Adoption and fostering Books

Book SynopsisThis book aims to share information about the experiences of birth parents and those currently working therapeutically with them, with the hope of promoting greater understanding and improved service development.With contributions from birth parents and professionals in the field, this book articulates the huge emotional challenges and pain faced by birth parents. Grounded in their experiences and drawing on the latest research, it outlines good practice for professionals, and puts forward a range of models for intervention, from very straightforward practical support through to therapeutic approaches and interventions.Practical and compassionate, this book provides a deep understanding of birth parents and their support needs which will inform not only individual practice, but also encourages the development of more humane and effective support services.Trade ReviewAdoption can be the step that breaks a generations-long cycle of family dysfunction. Birth parents are all too often living with the consequences of the same early childhood trauma that adoptive parents recognise in their children, and unlike them, may never had access to a safe, stable and loving home. This book is an important contribution to the debate around extending our growing understanding of the importance of therapeutic support to everyone involved in adoption. It belongs on the desk of everyone involved in policy and practice for vulnerable families. -- Dr Sue Armstrong Brown, CEO of Adoption UKThe needs of birth parents whose children have been adopted have not been sufficiently prioritised. This book shows powerfully why and how that matters for birth parents, for their children and for society. It does so in an engaging, rigorous, and balanced way that illustrates what can and is being done. Most importantly, it does so with humanity. -- Teresa Williams, CAFCASS Director and member of the National Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership BoardThis book opens our eyes to the lifetime impact of adoption on birth families. It is also a powerful testament of the huge benefits to children when birth relatives are supported to play an appropriate role in their lives, giving children confidence in who they are and adding to the security provided by their adoptive family. Everyone wanting to build a better future for children should read this book. -- Maggie Jones, CEO, Consortium of Voluntary Adoption AgenciesThis book specifically focuses on the therapeutic needs of birth parents, whose children are adopted. The words of the mothers and fathers quoted in the book are haunting and help shine a light on the experiences of parents, whose children are permanently removed from them, and who for too long have been disregarded, shamed, ignored or vilified. The perspectives and voices of these birth parents is essential in understanding their need for therapeutic support and in shaping the nature of such support. -- Cathy Ashley, Chief Executive, Family Rights GroupThe system has long failed to support birth parents who lose their children to adoption. This book highlights a range of practice and experiences that together powerfully show we can help birth parents to overcome their loss and to be better prepared to parent in the future. -- Mark Owers, Government Adviser on Looked After Children and Permanence and member of the National Stability Board and the Adoption and Special Guardianship BoardUnderstanding the needs of birth parents and what works in providing them with the support and help to change is a moral imperative; but it can also deliver improved outcomes for them, their families and the children who have been removed from their care. So there is a good 'business case' too. This book is a collection of findings which makes a major contribution to this better understanding.A key component of the Adoption & Special Guardianship Leadership Board's 'modernising permanence' programme is to develop practice which helps adopted children and children subject to other 'permanence' orders better understand their origins and their past. The findings described in this book have a significant part to play in the development of that thinking. -- Andrew Christie, Chair, Adoption & Special Guardianship Leadership BoardAdoption has changed, is changing and will continue to change. 'Supporting Birth Parents whose Children have been Adopted' really puts emphasis on adoption being a life long experience. It helpfully opens your mind to how it can be improved and done differently, and how working with birth families in a meaningful way can lead to a positive change. In an ideal world we would have no need for adoption, but we do not live in an ideal world, so we must concentrate on joining up the corners and multiple layers for everyone affected by adoption. This book provides a number of strategies to achieve that and should be referenced to all adults (including those thinking about adopting or working in adoption), so that we understand that one size can not and will not fit all. -- Scott Casson-Rennie, Adoptive parent and co-host of the Adoption & Fostering Podcast

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Book SynopsisWritten for busy foster carers and adoptive parents, this book provides a concise introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and how to support a child with a diagnosis. It emphasises the common strengths children with ASD have, as well as offering strategies for any behavioural issues that are likely to arise, highlighting how these can be exacerbated by the care system and adoption process.The first part of the book looks at the different aspects of autism and the challenges it can pose for children and parents, providing strategies for managing difficulties at home and at school, using social stories, and reducing sensory input in a child's environment. The second part looks at issues that arise for fostered or adopted children, including placement transitions, contact, and explaining the past. It concludes with helping parents to think about self-care.Trade ReviewAdoption UK regularly supports adoptive parents who are struggling to decide whether their children has autism or an attachment disorder and what difference those two diagnosis might mean. This book will be invaluable to them as it provides a really helpful and simple description of how autism can present in different children, and how this can be similar to attachment difficulties. This book will help parents to get to know their child and their autism. It provides lots of real life examples and explores issues specific to adoption - such as moving from fostering to adoption. It will be invaluable bedside reading for many adopters. -- Ann Bell, Adoption UKAs an specialist autism professional, an adopter and an ex-foster carer, I found this book is a joy to read! It is rare that a book by professionals is so accessible. It will be a great resource for support workers, teaching assistants, care staff and professionals who want a book about autism and attachment that they can read easily, rather than academic text books. -- Heather Moran, Consultant Child Clinical Psychologist, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust, NHS UK Author of the Coventry GridAccessibly written and fantastically informative. The authors bring clarity and certainty to what is often a misunderstood and inaccessible word and present it in an easy and relatable form. -- Al Coates MBE, Social Worker/Trainer/SpeakerTable of ContentsPreface; 1: What Is Autism? 2: How Is Autism Assessed? 3: Overriding Principles For Parenting A Child With Autism; 4: Everyday Transitions At Home And School; 5: Placement Transitions & Contact; 6: Attachment & Belonging; 7: Life Story, Loss And Trauma; 8: Looking After Yourself; 9: Seeking Help And Resources; Appendix 1: Getting To Know My Child

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Book SynopsisThere are thousands of grandparents raising their grandchildren in the United Kingdom, the majority as a consequence of parental drug use or mental health issues. This book recounts the real-life stories of grandparent carers who chose to put their own lives on hold so that their loved ones can be properly cared for.Whilst most grandparent carers remain as unsupported informal carers, some seek to formalise their position by becoming Social Services Kinship Carers or achieve legal routes to independent care as Special Guardians or with a Child Arrangement Order. Whether formal or informal, full-time grandparent carers face life-changing futures. Immediate concerns are work, child care, the behaviour of the child, contact with the birth parents and financial support, and there is often no clear path to learning their rights and available support. There is also the challenge involved in balancing their bonds with their adult children while protecting their grandchildren. In this book, grandparents talk in detail about these issues and of how professionals and services have at times helped and not helped. These candid stories also explore how moving to live with grandparents can be experienced by both child and carer as simultaneously a gain and a loss.The stories offer support, and the book also includes professional advice to encourage grandparents to acknowledge their value, accept their limitations, develop realistic expectations about what they can and cannot achieve, and recognise that all successes should be celebrated.Trade ReviewThere is nothing more important to a child's life chances than being raised in a safe, stimulating and nurturing environment. The contribution and sacrifice of grandparents who step in to provide this is, therefore, of immeasurable value and should be supported as much as possible. This collection of testimonies will, I trust, offer reassurance, a sense of community and much practical wisdom to grandparents who are similarly placed. -- The Rt Hon Frank Field MP DL, Member of Parliament for BirkenheadThis book is a powerful collection of grandparents' experiences of stepping in to care for their grandchildren as kinship carers, their sacrifices and struggles for support. It's also full of love and hope - grandparents putting their grandchildren first and doing whatever it takes to support them; kinship carers supporting each other through peer support groups. And, importantly, it's a rallying cry for more recognition and support for kinship carers who have been taken for granted for too long. -- Dr Lucy Peake, chief executive, Grandparents PlusThis is a vitally important book for anyone caring for or considering caring for grandchildren, anyone who in the informal network around someone caring for grandchildren and for agencies working with these families. The stories are painful to read but show determination and dedication. They are hopeful stories for families struggling with the impact of addiction. This is a book of acquired wisdom and resourceful information. -- Joy Hasler, grandparent and founder of Catchpoint, a registered Adoption Support Agency

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Book SynopsisCaleb invites you on a journey to learn about attachment and trauma in this interactive story and workbook intended for children and the adults who support them. Caleb shares his own story about healing from his difficult early experiences, and encourages readers to join him in sharing their stories and completing the healing activities included in the book. Caleb's Healing Story identifies the common challenges that children who have experienced attachment or trauma issues will encounter and offers easy to use interventions in the form of activities and worksheets. Fully illustrated, it is suitable for children aged 5-14, as well as their family, friends and those working with children who present with these issues. It is the ideal companion to A Safe Place for Caleb, by the same author, which outlines theories, definitions and strategies for addressing attachment and trauma-related disorders.Trade ReviewChildren that arrive in the adoptive family with early "hurts" need help healing. These youngsters fair better when they have the opportunity to process their experiences and their grief. Caleb, who we had the opportunity to meet in A Safe Place for Caleb, returns in Caleb's Healing Story to share the types of topics and interventions that helped him deal with his losses and join his adoptive family, the Smiths. We learn how Caleb's loss of birth family affects his day-to-day life. We gain the insight needed to initiate conversation about difficult stuff! An abundance of worksheets and activities are interwoven with the content of Caleb's story! So, we are also given practical tools to help boys and girls - like Caleb - cope and flourish! If you seek ideas about helping children to develop positive self-talk, manage triggers, improve their behavior, express their feelings, see their successes, see themselves as happier kids at home and at school - and much more - this is the workbook for you! Ideas to help parents balance the challenges a traumatized adoptee can present with their own emotional well-being conclude the workbook. Thus, the book becomes a complete resource for facilitating strong connections among all members of the adoptive family! I do recommend reading and using this workbook to help facilitate attachment in adoptive families! -- Arleta M. James, LPCC, Founder and Director, Adoption & Attachment Therapy Partners LLCAs a child therapist, I am often looking for resources when working with children with attachment struggles and disorders. This book by Dr. Chara and Ms. Lehner is a gift for therapists working with this population. The book is narrated by Caleb, an adult looking back and reflecting on his story and experiences as a child. He encourages the child reader and therapist-guide to join him in bearing witness to his own experiences and then having the child identify his or her own experiences. This gentle and healing approach will be appreciated by therapists and their child clients. I'm grateful for this resource to enhance the healing work that I've been invited to do. -- Alexis Greeves, LPCC, RPT-S, Vice President, Minnesota Association for Play TherapyI like the personal stories of the children and how they responded to difficult life stresses. I like how Chara and Lehner incorporated the practical hands-on ways of working out the child's pain and grief. Both Chara and Lehner have a special gift with children. -- Jeanette Vought, PhD, LP, LMFT, LICSW, AuthorCaleb's Healing Story is a helpful book for therapists helping children who have been adopted or are in foster care to recover from abuse and strained attachment. Through narrative approaches and visual strategies, Chara and Lehner have created a book that makes difficult-to-understand concepts clear and understandable, allowing children to better express themselves and make meaning of their own healing narrative. This book brings value, using it from cover to cover or pulling select chapters and worksheets to tailor treatment approaches as needed. -- Sara Ranssi, LICSW, Mental Health TherapistCaleb's Healing Story is a heart-warming and thought-provoking book. It follows a 'typical day' for Caleb and gently discusses issues such as lying, stealing, anger and stress, in an easy-to-understand way and from a child's perspective. When completed at the appropriate time in a child's journey, this book and associated activities could prove to be extremely helpful. -- Jennifer Jones, Inspired Foundations, www.inspiredfoundations.co.ukTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. Introduction to Parents, Caregivers, and Professionals. Characters. Caleb's City Map. Part 1: Caleb's Story. 1. The Boy who has a Story to Tell. 2. The Case of the Missing Chocolate Chips. 3. Anger is Not My Friend. 4. When the Past is Not the Past. 5. Healing is Hard Work. 6. The Shadow in the Corner? 7. Healing Kids Celebrate. Part 2: Activities and Assessments. Healing Activities and Assessments for Children and Teens. Healing Activities and Assessments for Parents and Caregivers. Part 3: Resources. Guidelines and Recommendations for Professionals. Further Reading. Helpful Organizations, Websites, Contacts. Glossary. Index.

