In Honor of Gregory C. Keck, PhD

We at the Attachment & Trauma Network were devastated this weekend to hear of the death of Gregory C. Keck, PhD, the founder of  the Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio, and a leader in the treatment of early trauma.  We plan to honor Dr. Keck with several memorial posts this week.  Our thoughts and […]

Lessons Learned: Good People Still Exist

by:  Craig Peterson GOOD PEOPLE STILL EXIST And thank goodness they do. Here’s why. After three days of dealing with her past trauma and feeling overwhelmed, my young adult daughter told me she couldn’t take any more stress. She had to escape. She put the key to her apartment under the doormat and left – […]

Therapeutic Parents — Check out These Trainings Coming Your Way

As we begin 2015, many of us may have resolved to learn more about early childhood/attachment trauma and attachment disorders. We may need to delve into how to be therapeutic parents or need a refresher in strategies to stay calm and provide a healing environment. The following events are not organized by the Attachment & […]

It’s Not Your Fault

by:  Gari Lister I spoke with a mom yesterday for close to an hour.  She wasn’t asking for help for her children — instead, she was desperate for help for herself.  Why?  Because she was frustrated that she hadn’t been able to accept that her children weren’t loving to her.  She blamed herself — the […]

Tuesday Toolbox: Using Family Traditions to Bond over the Holidays

December 9, 2014 by:  Gari Lister For many traumatized children, the holidays are stressful — changes in schedule and expectations, less physical activity and, of course, lots of close family time. Plus we parents inadvertently make things worse — as we stress about how to wrap all the presents, cook all the food and make […]

Facebook and Birth Family!

December 8, 2014 by: Deborah A. Novo I picked up the phone to hear my, then 18 year old son, say, “Mom, you will NEVER believe who I just found on facebook!” I found myself holding my breath as I instinctively knew to whom he was referring. The woman who gave birth to him and […]

Got Self Compassion?

December 4, 2014 by:  David Kerrigan In the holiday season, we’re reminded to remember the neediest among us. From every spiritual tradition I know of, we’re called to compassion, mercy, loving kindness, treating others as we would want to be treated… For therapeutic parents, that means having compassion for traumatized kids. Being patient when they’re […]

What ATN Means to Me

December 2, 2014 by:  Julie Beem A long time ago in what feels like a galaxy far away, I was a sleep-deprived mom of a raging toddler whose behaviors made absolutely no sense. I was an experienced “good enough” mom — so what was I doing wrong? My introduction to ATN came via a group […]

What ATN Means to Me

December 2, 2014 by:  Jane Samuel One night in 2007 I slipped away leaving my youngest daughter – who was well into one of  her daily tantrums – in the hands of my husband. Beyond despair I climbed the stairs to my bathroom on the third floor of our house where I hoped I couldn’t […]

What ATN Means to Me

December 2, 2014 by:  Gari Lister In 2007, I thought I knew all about attachment.  We had adopted an eleven year old from a Russian orphanage in 2002, and I had read  everything I could get my hands on, so I  was well versed in building attachment in older children.  What I didn’t understand, though, […]