My daughter started public elementary school this fall, and… it’s been a ride. While most of the changes are positive, as a child trauma specialist, I can’t unsee how little time she has to play during the school day. Play deprivation is a problem in American schools, and I’m not
I was recently chatting with a client who needed help coping with the often intense emotions of her toddler when she said, “I started sneaking out just to go to the grocery store because she gets so upset when I leave.” It dawned on me that I’ve heard some version
Last week, I watched the documentary AKA Charlie Sheen on Netflix, and one story he told kept me up that night. It was a single moment early in his life that seemed to reverberate across everything that followed. Over and over, we watch him take his life almost too far.
Here’s a truth many people don’t realize before they become parents or work with children: Unaddressed trauma gets passed from person to person, like a virus, and if we aren’t paying attention, we can unintentionally spread our trauma to the children we love and care for. Oof, I may have
It started with a shoe. It had Velcro instead of laces. Little kid size 10. And it zoomed past my head after a visit between a child and his mother in an under-resourced supervised visitation room. He was almost 4 years old with curly hair. His words were few. But
Content Note: This newsletter includes reflections on birth trauma from my personal experience. If this feels too close to home today, or you think it might upset you, feel free to skip it or come back when you’re ready. June is PTSD Awareness Month, and there’s one form of trauma
Summer break is about a month away, and while this is a happy time for most, children living in trauma and adversity often feel extra stressed this time of year. I mean, Moms don’t call it “Maycember” for nothing. We are also stressed, which kids will pick up on. The
I’m just going to say it, Mother’s Day sucks for some people. As this day approaches each year, a familiar feeling creeps over me. It initially appears as irritability and fatigue, but eventually reveals itself as my old friend, grief. I lost my mom suddenly in 2005, and later became
We’ve all heard the warnings: “Don’t distract your child from their feelings,” or “They must sit with their emotions to learn resilience.” As a trauma therapist and a mom myself, I found myself nodding along with these messages… until reality taught me otherwise and I learned the secret to co-regulation
Introducing a New Approach to Supervised Visits When children enter foster or kinship care, they lose more than just their home and their parents. They also lose: Connection to their culture/religion/rituals A sense of belonging Their role in the family or community Friends, teachers, coaches, mentors Important items …Which