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Book Synopsis"Every child's way of being can open doors to wisdom, compassion, and human connection. We need only to listen."This is among the conclusions that the authors, one of whom is an experienced foster parent and the other a professor of developmental psychology, draw as a result of working with a diverse range of children and families. Inspired by their relationships with families in crisis, the authors began to rethink the traditional foster care models and developed an innovative practice that afforded birth parents the opportunity to reside, under supervision, with their children during evaluation and treatment. Drawing on over 20 years of work in foster care, along with current attachment research and theory, this book conveys the foster care experience with recommendations for improved models of care and intervention strategies.Engaging case studies depict the challenging nature of determining the best outcome for a child and of supporting the adult's journey as a parent. Written in a narrative style and supported by in-depth research, this book will aid social workers and foster care professionals to better understand families in crisis and to further develop their practice.Trade ReviewThis fine book helps the reader recognize the cost we pay in separating children from their primary caregivers and how this can become an eventual obstacle to reunification. With a high degree of reverence for this complexity, it challenges society: if we want to help the child, we must help the family. -- Fr. Gregory J. Boyle, Founder of Homeboy Industries and Author of Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless CompassionThis book is a gem! Using the highly evocative stories of parents and their children who have experienced maltreatment, the authors present a relationship-based system of foster care grounded in attachment research. -- Julie A. Larrieu, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of MedicineCreating Compassionate Foster Care makes the therapeutic challenges of helping abusive and neglectful parents real and compelling. This book is both a meditation on changing "internal working models" that lead to child abuse and neglect and the outline of an agenda for reinventing foster care for infants and toddlers. -- Dee Wilson, former child welfare administrator and author of The Sounding Board, Child Welfare Commentaries.If everyone in the foster care system, from policy makers to parents, embraced the relational knowledge in this book I believe it would revolutionize the entire approach to helping some of our most vulnerable children and families. -- Bert Powell, co-creator of The Circle of SecurityThe stories within these pages offer every reader hope and something of a roadmap as to how vulnerability, mixed with commitment and solid science, can create opportunities for children and families that are often considered beyond hope. -- Kent Hoffman, Circle of Security InternationalThis gem of a volume is wise, sensitive, honest and informative. For those who work with children and families who are struggling, it is a refreshing reminder of the value of embracing all involved. -- Charles H. Zeanah, Jr., M.D., Vice Chair, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Tulane University, USAA timely and valuable book that offers insight, judicious examination, compassion, hope and authentic guidance in what is an emotionally charged and challenging area. -- Bob Lonne, B Soc Wk, Ph.D., Professor of Social Work & Discipline Leader, University of New England, AustraliaTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. One Day. Foreword. Preface. PART 1: Lessons Learned from Children and Families. 1. Rickie. 2. Rachel. 3. Barbara and Nathan. 4. Hannah and Ashley. 5. Lucy. 6. Desirae and her Children. PART II: Reflection: Ideas for More Compassionate (and More Effective) Foster Care. Introduction to Part II. 7. Through the Eyes of the Child. 8. Insights into Intervention. 9. The Meaning and Measure of Change. 10. Final Reflections. A Special Place. Chapter Notes. References. Further Reading.

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Book SynopsisOne sunny day, Bomji the rabbit and his friend Spotty the cat meet something very scary while picking flowers in the woods. The friends manage to escape, but afterwards Bomji just doesn't feel safe anymore. His body feels a bit different and he starts to have bad dreams. His friend Spotty is worried about Bomji - how can her friend be helped? Luckily, wise Teacher Owl is there for them. This therapeutic picture book allows children and adults to talk about a frightening experience. The story is followed by helpful guidance for adults on how to help their child. It explores how your body and how you feel is affected by scary experiences, and explains how you can use your body to help to recover too.Trade ReviewThe pictures and rich descriptive text convey the real life experience of so many children ... Children will feel relieved and understood as they recognize themselves and their peers in the characters. -- Pat Ogden, Founder, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy InstituteA brilliant addition to the field of mental health for the treatment of trauma in children ... accessible, educational and fun for clients, parents and therapists alike. Bravo! -- Frank Anderson, MD, Psychotherapist, psychiatrist and Executive Director, Foundation of Self LeadershipDelightful ... The Guide for Grown Ups at the end of the book offers child-friendly ways to extend the value of the story into everyday life, and bolsters parent understanding. -- Elizabeth S. Warner, Psy.D, Clinical psychologist and SMART Project Director, Trauma Center at JRIPractical and accessible ... This important and timely series is a must read for anyone who has a need for trauma literacy. -- Nicola McClung, Ph.D., Mother and Assistant Professor, School of Education, University of San FranciscoAllows parents to take to task the tough questions about trauma ... then guide their child to feel better. This will be a valued book on many shelves. -- Lenea Keltner, Director, Whitman County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)Westcott and Hu have done a wonderful job ... a story with relatable characters that will help children to heal. -- Rochelle Sharpe Lohrasbe, PhD, RCC, EMDRIA-approved consultant in EMDR, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy InstituteTable of ContentsAbout the Hidden Strengths Series. Bomji and Spotty's Frightening Adventure. Let's Talk about Bomji and Spotty's Frightening Adventure. Play Time. Guide for Grown Ups.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents an innovative relational and community based therapeutic model to ensure children's essential attachment needs are catered for in intensive mental health care.The text combines an overview of theory relating to attachment and trauma before laying out a model for working with children and adolescents in an attachment-informed way. The approach applies to a diverse range of settings - from in-patient psychiatric settings, through to schools-based programs, and provides the reader with the knowledge and guidance they need to introduce the approach in their own service. It also addresses the complexities of working with specific clinical populations, including children with ADHD, ASD, RAD and psychosis. Accessible for entry level clinical caretakers, yet sophisticated enough for clinical supervisors, this book is essential reading for professionals looking to improve the effectiveness of child and adolescent treatment programs.Trade ReviewIn Attachment-Based Milieus, John Stewart shares his original and practical approach to utilize relationship based approaches to healing. In a clear and well-written way, he provides us with the tools to leverage our Paleolithic tribal instincts in the service of plasticity and positive change -- Louis Cozolino PhD, Professor of Psychology, Pepperdine UniversityJohn Stewart has given us a gift. This book expands our use of attachment theory and provides a road map for institutions to travel on towards more secure base milieu care. -- Guy Diamond, Director, Center for Family Intervention Science, Drexel University, Professor Emeritus, University of PennsylvaniaJohn Stewart's new work is an excellent endeavor to describe the complex qualities that are central in developing and maintaining a milieu that provides young people with the relationships that they need to begin to trust. -- From the foreword by Dan Hughes, psychologist and founder of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy

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Book SynopsisThis book presents an innovative relational and community based therapeutic model to ensure children's essential attachment needs are catered for in intensive mental health care.The text combines an overview of theory relating to attachment and trauma before laying out a model for working with children and adolescents in an attachment-informed way. The approach applies to a diverse range of settings - from in-patient psychiatric settings, through to schools-based programs, and provides the reader with the knowledge and guidance they need to introduce the approach in their own service. It also addresses the complexities of working with specific clinical populations, including children with ADHD, ASD, RAD and psychosis. Accessible for entry level clinical caretakers, yet sophisticated enough for clinical supervisors, this book is essential reading for professionals looking to improve the effectiveness of child and adolescent treatment programs.Trade ReviewJohn Stewart's new work is an excellent endeavor to describe the complex qualities that are central in developing and maintaining a milieu that provides young people with the relationships that they need to begin to trust. -- From the foreword by Dan Hughes, psychologist and founder of Dyadic Developmental PsychotherapyIn Attachment-Based Milieus, John Stewart shares his original and practical approach to utilize relationship based approaches to healing. In a clear and well-written way, he provides us with the tools to leverage our Paleolithic tribal instincts in the service of plasticity and positive change -- Louis Cozolino PhD, Professor of Psychology, Pepperdine UniversityJohn Stewart has given us a gift. This book expands our use of attachment theory and provides a road map for institutions to travel on towards more secure base milieu care. -- Guy Diamond, Director, Center for Family Intervention Science, Drexel University, Professor Emeritus, University of PennsylvaniaTable of ContentsSection I. Introduction to Theory Informed Treatment and Attachment Theory. Chapter 1. Treatment within a Theoretical Model. Chapter 2. What's Wrong with the Kids we Serve in Intensive Treatment Settings and What do they Need to Heal? Chapter 3. Introduction to Attachment Theory. Chapter 4. Attachment needs within a three stage developmental framework. Section II. Supporting Healing Attachments in the Treatment Milieu. Chapter 5. How are attachments formed and how is this applied in the treatment milieu. Chapter 6. Understanding and using co-regulation of emotion as a precursor to self-regulation in the treatment milieu. Chapter 7. Executive functioning weaknesses, attachment and organization of the treatment milieu. Chapter 8. Attachment Informed limit setting within the intensive treatment milieu. Chapter 9. Rewriting (healing) shame-based self-narratives within the treatment milieu. Chapter 10. What gets in the way of the attachment informed stance for clinical caretakers? Chapter 11. Institutional support for attachment informed work. Chapter 12. Attachment informed work within the treatment milieu with special population. Chapter 13. Special Strategies and Considerations. Chapter 14. Kindness. Conclusion

