Grandparents raising their grandchildren is on the rise in the United States. According to PBS NEWSHOUR, grandparents raising their grandchildren has increased 7% since 2009 and that number is expected to grow. While there are a variety of reasons children may live with their grandparents including death, incarceration or mental illness, the opioid crisis is a major recent contributor and is impacting thousands of children and families. When adult children cannot take care of

Steps to Successful Co-parenting Being a parent is a huge responsibility and often times one that is shared with a co-parent. A co-parent is the person (or people) who helps to raise your child in one way or another. This could be your spouse, an ex, your ex’s spouse, or even a friend or family member. In my experience as a clinician for children and adolescents, having adults that are able to co-parent in a respectful, collaborative, and accepting way is one of the most impo

Wanna know a little secret? I love tough cases. Like really love them and I’ve thrived on the excitement, collaboration, and professional growth associated with high risk, complex cases. I find these types of clients inspiring, impactful, and sometimes energizing. But you know what else? I’m an extremely sensitive gal and I feel things really strongly. I think that is in part what helps me to connect with my clients, but it can also cause me to feel drained or burnt out. At l

Working with a child who has experienced chronic, complex trauma and hasn’t yet developed the skills or allowed herself to risk developing a safe, reciprocal, healthy connection is one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I’ve ever had as a clinician. I can now look back at Maria, my first long term client in residential care and understand that her constant rejection of my support, impressively skilled ability at pressing buttons I didn’t know I had and motivati

As I sit down to write about ways to embrace change, I can’t help but laugh at how well I (didn’t) follow my advice last night, at least not initially. I had a really long day yesterday and after working over 12 hours, I finally got home and had a chance to have dinner and reflect on the results of the election. I wish I could say that I maturely identified and expressed my feelings, or went to yoga and meditated, but sadly I can’t. The way I managed change was to hide unde

When I was 18, I thought I knew it all. I dreamed of going to a big college campus far away from home where I could experience diversity, meet tons of new people, and start the next phase of my life. Well, It certainly started a new phase in my life but not quite the one I was expecting. Full of sleepless nights, sadness, and anxiety, I focused primarily on academics, in between obsessively communicating via aim (AOL instant messenger for all you millennials) with my long dis

Every child deserves to feel heard and understood. We all struggle with finding the right words to explain ourselves from time to time, but for many children, especially those who struggle socially and emotionally, expressing emotions can be a huge challenge. When kids can’t find the words to express how they feel, they have no choice but to use behaviors. For younger children, this can look like tantrums, throwing things, or crying fits. For older kids, lack of emotional awa

Communication is key. However, for kids who have experienced abuse and neglect, communication can be a very difficult task. Children may have a tough time identifying and expressing how they feel, or may misinterpret others’ words leading to frustration and defensiveness. As a parent, teacher, or provider for children and teens who have survived trauma, it is so important to learn and practice strategies to support healthy communication. Below are a few techniques that I have