredith Poynter A Rough Ride I learned early that this journey to heal childhood trauma is a bit of a rollercoaster ride. How do

Read More »
little boy with blond hair in shorts and blue jacket sitting alone on bench holding stuffed animal

Who Do You Trust the Most?

During a session with your therapist, she hands you a paper with three concentric circles drawn on it. They represent relative levels of trust in relationships. The central circle is who you trust the most. She asks you who you would put in that spot. You don’t answer. She pushes. You remain silent. Finally, she suggests your parents. You nod. You know that she needs you to nod.

Read More »
picture of books with "adoption books: are they working?" written on it

Those Adoption Books

For years, I felt frustrated by parents and therapists suggesting I just read fill-in-the-blank  adoption books by fill-in-the-blank authors. I’d already read all of those parenting books. I’d highlighted them and made notes in the margins.

But the well-worn copies on my bookshelf didn’t seem to help. Sometimes the most worthy book suggestions even seemed to hurt our family.

Read More »
screen shot from ATN Twitter feed about TSS2019

Live from #CTSS2019!

I don’t think this the most beautifully written post I’ve ever created. I do think it might be one of the most important. Here’s why.

Read More »
globe shape filled with photos of people

ATN: The Power of Community

[N]ext week, I will speak for the second time at the Creating Trauma Sensitive Schools Conference, where my topic will be “Behavior through the Lens of Attachment, Trauma, and Dissociation.”

Read More »
Sad woman sitting on leaves disintegrating

Parenting, Anxiety, and ACEs

Parenting with ACEs doesn’t always require intense therapy. Sometimes all we need is a friend, a conversation, someone to remind us that we will be okay, if not immediately, then eventually.

Read More »
Scrabble board spelling school and learn

Reaching the Teacher

Dear Teacher: I adopted my daughter through foster care. Her birth parents were addicts, and she experienced neglect and abuse in her early years. No

Read More »
bowl of spaghetti with Christmas Spaghetti written above it

Christmas Spaghetti

Dinner is served A couple days before Christmas, I make spaghetti sauce. On Christmas afternoon, I move the pot of sauce from our refrigerator to

Read More »
School Bus Emergency Door

Dear Educator, Part II

Dear educator, In my first letter, I shared some things I didn’t know about kids with trauma. In this installment, I would like to share

Read More »
Author of BRAVE: A Personal Story of Healing Childhood

Two Kinds of Brave

[warning – this post briefly references an act of sexual assault] In her response to BRAVE: A Personal Story of Healing Childhood Trauma, Laura Dennis,

Read More »
Personal experiences about this experience Residential Treatment: When Holding On Means Letting Go, The Downward Spiral of My Son’s Behavior

One Year Ago

For over a year now, my son has been living in a residential treatment facility. One year of not being together for birthdays, Christmas, or

Read More »

ATN Resources

Parenting

Therapeutic Parenting - Empowering Trauma-Informed, Attachment-Focused Caregiving

Schools

Creating School-wide Trauma-Informed Reform led by Trauma-Focused Educators

Resource Directory

A comprehensive online directory of trauma-informed, attachment-focused helping professionals

PD Collaborative

Are you seeking trauma-informed Professional Development Training or Consultations for your School?

TSS Conference

Annual Creating Trauma Sensitive Schools Conference.

Podcast

Listen to our Bi-monthly Podcast on Trauma-Informed and Therapeutic Strategies

Shop ATN

Shop for resources and tools to empower and support children, families, schools and communities

Get Involved

Join ATN - Together we can end the silence around childhood trauma!