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Book SynopsisNurturing Attachments Training Resource is a complete group-work programme containing everything you need to run training and support sessions for adoptive parents and foster or kinship carers. Based on attachment theory and developed by expert author and trainer Kim Golding, this rich resource provides an authoritative set of ideas for therapeutically parenting children along with all the guidance you will need to implement the training.The training resource includes theoretical content and process notes for facilitators, and a range of activities supported by online downloadable content with photocopiable reflective diary sheets, activity sheets and handouts. It is structured into 3 modules with 6 sessions per module. Module 1: Provides an understanding of attachment theory, patterns of attachment and an introduction to therapeutic parenting. Module 2: Introduces the House Model of Parenting, providing guidance on how to help the children experience the family as a secure base. Module 3: Continues exploring the House Model of Parenting, with consideration of how parents can both build a relationship with the children and manage their behaviour. This will be an invaluable resource and one-stop guide for any professionals involved in training foster carers and adoptive parents, as well as residential child care workers and kinship carers.Trade ReviewI am thrilled to be able to highly recommend Kim Golding's latest book Nurturing Attachments Training Resource to those providing professional services to adoptive parents and carers of traumatized children with attachment difficulties. This highly readable work presents in detail Kim's group training program for adoptive parents and carers that she has used for a number of years. Kim presents clearly the three modules (each involving six sessions) that make up the training and includes handouts and other materials that can be copied and utilized. She presents the key components of the group process itself as well as supportive research to demonstrate the effectiveness of the program.Kim's comprehensive and creative work will also be of great benefit to professionals in the development of their own knowledge of raising children and youth impacted by trauma and attachment problems. Professionals may also use these materials to guide their interventions with individual families. Finally, adoptive parents and carers may also find this work of help when facing the unique struggles they encounter in their efforts to provide good care to their vulnerable children.In short, I am certain that Kim's work will contribute greatly to our efforts both to understand the care that these children need as well as to guide their parents and carers in their efforts to provide such care. We will all experience much gratitude to Kim for Nurturing Attachments Training Resource in the years ahead. -- Daniel A. Hughes, Ph.D., President of the Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy Institute, Pennsylvania, USAFoster carers and adoptive parents can make bringing up children and young people with complex needs and helping them feel part of their new families appear effortless, but my experience of working with some of the best shows that it's far from easy. I welcome any resource that supports carers to do this well. This material, from an author with a great deal of knowledge about the tasks involved, and with its focus on what they can do and everyday strategies which will make a difference, is very welcome. -- Dr Andrea Warman, social care research, policy and development consultant, UKIn Nurturing Attachments Kim Golding explores parenting children who have attachment and trauma-related difficulties in a theoretically sound manner. Golding's work will be a valuable resource for anyone facilitating parent education/support groups. This programme will not only help its users develop a comprehensive understanding of the complexities that exist in the relationships they have with their children, but also show how they can use this understanding to transform these relationships. Golding has done a masterful job at integrating theory with a practicality that will enable parents to feel more effective in their parenting roles. -- Gregory C. Keck, Ph.D., Founder/Director of the Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio, USA, Co-author of Adopting the Hurt Child (2009), Parenting the Hurt Child (2002), and author of Parenting Adopted Adolescents (2009)This is an excellent training manual and provides a structured programme with theory-based strategies for therapeutic parenting... The course gives a good overview of attachment theory and the core difficulties for traumatized children... The material is well illustrated with relevant case studies and advice on common problems which can occur in running groups for parents.Golding's work will be an invaluable resource for anyone facilitating parent education/support groups. -- Peter McBride, trainer and independent social worker * Seen and Heard *

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Book SynopsisZara H. Phillips seemed to live a charmed life - backing singer to the stars with an incredible career here and across the Atlantic - but her smile masked a difficult childhood and the reality that she was adopted as a baby in the 60s. Her life soon spiralled and as a teenager she suffered from drug and alcohol addiction, as she struggled to find her birth parents and her true identity.Somebody's Daughter is a fascinating and revealing account of how a beautiful woman's life has been dominated by her adoption and how it has affected her and those around her. Hard-hitting and emotional, Zara's memoir explores the needs of adopted children, with her characteristic warmth and wit, and the true journey it takes to find where you belong.

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Book SynopsisOfficially supported and endorsed by the Theraplay Institute, this handbook provides concrete assistance from international experts on deepening Theraplay knowledge and skills in much-needed and requested areas of practice.With up-to-date information on Theraplay theory, applications and implementation, the chapters cover Theraplay with infants, toddlers, school aged children and adolescents. Home, school, and out-patient mental health settings are all covered in detail, as well as dyadic and group forms of Theraplay. Client issues include interpersonal violence, LGBTQ families, anxiety, child sexual abuse, transitioning from foster care to adoption, and deaf and hard of hearing. Additionally, extensive information is provided about working with caregivers including discussion of their own attachment history, practice sessions before including the child, and regular caregiver-only sessions to process and strengthen Theraplay treatment.This book is essential for any Theraplay practitioner wanting to ensure their approach is fully informed and carefully tailored to meet their client's needs.Table of Contents1. An Overview of the Theraplay ModelSandra Lindaman, Rana Hong, Danielle Maxonight and Fiona Peacock2. Ghosts in the Theraplay Room - Exploring, Considering and Understanding the Impact of a Caregiver's Own History on Theraplay TreatmentKaren Doyle Buckwalter3. Prenatal and Infant TheraplaySaara Salo and Hanna Lampi4. Theraplay with AdolescentsFiona Peacock5. Sunshine Circles: Universal Best Practice for Young Children in Preschool ClassroomsKay Schieffer6. Home-Based TheraplayAnnie Kiermaier7. Theraplay Adaptations for Anxiety DisordersDanielle H. Maxonight8. Using Theraplay to Treat Clients of Child Sexual AbuseElizabeth Konrath and Eliana Gil9. Using Theraplay to Help Children who are Moving FamiliesViv Norris10. Theraplay with Families Affected by Domestic ViolenceDonna M. Gates11. Adapting Theraplay for Affirmative Intervention with LGBTQ FamiliesLauren C. Smithee12. Theraplay with Children who are Deaf or Hard of HearingAlexis Greeves and Nicki Melby

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Book SynopsisMeet Lucie - she is a rambunctious, inquisitive, seven-year-old girl who was adopted! Lucie has lots of questions about everything. When Lucie's pregnant Aunt Grace and Uncle John come to visit, new curiosities bubble into Lucie's mind. What does the baby do in there? Does he eat? That night Lucie has an amazing dream, that her birth parents are a king and queen who live in a castle. She knows she grew in her birth mother's tummy, but if her birth parents lived in a castle, why didn't they keep her?The next day, Dad helps her to make an amazing discovery - he tells her how to find a special connection with her birth parents, and how you can too!Forever Fingerprints is a heartwarming, fun story written for children aged 5-11 which uses an everyday experience to embark upon a gentle exploration of some of the difficult questions and feelings commonly expressed by children who are adopted. Adoption expert Sherrie Eldridge also provides a valuable 'Parent Tools and Activities' section, with ideas for creative activities and suggestions on how to explore issues such as belonging, identity, self-esteem and connection.

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Book SynopsisDesigned as a professional complement to Sarah Naish's bestselling A-Z of Therapeutic Parenting, this tried and tested resource offers practical tools for all professionals supporting therapeutic families.Based on the latest research, and with photocopiable worksheets, pro formas and charts to use with parents, these tools will help you to build supportive and stable relationships with families and reduce family breakdown.The resource is structured into three parts:1. The Trauma Tracker Tool - designed to support the stability of the family and to predict possible incidents by providing an understanding of the presenting behaviours in the context of the child's history2. The Developmental Foundation Planner - to help professionals to identify and address unmet developmental needs in a structured way as soon as a child is placed with a family and thereby help reduce instances of family breakdown3. The Behaviour - Assessment of Impact and Resolution Tool (BAIRT) - which enables practitioners of most levels to engage in a step by step intervention, breaking down the most complex behaviours with a problem solving supportive process, thereby reducing the effects of blocked care and enabling engagement with parents in an honest, positive process. Simple to use, and easy to implement, these tools will enable you to create therapeutic, trauma-informed assessments, intervention and support.

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Book SynopsisA sensitive picture book to help ease the anxieties of foster children aged 4 to 10 entering placement.In A Different Home, Jessie tells us her story of being placed in foster care. At first she is worried and has lots of questions. The new home is not like her old home -- she has a different bedroom, different clothes, and there's different food for breakfast. She also misses her family. When Jim and Debbie, her foster parents, answer her questions she begins to feel better and see that this different home is kind of nice. Written in simple language and fully illustrated in color, this storybook is designed to help children in care, or moving into care, to settle in and answer some of the questions they may have. Accompanied by notes for adults on how to use the story with children, it will be a useful book for foster parents and caseworkers, as well as social workers, teachers and anyone else working with children in foster care.Trade ReviewThe depth of empathy running through the story is heartfelt. I could hear, smell and feel the little one all the way through. This book will surely comfort and go some way to allay the very real fears that run through you as a child when being placed in the care system. -- Jenny Molloy, Looked After Children Adviser and Trainer, and author of Hackney Child written as Hope DanielsA Different Home transported me back to the time when, at the age of 7 or 8, I was dropped off with total strangers. I had no idea why I was there or how long I'd be there for. The strangers' house was clean, their fridge was full, and they were nice -- but they were still strangers. They changed my life in a positive way, for which I am grateful, though much of my anxiety could have been relieved had they been able to read this book with me. -- Rhonda Sciortino, former foster child and author of 'Succeed Because of What You've Been Through'A Different Home shows how children often feel about entering foster care and being away from the only home they have ever known. It's accurate, honest, warm and a great resource for parents and professionals. -- Dr. Sue Cornbluth, Psychologist, National Expert in Foster Care/Adoption and Trauma, USAThe really lovely pictures in this sensitive picture book are a huge asset and show clearly Jessie's feelings as well as her development from fear to acceptance, and some advice to foster parents from the authors, experienced at fostering, are an asset too. -- Healthy Books blog

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Book SynopsisWhile clearing through her mother's bedroom after her death, Emma comes across a thirty-year-old newspaper clipping that her mother had kept, announcing the arrival of a new baby boy. Realizing that the baby must be the son she gave up for adoption, Emma becomes transfixed by this link to her first-born. But she now has a husband and two teenage children, all of whom know nothing of her past...Vividly recalling the stigma of her schoolgirl pregnancy and the pain of her separation from the baby, this absorbing and illuminating story follows Emma's search, years later, for Oliver, her adopted son.Trade ReviewMany mothers who have lost a child to adoption will be able to identify with Emma's experience. This novel could be usefully recommended to adopted adults and birth relatives of historical adoptions who are seeking contact or post-reunion, as well as to counsellors, therapists, students and social workers new to work with adults affected by adoption. -- Perlita Harris Lecturer University of Bristol.This novel could be usefully recommended to adopted adults and birth relatives of historical adoptions who are seeking a reunion or post-reunion, as well as to social work students and social workers new to post-adoption work with adults affected by adoption. -- Adoption & Fostering JournalTable of ContentsPart 1: Family Life - The Present, Chapters 1-2. Part 2: Giving up Oliver - 1966, Chapters 3-12. Part 3: Facing the Truth and the Adoption Triangle - The Present, Chapters 13-28. Part 4: A Reunion and a Family Party, Chapters 29-30.

