Parent Coaching
For those seeking therapy for their child with attachment trauma, I invite parents to take advantage of the alternative option of parent coaching.
Parents are the most important agents of change while children are young and still developing their personalities. In my experience, parent coaching is an essential part of healing a child with attachment trauma. This is because parents have more influence on their child on a daily basis than a therapist can have one hour a week in their office.
My objective when coaching parents is to help them form a more secure attachment with their child. A better attachment results in better behavior. This is done by creating trust, which is accomplished by balancing nurture with structure and consistency.
My approach to parent coaching is attachment-focused. Parents appreciate this new parenting style because they learn:
High nurture/high structure parenting
New skills in listening to their child
How to empathize with and validate the child's feelings, which leads to better behavior
A different approach to discipline, which brings children closer to their parents instead of building resentment in both parent and child.
Learning new skills for a lifetime of parenthood, instead of expecting the therapist to “fix” their child.
Parent Coaching for Adolescents, Children & Families
Traditional therapy techniques are usually unproductive for children with attachment trauma (aka reactive attachment disorder (RAD) or complex trauma), since traditional therapy techniques rely on the child’s ability to form trusting relationships, which an attachment impaired child is unable to do. Unlike traditional therapy, attachment & trauma therapy seeks to build the bonds of trust between a parent and child, not between the therapist and child. Attachment & trauma therapy involves the parents and the child working together, so that the child is not left to confront their past trauma alone. Attachment & trauma therapy is directive, experiential and compassionate, in that it deals with the drama, trauma and truth of the child’s life.
I provide treatment fitted to the specific needs of each individual, child and family. My approach to attachment & trauma therapy is multi-faceted and may include any or all of the following:
Assessment and evaluation of the child for attachment trauma (reactive attachment disorder - RAD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or complex trauma, and other post-institutional and adoption issues
Assessment, evaluation and treatment of individuals (adolescents and adults) for complex and simple traumas occurring in the past or present
Experiential education in high nurture/high structure parenting
Trauma therapy using EMDR, narrative & bibliotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), art therapy, and dyadic developmental psychotherapy
Cognitive restructuring for adoption and trauma issues, including life-book creation
A Multi-faceted Approach
As part of my multi-faceted approach to trauma & attachment therapy, I frequently take into account the body-mind connection. There are many food allergies and intolerances that can cause irritability, hyperactivity, or even rageful outbursts in children. Additionally, many children with attachment trauma were deprived of the sensory input that infants need for their typical development. Many of my clients have shown dramatic improvement when the following elements were integrated into trauma & attachment therapy:
Examination for food allergies
Sensitivities to foods, artificial dyes and artificial preservatives
Both as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 15 years of experience, and as a mom who has “been there, done that,” I understand that building a loving relationship with your child is essential. Through my attachment-focused parent coaching, I will help you build this kind of relationship based on trust, mutual respect, and communication, which will last through the teenage years into adulthood.