Shame: One Mom’s Thoughts
In the world of therapeutic parenting and developmental trauma, we hear a lot about shame. Professionals write lots of great articles about it. This is my perspective as a mom. When I first read about shame in our kids, I was pretty positive that my often narcissistic son could not have that issue. I looked […]
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.”
Giving Ourselves and Others a Break
Time to take a break. Friendly neighborhood blog manager here. Life is doing that thing right now where it dumps a heap of overwhelm. Yet I want to preserve what’s left of my sanity. And I want to continue the string of (hopefully!) helpful posts on the ATN blog. Therefore I am taking a couple […]
Creating Connections, Finding Support
I am sitting on airplane headed back home to my real life. I have been at a retreat/conference with a hundred moms of kids from hard places. We had classes and support groups…and chocolate and hot tub time. We did a fair bit of lying in the sun and a whole lot of talking. From […]
When The Political Becomes Personal
Last week was just plain emotionally exhausting! As the mom of a child who experienced severe early childhood trauma, a mom who has spent the last two decades immersed in the study of what these early traumas (abuse, neglect, exposure to violence, separation from your parent) do to the developing brains of infants and toddlers, […]
Oh No…He’s One of “Ours”
–by Julie Beem I knew it. As the news poured in on that Wednesday afternoon about the shooting at the Broward County high school, my heart sank, not only for the unspeakable trauma of all involved and the loss of so many lives, but for whatever had…or hadn’t…happened before to this young man we now […]
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 […]
Are Traumatized Children Hopeless?
–by Julie Beem I’ve been to a handful of post-adoption conferences this spring and summer. After working with ATN for over a decade, I have been excited by the number of workshops and speakers addressing early childhood trauma, and in some cases citing the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Study. I remember all too well the […]
Welcome back!
–Laura Dennis, blog manager Welcome back! These are exciting times at ATN! We apologize for the temporary absence of the blog. We have missed you, and hope you feel the same. Thankfully, we are back online and ready and raring to go! This week we are blessed to have Craig Peterson share a great piece on FASD, then later this […]
ATN Angel Encore: Julie Beem
In celebration of ATN’s 2016 Angels in Adoption award, we’re profiling ATN members who have helped ATN win the award — and who have themselves been Angels to families and children. Editor’s note: Many contributors remember that first time an ATN member saved our life. Some ATN members have saved many lives, and so for them, […]