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Book SynopsisHow can we determine success in foster placements? Based on exhaustive research, the authors discuss the primary concerns in foster placement planning, considering the high frequency of placement breakdowns, their impact on the child's behaviour and school performance, and the challenges this places on foster families.The specific needs of the foster child are given close attention in determining a pathway to success. By monitoring and describing the individual characteristics of the child within the context of the placement, the authors are able to reveal what types of supports are most beneficial.The implications for this research are considerable. Social workers are given new methods of assessing the needs of foster children which emphasise the process of care and not just the outcome. Policy makers are provided with rich qualitative accounts with which to increase and strengthen the success of foster placements. This is essential reading for social workers, policy makers and foster families.Trade ReviewOnce more, the team at the University of York presents us with a rigorous study replete with elements contributing to debate and decision-making. -- Child and Family Social WorkOne hopes that this excellent series will be widely read. -- Adoption & FosteringTable of Contents1. Introduction. 2.The Sample: Characteristics and Reasons for Placement. 3. Placements and Destinations. 4. A Kind of Loving: The Children's Accounts. 5. Outcomes. 6. Explanations: Social Worker and Carer Accounts. 7. The Case Studies. 8. Spirals of Interaction. 9. Measuring Success. 10. Foster Children: Characteristics, Personalities and Problems. 11. Birth Families: Characteristics and Patterns of Contact. 12. Foster Families' Characteristics: Reactions to Child and Approach to Main Carer. 13. Social Work Support. 14. Other Forms of Supports. 15. Change and Containment. 16. Summary and Conclusion. Appendix 1: Are our Samples Representative? Appendix 2: Selection of Placements for Interview. References.

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Book SynopsisMost adopted children and their families will, sooner or later, encounter the challenges of dealing with unresolved attachment issues or early traumatic experiences.New Families, Old Scripts is an accessible introduction to understanding these challenges and helping children and their families to develop a shared language and understanding of one another. Steeped in the experience of the authors, the book offers a wealth of practical guidance and intervention in a no-nonsense style that will be readily understandable to both families and the professionals who work with them. Case examples bring the issues to life, while sample letters addressed to the parent offer sensitive, jargon-free advice on the issues they are likely to encounter - whether it be dealing with anger and aggression, understanding sibling issues or how to react to sexualised behaviour. The authors also explain some of the theoretical background to trauma to encourage a better understanding of the relationship between trauma, attachment and development.The accessible combination of theoretical approaches and practical advice makes New Families, Old Scripts an ideal resource for social workers and adoptive or foster parents.Family Futures Consortium provides services for parents and professionals working with adopted and fostered children, including training and consultation for statutory and voluntary agencies nationwide. In their therapeutic work with families, they have evolved a unique intensive, multi-disciplinary approach to supporting children with attachment and trauma-related difficulties.Trade ReviewAimed at adoptive parents and the professionals who support them, this handbook describes the lasting effects of early maltreatment, separations, and losses on children's development. Case studies illustrate some of the behavioural challenges commonly faced by parents who adopt older children. To facilitate quick reference, the volume is organized alphabetically by topic. Some of the issues addressed include aggressive behaviour, dissociative states, emotional outburst, sibling rivalry and sexualized behaviour. -- Schi Techi Book NewsThis book is designed for direct use with children and their adoptive parents, as well as a resource for working with wider family members, social workers and other professionals involved with adoptive children and families. The authors are both well known for their work in this field and bring credibility and knowledge to their writing.Practitioners in the after adoption field will find this book valuable in a number of ways, as will those working with adopters at any stage in the process, or indeed anyone coming new to this area of work. The authors convey a strong sense of what it feels like to parent a child who has been traumatised and had difficult and poor attachment experiences.I would encourage everyone to approach this as a helpful and thought provoking addition to their toolkit and to reflect on where it challenges and where it adds insight and practical tools. -- Adoption & FosteringThis is a book to help children manage their feelings, make sense of their behaviour and help them reconnect in new families with a calm , quiet, voice and gentle touch. It reminds all parents that with understanding commitment and support young people can find a way of understanding `all of themselves' and learn to integrate their relationships with the world. -- Lapidus QuarterlyTable of ContentsForeword by Alan Burnell, Family Futures. Introduction. Thumbnail sketches. Alphabet of Issues. 1. Accent on change. 2. Aggressive and angry behaviour. 3. Attention seeking/ needing. 4. Basic building blocks of the brain. 5. Bedtime and sleep. 6. Cracking the code. 7. Control issues. 8. Cradling for closeness and comfort. 9. Critical connections. 10. Dealing with danger. 11. Dissociative connections. 12. Dissociative states. 13. Eating and food issues. 14. Emotional outbursts. 15. F is for feelings. 16. F1 kids. 17. Games to encourage attachment. 18. Good child (am I being good enough?) 19. Impact on parents. 20. Looking after yourself. 21. Managing separations. 22. `NO'. 23. Nutrition. 24. Putting it all behind us. 25. Puzzling pain responses. 26. Reassurance or validation. 27. Rivalry between siblings. 28. Rudeness and swearing. 29. Self-regulation. 30. Sensory issues. 31. Sexualised behaviour. 32. Taking, borrowing or stealing. 33. Terrible shame. 34. Think toddler think (T3). 35. What not to do! 36. Your way forward - final reflections. 37. References. Resources and related reading. Index.

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Book SynopsisStories and storytelling help children to develop emotional literacy, make sense of their world and appreciate different points of view. Fox Eades shows how storytelling is a crucial element of children's education that can enrich the school curriculum and encourage social and thinking skills.The author discusses the different kinds of story that are useful in the classroom context, including traditional stories, fairy tales and sacred stories, and explores the impact of individual and group dynamics on the telling and reception of these stories. She also considers recognised therapeutic uses of storytelling. She provides a series of sample stories and gives practical tips on adapting these to suit different situations and meet different needs. She also advises on a range of techniques such as using props, allowing `reflection' time and prompting interaction. Sections on collective stories and the child as storyteller explain how children can be inspired to compose their own tales that offer opportunities to practise self-expression and negotiation.This practical and engaging book provides all the tools and techniques needed to use storytelling effectively, and will be an essential resource for primary school teachers and others working with children in educational contexts, social workers and parents.Trade ReviewClassroom Tales, by Jennifer M Fox Eades, is a practical, well-researched and scholarly work, engagingly written and providing a thorough background to the history of storytelling and its range of cultural, religious, geographical, social and therapeutic uses. Eades, a teacher and educational advisor with an MA in Psychoanalytic Observation, writes with clear psychological understanding and often from a personal perspective, casting light on some of the deep and complex levels on which storytelling can work. -- Lapidus QuarterlyThe book covers a multitude of topics from the importance of story telling, to how to tell stories, creating your own stories and encouraging children to tell their own. I enjoyed reading about Fox Eade's personal experiences of using storytelling in the classroom and have found plenty in this book to inspire me. -- Education OtherwiseStorytelling is an intrinsic part of the human make-up and the tradition of oral storytelling is probably as old as spoken language itself. In this book the author, Eades, makes the point that we all tell stories in our everyday lives. For children, the opportunity to listen to and to be apart of oral stories as well as stories in books is a vital part of their learning. Of particular interest are the sections on how powerful storytelling is as an outlet for emotions, especially anxiety, anger and fear. I think this book would be an invaluable resource in all early years settings. -- Early TalkJennifer Fox Eades effectively encourages practitioners in the art of storytelling and shows how valuable this is. Storytelling is very different although no less valuable than reading stories. It is enjoyable to all ages and abilities, it is creative and encourages active learning and is inclusive as stories work on many levels and children can take from it what they need. One of its biggest advantages is its flexibility - the only limit being your own imagination. This is a valuable resource for people working with children at many levels. I thoroughly recommend it. -- The National Child Minding AssociationThe book is a recommended buy for teaching/learning assistants/mentors, SENCO's and teachers in primary schools who are undertaking training in therapeutic play. -- Play for Life JournalThe first point to make about this guide to the delights of storytelling is that non-teachers should not be put off from reading it.As a parent with (only) two young boys to worry about - and not a classroom full of youngsters - I have no hesitation in recommending it to other mums and dads not in the teaching profession. -- www.adoption-net.co.ukStories are good for you. So says Jennifer Eades, whose own damascan revelation occurred while working with highly troubled teenager girls who sat entranced for hours listening to stories that they had missed out on as children. Not just listening, either: using the stories to unpick and understand their own problems. Just as Hindu medicine once used stories as a "cure", Eades uses them to help autistic children change their behaviour.Story telling is an "ancient human skill" and "has elements to it that are not present when a book is read aloud". How you tell a story will in part depend on how your listeners respond - it is a shared, living experience. Eades uses a rain stick, or lighting a candle, or donning a silk scarf, to signal a story is about to begin. A silent start and the pauses in a story build up enjoyment and anticipation and the tale "itself sinks into our hearts and minds".Teachers and children can and should learn storytelling. I once complained when a teacher would not let my son tell her about something exciting he had done at the weekend. She had to start their literacy hour. But Eades reminds us that children telling stories about themselves are an essential part of the lesson - "if you cannot give a coherent spoken account of what happened over the weekend, you will not be able to write one down either".As a teacher, when I tell a story it makes me feel a more direct connection with the children than any other activity. In an age when we complain that children are hard-wired to their computer game modules, let us not forget that a good tale well told will stay with them longer than the latest game.Like a good story, Classroom Tales is both simple and profound and should be made compulsory reading on all initial teacher training courses. Highly recommended. -- TES Extra for Special NeedsJennifer M Fox Eades' informative and easily readable book is a very welcome reminder that story telling and creating is not only pleasurable but will enrich children's learning and personal development. Through her varied work and research in Psychoanalytic Observation of Children and Families, Ms Fox Eades had achieved amazing results with children of all ages from challenging teenagers to the very young. -- Facts and FictionsTable of ContentsPreface. 1. The Importance of Stories and Storytelling. 2. How to Tell Stories. 3. Traditional Tales. 4. Creating Unique Stories. 5. Children as Storytellers. 6. Stories and Thinking Skills. 7. Stories and the Environment. 8. Sacred Stories. 9. Storytelling across the Curriculum. 10. Stories and Emotional Literacy. 11. Storytelling and Reflection. Appendix 1: Sources. Appendix 2: Useful Addresses. References. Index.

