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Mindfulness and Self Care for Professionals
January 27, 2022 – Introduction: For My favorite analogy for self-care is clichéd, but accurate. When you get on an airplane and the flight attendant gives that safety spiel, when they get to the part about the oxygen masks, the first thing they tell you is: “If you’re traveling with children or others who need assistance, […]
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Transitioning Children with Developmental Trauma into an Adoptive Home
January 27, 2021 – By incorporating The 3–5–7 Model: Preparing Children for Permanency, by Darla Henry, workers and families conduct the preparation work, assist the child in grieving losses, formulate self-identity, establish trust and security through attachments, and build relationships and openness to join families on a permanent basis. 3 Tasks, 5 Questions, 7 Skills The 3-5-7 […]
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Understanding the Ages and Stages in Adoption
January 27, 2021 – When I was at Harvard many, many years ago, I was looking at the developmental stages in adoption. My professors laughed and said there wasn’t a “psychology” of adoption. I told them there was indeed. I think Erik Erikson was the only one who “got it.” Having never known his father he […]
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Trauma’s Impact on Social Skills – Now What?
February 17, 2022 – I felt the sting as my girls, ages 7 and 7.5 headed out the door to catch the bus without as much as a wave. What was that? Were they blowing me off because I was short with them after the 5th reminder to brush their teeth? Or maybe they just don’t care that […]
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Silencing the Savior Complex
March 9, 2022 – I’m sure you’ve all experienced it…walking through the grocery store, leaving the school play, grabbing lunch at your favorite local diner, the church parking lot…it doesn’t matter where you are, I’m sure you can all spot them, or at the very least feel their stare as you wrangle the kids from point […]
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Finally, A Forever Family: The Shelleys’ Story
May 25, 2022 – Jacob entered foster care when he was six years old. His young life was marked by regular upheaval, bouncing between several foster homes and even two abandoned adoption attempts. As he became a teenager, Jacob still held onto the hope that he would find a family that would adopt him, but he […]
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How to Talk to Children in Foster Care about School Shootings
May 27, 2022 – It’s hard to find words in the wake of tragedy. The death of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Middle School in Uvalde, TX due to gun violence is just the latest in a long line of school shootings in the US over the past several decades. Knowing how to talk […]
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Building Your Family’s Adoption Profile
September 27, 2022 – The time has come, you’re finally ready to take the plunge into the world of Adoption! While you set aside time for training, background checks, paperwork, paperwork, and well…more paperwork, this is also a great time to start thinking about your family’s story and how you’d like to share information with professionals and […]
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We Will Never Be the Same: David and Debbie’s Story
November 16, 2022 – Among the host of things that unite Debbie and David, the most significant may be their lifelong commitment to caring for children; whether theirs through birth or adoption. When they married, Debbie had a daughter, Laurie*, from a previous relationship, and David was quick to love her as his own child. […]
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Intimidated by Adopting? Why You Don’t Have to Be Perfect
November 23, 2022 –Many people are intimidated when they think about adopting a child. Will I be a good enough role model? Will I provide well enough? What if I lose my temper or make a huge mistake in front of them? Well, let us be the first to say, none of these things should […]