As the parent of a graduating adoptee or foster child, you probably have been pondering numerous choices as your teen finishes high school, such as which college, technical school, or community college to attend; financial aid and scholarships; room mates and living arrangements. As a therapist who specializes in adoption, foster care, and trauma; I… Continue reading When Young Adult Adoptees & Foster Kids Leave Home for The First Time
Today's blog post is written by Karen Doyle Buckwalter, LCSW, Director of Program Strategy at Chaddock, a multi-service agency providing a range of residential, educational, and community-based services for youth, birth through age 21, and their families. While at Chaddock, she has been instrumental in the development of an innovative residential program for adolescents, ages 8… Continue reading Ghosts in the Adoption: Understanding the Impact of an Adoptive Parent’s Own History
The biosocial theory states that some people are born with a genetic predisposition to being emotionally sensitive. These individuals are emotionally reactive and have a hard time coming back to their baseline calm; and when the genetic predisposition is coupled with an invalidating environment it causes the child or teen to develop a pattern of… Continue reading 4 Handy Tips to Change Your Home or School Environment From Invalidating to Validating and Calm
Tera Melber and Lynette Ezell of Send Relief were so kind to ask me to speak on their podcast. Join us as I talk about choosing a therapist for your child.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy or "DBT" therapy was created by psychologist, Dr. Marsha Linehan. She initially created this therapy for individuals with chronic suicidality and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). (If you would like to read more about BPD and it's DSM 5 criteria, Dr. Robert Friedel has an informative blog post on his site, "Borderline Personality… Continue reading Borderline Personality Disorder, Insecure Attachment, and The Role of Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Today's blog post is written by guest blogger and life coach, Renee Witkowski. Renee is a professionally trained Christian life coach who specializes in the area of adoptive and foster families. I am so thankful Renee is sharing her experience and knowledge with us! Play Your Way into Connection My family has a funny story… Continue reading Play Your Way into Connection
DBT SKILLS: A LIFE IN BALANCE (This article was initially published in the June 2017 edition of Adoption Today. Please see citation at the end of the article.) Today, adolescent mental health is a concern our society, and around the world. Just reflecting on the names Columbine and Sandy Hook bring clear memories of devastation,… Continue reading DBT Skills: A Life In Balance
6 Practical Strategies to Improve Secure Attachment Cathy adopted her sixteen year old daughter, Rachel, from foster care at eight months of age. Cathy shares, “Rachel is on the dance team at school. This week they performed in front of the whole school, and Rachel was really nervous!” “I saw her walk into the gym,… Continue reading 6 Practical Strategies to Improve Secure Attachment
"We Are On Our Own In This" Last weekend I received a call from adoptive mom, Brenna, who was desperately searching for help for her family. She and her husband, John, had adopted a sibling group of three many years ago. (Names and situation has been altered to protect confidentiality.) The children are now in… Continue reading “We Are On Our Own In This”
carollozierlcsw.com 