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Book SynopsisConventional parenting is not adequate to address the needs of children whose emotional development has been frozen, distorted or interrupted as a result of trauma. Therapeutic parenting is a psychodynamic model of parenting tailored for traumatized children, providing a safe, secure environment in which the traumatized child will have the best opportunity to recover.Living Alongside a Child's Recovery asserts that a good understanding of child development and attachment theory is essential to effective therapeutic parenting of a traumatized child, and the book details the roots of trauma as well as the impact this has on a child's ability to maintain normal family bonds, whether with birth parents, foster parents or with staff in a residential setting. It also explains the practicalities of carrying out effective therapeutic parenting, including how to design a therapeutic physical environment, the importance of routine and security, how to approach issues of hygiene and organizing mealtimes. The authors examine individual and group work settings, and also explore transitions; how to manage a child's move to a permanent placement while at the same time ensuring that their needs are prioritized.This book forms part of SACCS' integrated approach and is an ideal accompaniment to The Child's Own Story: Life Story Work with Traumatized Children by Richard Rose and Terry Philpot and Reaching the Vulnerable Child: Therapy With Traumatized Children by Janie Rymaszewska and Terry Philpot, both of which also feature in the Delivering Recovery series.Trade ReviewThis is a thoughtful and understanding insight into the needs of traumatised children. It should find its way onto the desks and into the mindset of many professionals... The book offers an adaptable model of care that can improve the resilience and wellbeing of young people traumatised through abuse... This is an important text with the potential to help develop or change practice and to influence how we plan and resource our efforts to help children recover. -- Children & Young People NowThis book is very practical. It describes in detail- and explains the rationale for - the SACCS approach. Pugh and Philpott discuss creating a therapeutic environment in the home, the process of bringing a child into placement, food, feeding and mealtimes. In addition, they consider the role of the key worker, how to meet a child's developmental needs and plan transition to a permanent placement. I feel inspired and moved by the work SACCS undertakes with some of the most fragile and damaged children in our society. I really hope that the methodology they employ is used to inform practice in training and in supporting foster carers and social workers. -- Counselling Children and Young PeopleAn easy read with profound food for though which is part of a series through SACCS a member of The Charterhouse Group of Therapeutic Communities... A lively and informative look at therapeutic parenting which includes case studies and exercises to aid comprehension. -- Charterhouse Website ReviewI thought this book was so good I wanted more information about the organisation behind it (SACCS) and the book series "Delivering Recovery" of which this is the third book. -- Wren Sidhe, Foster CarerTable of ContentsForeword: Mary Walsh, Founder and Chief Executive of SACCS. A Note and Acknowledgments. Introduction. 1. A Deep Wound: Abuse and its Effects on Traumatized Children. 2. Mind, Body and Soul: Attachment, the Brain, Trauma and Abuse. 3. Another Kind of Parent: What is Therapeutic Training? 4. The Adult's World: Consultancy and Supervision. 5. A Place for Us: Creating a Therapeutic Environment. 6. The New Arrival: The Process of Admission. 7. Food for Thought. 8. Someone to be There: The Role of the Key Carer 9. A Chance to Grow: Meeting a Child's Developmental Needs. 10. The Means to Recovery. 11. A New Beginning. Notes. References. The Story of SACCS. The Authors. Subject Index. Author Index.

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Book Synopsis* What are the consequences of fostering for children, their carers and their birth families?* What are the best ways of recruiting, retaining and supporting foster carers?* What are the most important elements of a successful placement?* Can foster care offer a permanent alternative to care at home?Fostering Now brings together authoritative research on foster care in the UK. It provides a succinct overview of a wide range of research projects and highlights the main implications for policymakers and all professionals involved in the fostering process.Drawing on the varied experiences and views of foster children, social workers, foster carers and parents, this book looks at how placement outcomes are influenced by factors such as foster carers' parenting styles, contact with the child's own parents, and the child's gender, ethnicity, age and physical and emotional health. Other important areas examined include care given by relatives, the effects of foster care on education, and what happens to foster children when they return home.Fostering Now identifies the most significant challenges currently faced by foster care and draws out the key messages for policy and practice. It offers important insights into the state of foster care today, and suggests how it can be improved in future. This book is essential reading for social workers, policy makers, academics and foster carers.Trade ReviewThe Department of Health can be justly pleased with the high quality of the research which it has commissioned and the reader can be assured that this book is built on solid foundations. There is, indeed, a substantial amount of the evidence upon which we are now exhorted to base practice. The book will be an excellent starting point for this, clarifying the particular issues with which the policy-makers, managers or practitioners may be grappling and referring them back to specific studies. -- Child and Fostering Social WorkThe book is well laid out. It helpfully begins with an overview of how fostering has changed in the last 20 years in the light of legislation and fostering... I would recommend it as an essential reading for all involved in fostering. -- Foster CareThis volume provides an overview of recent research on foster care in the UK. Drawing upon the varied experiences of foster children; social workers, foster carers, and parents, it identifies how placement outcomes are affected by factors such as foster carers' parenting styles and children's gender, ethnicity, age, and physical and emotional health. Other issues addressed include (for example) the recruitment and support of relative carers (such as grandparents) and the effects of foster care on education. -- Book NewsIan Sinclair has succeeded in producing a volume that deserves to be read and used by all those involved in the contemporary looked after system. The title implies that the focus is exclusively on foster care. Those working in other areas of family placement would also derive much benefit from reading this book. -- Research in Practice NewsletterTable of ContentsForeword. The Overview Process. 1. Introducing the Report. 2. Home or Away? Some Basic Issues. 3. Developing Roles for Foster Care? 4. What Should Foster Care Provide? 5. Placing Children in Foster Care. 6. Making Placements Work: The Children. 7. Making Placements Work: Foster Families. 8. Making Placements Work: Birth Family and Contact. 9. School and Education. 10. Recruitment and Retention. 11. Training, Professional Support and Organisations. 12. Conclusion. Appendix A: The Researchers' Summaries of their Projects. Appendix B: Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisNurturing Attachments combines the experience and wisdom of parents and carers with that of professionals to provide support and practical guidance for foster and adoptive parents looking after children with insecure attachment relationships.It gives an overview of attachment theory and a step-by-step model of parenting which provides the reader with a tried-and-tested framework for developing resilience and emotional growth. Featuring throughout are the stories of Catherine, Zoe, Marcus and Luke, four fictional children in foster care or adoptive homes, who are used to illustrate the ideas and strategies described. The book offers sound advice and provides exercises for parents and their children, as well as useful tools that supervising social workers can use both in individual support of carers as well as in training exercises.This is an essential guide for adoptive and foster parents, professionals including health and social care practitioners, clinical psychologists, child care professionals, and lecturers and students in this field.Trade ReviewThis book is both informative and engaging to read. Golding deliberately focuses on the relationship between child and parent, rather than on the child's difficulties... This is a useful book to remind professionals in adoption and fostering that parenting children from damaging backgrounds is not an easy task and we ask a great deal of parents when placing these children... The necessity for parents, as well as professionals, to know and understand attachment theory and what has gone wrong, in order to care for children with attachment problems, becomes clear from reading this book. -- Social Work in ActionI liked Golding's knowledgeable but unpretentious style, her commitment to understanding a child's internal experience and the encouragement of empathy for children and for carers when the going gets tough. -- Children and Young People NowThis is an excellent book which should be of interest to many adopters and social workers. It is by a British psychologist who works with an integrated service for looked after and adopted children, and her experience shines through in the book. The book provides a good starting point for anyone who wants to understand more about attachment, and explains the theory in detail. I wish this book had been available when I was bringing up my children, and so would defiantly recommend it to parents. Finally I would strongly recommend this book to social workers in adoption and adoption support work as it offers insight into the issues families and children may experience from placement through to adulthood. -- Adoption TodayTable of ContentsSection 1: Attachment Theory. 1. Overview of Attachment Theory. 2. Attachment Theory: Caregiving and Its Impact on Attachment and Exploration. 3. Attachment Theory: Patterns of Attachment. 4. Difficulties in Development: The Impact of Loss and Trauma. 5. Parenting Children with Attachment Difficulties. Experiencing Relationships as Secure. 6. Parenting and Patterns of Attachment. Section 2: A Model for Parenting the Child with Difficulties in Attachment Relationships: Providing a Secure Base. 7. Introduction to the Model and Creating a Secure Base. 8. Empathy and Support from the Secure Base. 9. Attunement and Empathy. 10. Protecting the Family Atmosphere and the Development of Emotional Regulation. 11. Creating a Feeling of Belonging for the Child. 12. Looking after Yourself. Section 3: A Model for Parenting the Child with Difficulties in Attachment Relationships: Building Relationships and Managing Behaviour. 13. Helping the child to enjoy being part of the family. 14. Learning to Parent with PACE and Building Relationships with Stories. 15. Providing Structure and Supervision. 16. Managing Confrontation and Coercive Interactions. 17. Thinking, Feeling and Behavioural Choices. 18. Managing Special Difficulties: Lying, Stealing and Self Harm. 19. Conclusion. References. Glossary. Reading list. Subject index. Author index.

