Join Us for #ATNCares on Giving Tuesday

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, December 1, 2020.  ATN will once again take part in the nationwide Giving Tuesday Campaign. Focusing on #OneCaringAdult, ATN is spotlighting the importance that a caring adult who is present and nurturing can have on the life of EVERY child to build healthy attachment and resilience.  This year, more than […]

Scar Tissue and What the Brain Believes

Scar Tissue and What the Brain Believes

–by Julie Beem In early October I fell and broke my left knee cap (annihilated it into pieces is a more accurate description).  The skillful surgeon put Humpty Dumpty back together again, but I was ordered to remain immobile for six weeks while my old bones decided to knit back together. Right before Thanksgiving, the […]

Coming Soon to the ATN Blog…

So last week I got all clever talking about “Trauma Tuesday,” only to have this Tuesday be, well, traumatic! Have no fear, though. The blog will be back this weekend with a new post from ATN‘s very own Julie Beem, writing about scar tissue and what our brains believe. Two weeks ago, we introduced a […]

15 Gifts that Promote Attachment and Bonding

–by Sara Borgstede (originally posted on the author’s blog, The Holy Mess, on November 14, 2017) Have you recently given birth to a baby or brought a new family member into your home through foster care or adoption? Maybe you are a relative or friend looking for Christmas gifts for a new little one in […]

It’s Not Always Depression, Sometimes It’s the Holidays

Sometimes it's the holidays, not depression

–by Hilary Jacobs Hendel There are many myths and “shoulds” about how families and holidays should be: Families should love each other. Families should get along. Holidays should be fun…To name but a few. The fact is: Many people do not have happy families, happy family memories or happy holidays. Therefore, holidays and families may […]

Head. Heart. Repeat.

Brain and heart on a seesaw, Brain lower, heart higher

–by Hilary Jacobs Hendel, originally published on the author’s blog, May 17, 2016 Manager’s note: I’ve lately been in a particularly tough and sometimes dark place as a trauma mama, partly with my kids’ stuff, partly with my own. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get my kids to try this, but it […]

Facing the mess as me

–by Laura Dennis, originally published on the author’s own blog, Les Pensées du chat noir [This is not the ATN post of the week, but rather an explanation of why it isn’t (yet) here. And after last week’s post on caregiver stress, I thought this could maybe be of help to some.] We all have […]

Residential Treatment: When Holding On Means Letting Go

–by Sara Borgstede This was originally posted on the author’s website, The Holy Mess – Balancing Faith, Family, and Fitness, on June 4, 2017. As we drive through the beautiful rolling hills of western New York, my husband reaches over to grasp my hand. I glance over and see a stream of tears run down his […]