Proactively Give Yourself a Mother’s Day…Even if it’s Not This Sunday
by: Julie Beem It’s coming. There are ads, ads and more ads for flowers, clothing, chocolate…and Hallmark. Any preschool worth its weight is making handprint art and churches are planning luncheons and other celebrations. Ugh…it’s Mother’s Day! What a train wreck this holiday can be for families of traumatized children, especially those who were formed […]
The Delayed Effect: When the Fruits of Our Labor Finally Bloom
by: Craig Peterson Six months ago I sat down to write a letter to my 23-year-old son who was incarcerated three hours away. After re-reading the entire stack of his letters, I realized he’d done much soul searching. He had shared many deeply personal thoughts about his past failures. Was I now man enough to […]
“Don’t You DARE Say That”
By: Deborah A. Novo I love my dog. She is an 11 year old, white Schnauzer who exudes such love. My husband and I had just returned from our usual, evening walk with Sadie. We were standing in the kitchen, laughing and drinking iced tea when a storm came upon us. “Why don’t you pick […]
Tuesday Toolbox — The Landing Pad
by: Jane Samuel Our youngest, now age 12, like many children of trauma, wants to have all her ducks in a row and know what is coming next. She hates getting caught off guard – “I forgot that we had P.E. today and I didn’t have my shoes!!” So schedules and planning work very well […]
Events and Training Opportunities Coming Your Way!
Did spring break leave you feeling worn out? Fill up your therapeutic parenting tank with one (or more) of these trainings and seminars coming up. I hope you can take advantage of one or more! Austin, Texas — April 17 Empower, Embrace, Emerge Central Texas Attachment & Trauma Center (CTATC) describes its second annual conference […]
Adoptive Parents ARE Biological Parents
by: Julie Beem I had the incredible honor to interview Dr. Dan Siegel a couple of days ago in a webinar that will soon be released on ATN’s Learning Center. We did this in conjunction with Echo Parenting and Education from California. If you have not had the privilege to hear Dr. Siegel speak or […]
Silly Ignorant Me: What I Thought My Child Heard
by: Craig Peterson When my mother and father spoke, I responded. So did my five siblings. That’s all we knew. I never gave the dynamic much thought until raising children of my own. You see, all six are adopted. Unfortunately, none responded to me like I did with my parents. Not even close. Didn’t my […]
What is Strange?
by: Kelly Killian You’re going to find this strange, but my husband and I like watching crime shows. We like learning about the psychological aspects of what makes criminals tick. It was during one of these shows that we had an “AH HA” moment about our kids. In the show, Criminal Minds, Agent Hotchner (played […]
Beyond Scared
by: Deborah A. Novo It is natural to feel apprehensive and scared navigating through some of life’s challenges and expectations. Much of the time, we can do this with confidence and competence. However, scared doesn’t begin to identify the depth and breadth of the feeling that is experienced when our children with Reactive Attachment Disorder […]
Self Compassion for the Trauma Momma
We are delighted to bring you this guest blog from Robyn Gobbel, LCSW, who is a therapist specializing in adoption, attachment, and trauma and a founder of the Central Texas Attachment & Trauma Center. Robyn earned a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Utah and holds a Post-Graduate Certificate in Therapy with Foster […]