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Book SynopsisThis book guides childcare professionals through attachment theory and provides techniques for caring for children with attachment difficulties. It explains what attachment is, what different patterns of attachment look like in children and young people, how early attachment experiences affect their lives, and how this understanding can help childcare workers to develop therapeutic ways of caring. By understanding these issues, childcare workers are better equipped to help and support the troubled children they care for. This book shows how to promote recovery through secure base experiences in a therapeutic environment and provides solutions and methods to tackle challenging and problem behaviour, anger and the effects of trauma in children with attachment problems. This essential book will be invaluable to professionals such as residential carers, social workers and foster carers who work in a therapeutic environment with vulnerable and troubled children and young people.Trade ReviewThis book explores the impact of attachment difficulties on the behaviour of young people and offers a therapeutic framework and approach to care that attempts to address this behaviour. It offers a valuable resource to practitioners who work directly with young people, providing them with a strategy and practical tools to manage difficult behaviour in a way that supports young people and ensures their recovery -- Practice: Social Work in Actionthis is an excellent easy-to-read resource which can help practitioners in their work... I would thoroughly recommend Chapter 1 for those interested not just in patterns of attachment but also the implications of attachment in families where domestic violence is a feature... this book adds so many extra dimensions to the understanding of attachment and adds such extra value to the understanding of problematic attachment behaviours ad their management that it would be a shame not to have it on your bookshelf. -- Professional Social Work...this is overall an excellent, practical resource for those caring for children with attachment difficulties, and for the professionals supporting them. -- Journal of Mental Health`An excellent book that is well written, comprehensive and easy to read. It is full of practical advice and things to make readers think about attachment difficulties in teenagers...The book makes special reference to carers working in children's homes and would make an excellent text for care home workers. However, the book is not just for those who work in children's homes, as it contains some excellent practical strategies for parents and carers as well. There are also chapters on working with anger, working with conflict and working with challenging behaviour. Highly recommended.` -- Youth in Mind`This book is divided into eight easy to read, well-structure chapters each prefaced by a list of learning outcomes...Author Chris Taylor uses his own experience to provide an attachment-based model for making residential care a supportive environment for children recovering from the emotional damage done by dysfunctional families and the care system...This is a balanced and quietly persuasive text, with an admirable determination to ensure troubled children receive the highly skilled care they need...I doubt whether we are even close to having the systems, models and career structures to make a residential care revival viable, but this book may prompt us to think again.` -- Children and Young People Now, Jeffrey Coleman, southern England director, British Association for Adoption and FosteringThe concise learning outcomes for each chapter make this book an ideal resource for professional development in the caring field. It may be tempting for people to go straight to the final chapters on dealing with behaviours, and it invaluable as a practical handbook; but it is well worth reading from all the way through as it will deepen the reader's understanding and empathy for children and young people with attachment difficulties. -- Foster Care MagazineA Practical Guide to Caring for Children and Teenagers with Attachment Difficulties is an important bridge between attachment theory and research and providing appropriate care for children who are most in need. Most importantly, it reminds us that in order for these children and young people to successfully recover from their relational traumas, those providing their care must keep in mind the key concepts of attachment security. The author successfully utilizes cognitive and behavioural interventions in the context of attachment, maximizing their effectiveness and demonstrating how best to care for these children and young people. -- Dan Hughes, Ph.D., Psychologist and author of Building the Bonds of Attachment, 2nd ed., Attachment-Focused Family Therapy, and Attachment-Focused Parenting.This book provides a wealth of information and practical ideas for parenting young people who have experienced early trauma and disrupted attachments. Parents and carers are given a whole approach to parenting as well as specific ideas for specific problems, and special reference is made to the often neglected issue of how to parent children living within children’s homes. This book is a treasure trove of theory and practical ideas for foster carers, residential care workers and for the professionals who are supporting them. -- Kim S. Golding, MSc Clinical Psychology, DClinPsy, Clinical Psychologist with the Integrated Service for Looked After and Adopted Children (ISL), Worcester, UK.This volume is designed to provide carers with detailed guidance to help them to understand attachment theory... Taylor offers a practical and accessible approach, bringing a wealth of experience to the task of helping carers to enable children with attachment disorders to achieve more positive, healthy and secure relationshipswith others. Social workers, guardians, psychologists, psychiatrists and therapists will also benefit from Taylor's creativity and clarity... This book is well constructed and successfully achieves its aim of being a very useful and practical tool for carers. Each chapter sets out learning outcomes, enabling carers and professionals to employ this text both as a readily accessible reference and a source of further ideas for care planning. A Practical Guide for Caring for Children and Teenagers with Attachment Difficulties fills a gap, offering guidance to carers and a more focal understanding of relevant issues for professionals involved in care and family work. We suspect that thisbook will acquire a well-worn look on the book shelf or desk of many individuals who are regularly asked to provide advice and support to carers working with vulnerable and traumatised children. -- Child Abuse ReviewTable of ContentsIntroduction.1. Patterns of Attachment. 2. The Planned Environment – an organizational representation of a secure base. 3. Ways of Caregiving – working within the frame. 4. Working for Recovery – relational representation of the secure base. 5. Working with Conflict. 6. Working with Anger. 7. Managing Challenging Behaviour. 8. Changing Problem Behaviour. Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisA child's capacity to cope with adversity and 'stand on their own two feet' is seen as critical to their development, well-being, and future independence and success in adulthood. Psychological strength, or resilience, directly affects a child's capacity to cope with adversity.This book provides a succinct, accessible and clear guide on how to promote resilience in children and achieve positive developmental outcomes for them. The author covers three key factors that affect resiliency: vulnerability to stress and anxiety, attachment relationships, and access to basic needs. For each, the author presents practical advice and strategies, such as how to regulate children's stress and anxiety, how to encourage and maintain secure attachments, and how to assure children that their needs are understood and will be met. The model presented will help parents and carers ensure their children grow up happy, healthy and resilient. This book will be invaluable for parents, carers and practitioners in supportive roles caring for children.Trade ReviewAs an introduction to the subject of resilience in children the work provides a useful and straightforward guide for parents and caregivers in providing some practical advice and guidance and could be a useful tool for professionals in the training of foster carers. -- Seen and HeardThe book is replete with easy-to-read examples, taken both from the author's personal experiences as well as clinical and hypothetical examples. The examples are simple, conveying his meaning clearly. -- metapsychology onlineIn his clear and accessible style, Colby Pearce defines the value and significance of resilience as an essential aspect of psychological survival. He traces the origins of resilience in the early relationships which shape our emotional and social development and describes processes and responses that enhance resilience for children who have had a less than adequate start in life. This is a valuable book for anyone involved in children’s emotional well-being, from parents and community to schools and policy makers. -- Dr Heather Geddes, Educational Psychotherapist and author of Attachment in the ClassroomPearce (Jessica Kingsley Publishers) is a necessary and succinct guide in a market a little too full of lengthy texts but an area, too, where much is said but how to achieve the objectives is not always understood... this is a book helpful for parents, carers and professionals. -- Terry Philpot, Young MindsTable of ContentsA Short Introduction. Prologue. 1. Understanding Resilience. 2. Biological Influences on Resilience - Arousal. 3. Psychological Influences on Resilience - Attachment. 4. Environmental Influences on Resilience - Needs-Provision. A Short Conclusion. Glossary of Terms. About the Author. Endnotes. Index.

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Book SynopsisKinship care – the care of children by grandparents, other relatives or friends – is a major part of foster care, yet there are distinct issues that arise in care involving family rather than 'stranger' foster carers.This book takes an in-depth look at what goes on 'inside' kinship care. It explores the dynamics and relationships between family members that are involved in kinship care, including mothers, grandparents, siblings and the wider family. Chapters also discuss issues such as safeguarding, assessment, therapy, encouraging permanence, placement breakdown, support groups, and cultural issues. The final part of the book looks at kinship care from an international perspective, with examples from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and the United States.Drawing on a range of theoretical perspectives and with contributions from different branches of kinship care, this book provides an invaluable overview of the issues involved and how to provide effective support. It will be essential reading for all those working in the kinship care field, including social workers, therapists, counsellors, psychologists and family lawyers.Trade ReviewPitcher aids the reader's understanding of the subject by providing case studies, practical safeguarding exercises and tool for Social Workers and students... These tools and exercises, whilst being extremely helpful, make the book accessible and highlyreadable... I shall certainly be recommending this text both to colleagues and to social work students to support them to gain an insight into the complex and skilled area of kinship care. -- Social Welfare Portal, The British LibraryDavid Pitcher has put together an eclectic collection of newly commissioned social work, social policy and psychological chapters to aid readers' understanding and appreciation of kinship care in its broader sens... It is most welcome in this book that 'ways forward for kinship care' are identified so that readers are not left simply reading about known problems but different solutions and new approaches...The essence of this important positive publication is its varied and coherent range of insights into kinship care, its evidence base, its practice examples, and therapeutic understandings and messages about what living in kinship care is really like for children, their families, as well as the professionals and organisations working with them. -- From the Foreword by Professor Bob Broad, Weeks Centre for Social and Policy Research, London South Bank University, UKI welcome the authorship and production of this authoritative volume on every significant aspect of kinship care... In my view the book should be required background reading for the family judiciary as well as children's lawyers, social workers and others concerned with the provision and implementation of Children's Services... This book is welcome as a comprehensive and highly readable compendium of chapters which together comprise an up to date study of Kinship Care. -- From the Foreword by Sir Mark Potter, former President of the Family Law Division and former Head of Family JusticeKinship care is a crucial permanence option for children who cannot live at home. It warrants equal status with all other permanence options. This comprehensive kinship care manual covers every aspect of an important social issue. The book made me think differently about relationships we sometimes take for granted. The bond that binds extended families together is beautifully illustrated in many of the well-structured and researched chapters. David Pitcher has assembled a valuable range of contributors, with a prominent international dimension, conveying the central role kinship care plays globally in children's lives. -- Anthony Douglas CBE, Chief Executive, Cafcass, UK and Chair, British Association of Adoption and FosteringThis book not only fills a gap in the literature, it is a stunning weave of professional expertise and lived experience of kinship care. David Pitcher has harnessed the expertise of a group of international researchers, scholar-practitioners and young people and families with experience of kinship care to create an edited handbook of significant importance to the field. The book is timely. The authors are compassionate, thoughtful and hopeful in their approach - but they do not gloss over the complex dynamics of kinship care. Using a wide lens family systems perspective, they engage head on with the needs of children and families, underpinned by a strengths-based approach, and with clear implications for policy and practice. -- Professor Arlene Vetere, Deputy Programme Director, PsychD Clinical Psychology, University of Surrey, UKThis book gives a valuable insight into the benefits and potential challenges in ensuring that this type of care offers the permanence and security that all children deserve and need... The book brings together a range of perspectives from a variety of authors,highlighting the complexity of children being cared for by extended family... There are useful tools included, evidencing that assessment and ongoing work with kinship carers is essential to ensure that kinship placements can offer the safety, security and permanence to children. -- Alison Benjamin, care services team manager, Surrey County Council * Children & Young People Now *This book provides a useful insight into the joys and challenges of kinship placement... The publication is divided into three sections: family perspectives; intervention and support; and international contexts, skilfully linked together by the editor... The need for practical, social and skilled emotional support for families runs throughout this book, making it excellent reading for everyone involved in decision making for children who cannot live with their birth parents. -- Polly Baynes, independent social worker and trainer * Seen and Heard *This book has as its focus an analysis of various perspectives that go o to support the concept of Kinship Care... An interesting complication of various authors and researchers, with informative and thought-provoking content, it is a really easy read that is well worth being present in any social worker's library. -- Carolyn Taylor-Score, CAFCASS Enhances Practitioner * Professional Social Work *Table of ContentsIntroduction. David Pitcher. 1. A Young Person's Experience of Kinship Care, Amy O'Donohoe. 2. What Does Family Support Involve for Parents Who Have Intellectual Disabilities? Sadie Young, Independent Chartered Clinical Psychologist. 3. Siblings and Kinship Care. David Pitcher, Children's Guardian and Family Court Adviser, Cafcass, UK, Sarah Meakings, Research Associate, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, UK and Elaine Farmer, Professor of Child and Family Studies, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, UK. 4. The Position of Mothers When a Child is Placed with a Grandmother. Erica Flegg, independent risk assessor and psychotherapist. 5. The Wider Family Context of Kinship Care. Jeanne Ziminski, Systemic Family Psychotherapist, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Sutton, Surrey, UK. 6. 'It Takes a Village': Placing Grandparents and Extended Family at the Centre of Safeguarding Vulnerable Children. Andrew Turnell, social worker and child protection consultant, Resolutions Consultancy, Australia and Susie Essex, retired Consultant Family Therapist, UK. 7. Undertaking an Expert Assessment for the Court. Anna Gough, Independent Clinical Psychologist. 8. Permanence Planning for Children in Family and Friends Care: Establishing a Secure Base in the Re-ordering of Family Relationships. John Simmonds, Director of Policy, Research and Development, British Association of Adoption and Fostering (BAAF), UK. 9. 'Get them out of here!' An Exploration of Kinship Placement Breakdown. Tom Hawkins, Lecturer in Social Work, University of Plymouth, UK. 10. A Psychoanalytic Approach to Kinship Care. Graham Music, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, Tavistock Clinic, UK and Geraldine Crehan, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Surrey, UK. 11. Support Groups: What they Do and How they Help. Jackie Wyke, Trustee for the Grandparents' Association, UK. 12. What do White Kinship Carers Need to Consider when Caring for Children of Black 'Mixed Race'? Nick Banks, independent Consultant Chartered Clinical Psychologist. 13. Australia and New Zealand: Assessing Parenting Capacity in Kinship Care. Marilyn McHugh, Research Fellow, Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Australia and Paula Hayden, Social Work Consultant, Foster and Kinship Care, Sydney, Australia. 14. Kinship Care Among Families Affected by HIV in South Africa. Caroline Kuo, Assistant Professor, Department of Behavioral and Social Science, Brown University, USA, Lucie Cluver, Department of Social Policy and Intervention, Oxford University, UK and Don Operario, School of Public Health, Brown University, USA. 15. The Views of Children in Kinship Care, Their Caregivers and Their Birth Parents: Key Themes from the United States. James P. Gleeson, Associate Professor, Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA. Epilogue. Looking Forward in Kinship Care. David Pitcher. List of Contributors. Index.

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Book SynopsisAcross Europe young people in public care are around five times less likely to attend tertiary education than those who have not been in care. This book provides a comprehensive account of why this shocking discrepancy exists and outlines ways to address the imbalance. Drawing extensively on a substantial three-year long European Union funded research project led by the authors, this book examines the participation of young people in care in further and higher education in Europe. It provides a historical and legislative overview of the topic and in-depth national case studies look at the situation in England, Denmark, Sweden, Spain and Hungary. The authors set out clearly what we can learn from these cross-national comparisons and how to create more equal opportunities for children and young people in care. This important book will be essential reading for researchers and policy makers working on child welfare or young people in care, including government and local authority policy-makers, managers of children's and education services, school governors, and academics working in the fields of education, sociology, psychology, social work and social policy.Trade ReviewThis excellent and timely book starts from the indisputable premise that the educational experiences and progress of young people in public care have been neglected and little is known about this group of often severely disadvantaged young people. It studies official policies and practices and the experiences of young people themselves and demonstrates that many of the young people leaving care, despite their often negative school and family experiences, have high hopes and expectations of their futures, many aiming for higher education. It should be read by all social and community workers, educationalists, policy-makers and politicians - all of whom need to be better informed of the valuable contribution these young people could make to society. -- Sally Tomlinson, Emeritus Professor, Goldsmiths College, London and Senior Research Fellow, Department of Education, University of OxfordThe authors of this important book have made a substantial contribution to what we know about the dismal educational performance of children and youth in public care. Synthesized data from five countries strongly support what Sonia Jackson has said for decades: "It does not have to be like this". Say it loud and clear, so that everyone can hear. -- Bo Vinnerljung, Professor of Social Work, University of Stockholm, SwedenTthis book (is) recording the EU-funded YiPPEE research programme, an in-depth study of education for children in care across five very different countries - Denmark, England, Hungary, Spain, and Sweden... As so often with international research, there are both similarities and deep differences between countries...This book makes evidenced proposals for improvement at both country and European level, and for me there were strong resonances with experiences in all the countries. This book, the first to cover this subject in detail, should be read by all children's services policy makers, leaders and practitioners - and lessons learned! -- John Freeman CBE, John Freeman Consulting * Children & Young People Now *The current study focuses on how prospects of entering further and higher education for this group might be improved by studying a sample of young people with a public care background from each of five European countries with varied traditions of public welfare: England, Denmark, Hungary, Spain and Sweden... This book will be of use to students of education as it has academic rigour, provides detail of research design and contributes substantially to knowledge on its subject. Teachers and others who work with and are concerned about young people whose educational prospects are adversely affected by their familial, social and economic circumstances will also find it of interest. -- Paula Coates * SEBDA *Table of ContentsIntroduction. 1. Education and Social Inclusion. 2. Welfare Regimes And Individual Educational Progression. 3. Study Design. 4. England: A Targeted Approach. Hanan Hauari and Claire Cameron, Thomas Coram Research Unit, UK. 5. Denmark: Participation For All? Claire Cameron and Inge M. Bryderup, Danish Pedagogical University, Denmark. 6. Hungary: Education And Care In Transition. Claire Cameron, Marta Korintus and Andrea Rácz, National Institute for Family and Social Policy, Hungary. 7. Spain: Stability And Extended Support. Carme Monserrat and Ferran Casas, Research Institute on Quality of Life, University of Girona, Spain, with Sonia Jackson. 8. Sweden: A Long And Winding Road. Helena Johansson and Ingrid Höjer, Department of Social Work, University of Göteborg, Sweden. 9. Looking Across Countries. 10. Finding A Way Forward.

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Book SynopsisHow can professionals work together with foster carers to create stable and therapeutic foster placements? Team Parenting for Children in Foster Care describes a unique model of supporting children in care which involves foster carers and professionals working together in the best interests of the child. This book lays out the key principles of Team Parenting - to meet the needs of troubled young people in an integrated way and incorporate therapy within a wider team of social workers, therapists, psychologists and foster carers - as well as the theory behind it and interventions used. It details how the approach contributes to the recovery of looked after children and each chapter includes examples that illustrates how Team Parenting works in practice. Team Parenting for Children in Foster Care includes ideas for systems and individual practice that will inform and improve foster carers' and professionals' work in any setting.Trade ReviewI was thrilled to read Team Parenting for Children in Foster Care, which shows such a clear understanding of how the provision for vulnerable and traumatised looked after children and young people can be improved. It recognises the importance of an integrated approach with the young person at the centre, supported by a group of carers and professionals working together collaboratively to ensure their needs are met in a coherent and seamless manner. This wonderful book is essential reading for anyone committed to the healing and recovery of looked after children and young people.Congratulations Jeanette and Judy for writing a book that demonstrates such strong commitment to reflective practice and love of these beautiful young people. -- Susan Barton, AM, Founder/Director, Lighthouse Foundation, AustraliaThis book makes a valuable contribution to a much-needed body of work on approaches to doing foster care that can help respond to the diverse needs [of children in care]... It is a tribute to the authors and their achievement that I find myself wishing that I could sit down and talk with them about many of the points they make. This is the sign of a valuable book, one that gets you thinking and energised. -- from the foreword by Professor Robbie Gilligan, School of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin, IrelandTable of ContentsIntroduction. 1. Contextual Factors Influencing the Rise of Team Parenting. 2. The Emergence of Team Parenting - Definitions And Practice. 3. Key Features of Team Parenting. 4. Therapeutic Interventions in Team Parenting: Consultation with Foster Carers. 5. Therapeutic Interventions in Team Parenting: Team Parenting Meetings. 6. Therapeutic Interventions in Team Parenting: Joint Carer/Child Work. 7. Support for Foster Carers In Team Parenting. 8. The Contribution of Education And Mentoring In Team Parenting. 9. Further Developments In Team Parenting. 10. Conclusion - Where Next? References. Appendix. Index.

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Book SynopsisAndy Pithouse and Alyson Rees use original research to identify key ingredients needed to help create successful foster placements and help prevent placement breakdown.Studying the lives and activities of 10 foster families who provide lasting and effective care, the authors explore the families' everyday worlds. They look at the negotiations, activities, settings, meanings, rituals and relationships which help to create their successful placements. The authors identify the main components which, according to the carers and the children, contribute to acceptance, belonging and stability in the family. The book examines the emotional and practical work involved in caring, and explores how it is received and reciprocated by fostered young people.With important insights into child and carer perspectives on fostering, this book is a source of invaluable information for foster carers, children's service professionals, and trainees and care staff who may be engaged with children who are looked after.Trade ReviewHere is a very special book that gets under the skin of foster care. It captures the living, breathing realities of daily life for foster children and carers. It shows why foster care is so important and how it can be made even better. A veritable 'one-stop shop' for those seeking a more rounded understanding of foster care. -- Robbie Gilligan, Professor of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College DublinAcross social care we increasingly encourage practitioners to work with users of services to build on their strengths and focus on what they can do, not what they can't. Yet all we seem to read from research in the field of looked after children are the poor outcomes of this group. This book is thankfully different, with the research taking a strengths-based perspective. -- From the foreword by Freda LewisA fascinating insight into the everyday lives of foster families, based on real people and with a clear child-centred focus throughout. A welcome addition to the body of literature on foster care that will prove invaluable for foster families and those who support them. -- Harvey Gallagher, Chief Executive of the Nationwide Association of Fostering ProvidersTable of ContentsIntroduction, Chapter One: Fostering in the UK, key characteristics and challenges, Chapter Two: Ways of thinking about children and families in foster care, Chapter Three: Meet the Families, Chapter Four : Tough job fostering : why do it? Chapter Five : Food, Fostering and Family Life, Chapter Six: Foster care and the 'body', Chapter Seven: Space and Place in the foster home - views from the young people

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Book SynopsisMost children who are fostered or adopted have some level of contact with their birth family -- whether face-to-face or by letter -- yet most of the time the psychological impact of contact on the child isn't considered. This book explores what attachment, neuroscience and trauma tell us about how contact affects children, and shows how poorly executed contact can be unhelpful or even harmful to the child. Assessment frameworks are provided which take the child's developmental needs into account. The authors also outline a model for managing and planning contact to make it more purposeful and increase its potential for therapeutic benefit. The book covers the challenges presented by the internet for managing contact, unique issues for children in kinship care, problems that arise when adoptive parents separate and many other key issues for practice. Brimming with practical advice and creative solutions, this is an indispensable tool for social workers, contact centre workers, and other professionals involved in contact arrangements or the therapeutic support of fostered and adopted children.Trade ReviewElsie and Louis illustrate contact can be a positive force helping the child to disentangle the web and live comfortably with those in her life, whether directly or indirectly. Much compassion is shown for the child at the centre, but Elsie and Louis go much further. They also have compassion for the adopters, foster carers, other family relations and the birth parents, where it all began. Their sensitive and moving case examples show us that contact can be healing for all involved; leaving the child stronger and those touched by this child healthier. -- From the foreword by Kim Golding, Clinical Psychologist with Worcestershire Health and Care NHS TrustThis sensitive insight into the world of children and young people separated from the families that gave them birth should be required reading for everyone who makes decisions that affect the lives of these children… the potential for transformation and recovery when contact is approached and planned from the perspective of the needs of the child provides real hope for achievable improvements in the lives of our most vulnerable children. I recommend this book unreservedly. -- Kate Cairns, Director of KCA Training and ConsultancyFacilitating Meaningful Contact in Adoption and Fostering is a highly beneficial book which I read cover to cover and which helped crystallise my own thinking about how we manage contact within our Trust and how we could do this differently. -- Lynda McGill, Team Manager of a Therapeutic Team for Looked After and Adopted ChildrenI enjoyed reading this book, it was interesting, balanced and all importantly, easy to understand. It has been written by people who are clearly sensitive practitioners, working closely with adopted and fostered children and it is evident that the children are at the heart of what is being presented... Contact is discussed... It discusses the importance of how a good foster care experience and meetings between foster carers and the adoptive family after placement can provide another stage of healing for the child, helping the child to understand and make sense of their history... it is probably best at this stage to recommend this book to you. It is helpful and there are a number of very good case studies. -- Merian Romanos, Contact Service * Side by Side *It is written in a concise and easy format that would be accessible to social workers, foster carers, birth parents and adopters... the book addresses how a good foster-care experience, followed up by meetings between foster carers and the adoptive family after placement, can provide a further stage of healing, helping the child to make sense of their history... It is relevant to all practitioners who make decisions and need to organise their thinking about contact between children and Young people, and members of their birth families. -- Chris Rivers, Independent social worker * Seen and Heard *Table of ContentsPreface, About Adoptionplus, Chapter 1 Introduction: What is Contact and What is it For? Chapter 2 How to facilitate contact: a structured process, Chapter 3 Understanding the Significance of Attachment and Neuroscience for Baby and Toddler Contact, Chapter 4 Contact During the Transition from Care Order to Permanency, Chapter 5 Contact When Moving from Foster Care into Adoption, Chapter 6 Letterbox contact, By Rachel Staff, Chapter 7 Contact Using Video Messages, Chapter 8: Sibling Relationships and Facilitating Sibling Contact, Chapter 9 Contact for Adopted Children with Adoptive Parents who have Separated or Divorced, Chapter 10 Where Contact is not Possible: Contact for children who are not able to meet their Birth Parents or Family, Chapter 11 Contact with Young People: The Long Shadow of Adoption, Chapter 12 Contact in Kinship Care, Endnotes, Index

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Book SynopsisPositive and practical, this guide is designed to offer a route to recovery from grief and loss after adoption or long-term foster care.Children growing up in adoptive families or foster care often have complicated feelings about the loss of their birth parents - feelings which become all the more complex as they gain independence and become young adults, and which can endure throughout their lives. Common life events such as entering new relationships, building a family or losing a loved one can give rise to difficult questions about their own childhood and identity. In this book, Renée Wolfs provides an accessible explanation of the feelings of loss and grief commonly experienced by adults who grew up in adoptive families or foster care, and how debilitating they can be. She provides grounded advice and strategies to aid recovery and provides the reader with a useful tool: The Circle of Connecting. The Circle provides strategies for healing from loss, spanning all seven elements of your life: your body, mind, heart, environment, past, present and future. This book is essential reading for older teens and adults who need help in addressing feelings of grief and loss, as well as those who support them including adoptive and foster parents, social workers, counsellors and therapists.Trade ReviewAlthough every adoptee and former foster child has his or her own story, I am convinced that each of them will recognise him- or herself in the many stories which have been recorded in this book with such respect and empathy, and that everyone can put this book to good use in his or her own way. Let yourself be inspired and moved by this lovely and intense book. It deals with the pain of loss but with restoring connections, too. It's about coming home, really. -- From the foreword by Marlene van Steensel, Founder of and trainer at Be4you2.nl and former foster childOften when I am working with children and young people who are fostered or adopted around their life stories and processing their multiple experiences of loss I find they are not yet able to complete the journey towards integration. I have often wondered where these children will access support in adulthood to complete this process, agreeing as I do with Wolfs that the memory of these children's losses will be remembered in their bodies into adulthood, imprinted on their senses. I love that Wolfs locates the body at the centre of her seven element 'Circle of Connecting' developed specifically for adoptees and foster children to support coping with loss. In her book I hope motivated adult adoptees and foster children will discover a flexible framework to apply to their core losses, in which 7 elements are central: the body, mind, heart, environment, past, present and future. The reader is in control of the elements he wants to connect with in that moment in order to connect with himself and the past and develop new perspectives, feelings and thoughts about events past, the present and future. This is supported by case examples, practical suggestions and tools and an easy to read theoretical perspective on loss. -- Katie Wrench, Team Manager at the Therapeutic Social Work Team, Art Psychotherapist, Foster Carer and Co-Author of Life Story Work with Children Who are Fostered or AdoptedRenée Wolfs has delivered a fundamentally important book for adopted adults and people who were in foster care. Those who were transracially or transnationally adopted, those who were adopted from, or remained in, the care system after a traumatic start in life, adopters, foster carers and birth relatives can all gain some insight into the emotional turbulence created by such losses and changes. Because of the many personal examples given by adopted adults and fostered people throughout the book, we can see that we are clearly not alone, even if we feel that we often are. Wolfs offers a neat and containing method to manage this myriad of emotions so that we can learn to accept and live with the losses and changes that visit us all during our lives. -- Jean Milsted, Registered Intermediary, Adoption Services for Adults, England...this book will be very therapeutic for many adults who were adopted and for those who grew up in long term foster care. I say this based on my professional experience of reviewing childhood records with adults who return, sometimes years later, to discover or rediscover their childhood. -- Children AustraliaTable of ContentsAcknowledgments, Introduction, 1. Coping with loss, 2. Mourning the core loss, 3. The circle of Connecting, 4. Contact with your birth family, Bibliography, Additional reading, Appendix

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Book SynopsisHow can adoptive parents and their teenagers navigate the challenges of the adolescent years?Full of valuable, grounded advice, this guide will help parents to understand the impact of early trauma on a child's development and the specific nature of the changes that occur during adolescence. With tips for coping with common problems, it combines first-hand accounts from professionals, parents and teenagers themselves. It also covers essential topics such as: family and peer relationships, developing healthy intimate relationships, emerging identity issues, and contacting birth family. Accessible and honest, Parenting Adopted Teenagers is an invaluable resource for adoptive parents as well as professionals working with them.Trade ReviewMy initial reaction to this book has been gratitude for putting together all of the issues that have been a concern to me for the past 5 or 6 years. My daughter has just completed her first year at university and I have to recognise the fact that this has been helped by the support that I have been able to give her. However, I do not doubt that this support would not have been possible unless I in turn had been supported. Rachel has brilliantly outlined what it is to be a therapeutic parent and what it means to be an adopted teenager. I would urge any interested parties to read this book. I will certainly keep this as my constant source of support and reflection. -- Marion, adoptive parentThis book helps explain so many of my children's difficult and challenging behaviour. It is so rare for a professional to acknowledge so clearly the role of parents and that supporting us is also supporting young people. I found this consistent theme through the book so helpful and encouraging. Rachel Staff gets this issue that parents taking care of themselves is vital because unless we are emotionally healthy and resilient we won't be able to support our children. I strongly recommend this book to everyone parenting or working with adopted young people. -- Sorrel, adoptive parentI wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone with adopted teenagers or pre-teens - or indeed anyone wanting to think about and strengthen their relationships with their children - as it is full of very helpful insights and the latest research. I really like Rachel Staff's approach, always looking at the feelings, neuroscience and developmental issues that may lie behind behaviours, which is immensely valuable in helping parents and young people steer a course through challenging times. -- Jane, adoptive parentWhat those in challenging circumstances need is understanding, to feel they are not alone, and practical advice and support. Rachel's book delivers this and I trust that it will become a well thumbed reference for very many adopters. -- From the foreword by Hugh ThornberyTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. About Adoptionplus. Note on the Text. Introduction. 1. Key Emotional Themes. 2. Behaviours and 'Ways of Being'. 3. Approaches and Strategies for Managing the Emotional Roller Coaster. 4. Mental Health Provision for Adopted Adolescents. 5. Changing Relationships. 6. Emerging Identity. 7. Peer Relationships and Early Intimate Relationships. 8. Contact and the Adolescent Years. 9. Parents Come First - the Importance of Parent Support. Conclusion.

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Book Synopsis"Who makes adoption a success? We do: the kids and parents in the new family as we change shape to accommodate each other."With more than 70 real life stories, revealing moments of vulnerability and moments of joy, this book provides an authentic insight into adoption. These stories take the reader on a journey through every stage of the adoption process, from making the initial decision to adopt to hearing from adoptees, and offer an informative and emotive account of the reality of families' experiences along the way. It includes chapters on adopting children of all ages as well as sibling groups; adopting as a single parent; adopting as a same sex couple; adopting emotionally and physically abused children; the nightmare of adoption breaking down; contact with birth parents; tracing and social media and more. Adopting: Real Life Stories will be an informative and refreshing read for adopters, potential adopters, professionals and all those whose lives have in some way been touched by adoption or want to know more about it.Trade ReviewThere is nothing that can replace the knowledge and experience of those who have trod the path ahead of others... I thoroughly recommend this book. -- from the Foreword by Hugh Thornbery CBE, Chief Executive, Adoption UKAdopting: Real Life Stories brings together many voices and experiences and represents adoption in all its wonderful and sometimes frightening complexity. The book is accessible and there is much to be learnt from the broad range of accounts, all of which are written with authenticity and compassion. Ann Morris sets out 'not to underestimate the joys of adoption, but to reveal the challenges honestly', the book achieves this and more. It bravely tackles the realities but at the same time encourages hope and understanding, and that's a difficult balance to achieve. -- Sally Donovan, author of 'No Matter What' and editor of Adoption TodayTable of ContentsIntroduction. 1. So you want to adopt? 2. First meetings, first months. 3. Adopting babies and toddlers. 4. Adopting older children.5. Adolescents.6. Adopting a child with a physical or learning disability.7. Adopting an emotionally, physically or sexually abused child.8. Going it alone.9. Same sex couples.10. Adopting sibling groups.11. One plus one - adding an adopted child to your birth family.12. Adoption, race and religion.13. Taking in the child, taking on the school.14. Contact in adoption.15. Attachment issues.16. Breakdown.17. Who am I? Telling, talking and needing to know more. 18. Tracing and social media. 19. The birth mother's story. Useful organisations.

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Book Synopsis"Want to know something else about me? I am Billy Bramble: the King, the President and the Emperor of Bad Lucksville. I am the Chief Executive of Bad Luck Limited, the Bad Luck Champion of the World, the Bad Luck Guinness World Record holder and it's all thanks to my invisible dog Gobber. He's my Bringer of Bad Luck."Billy Bramble likes rude words, smelly farts, loud farts and freestyle sneezing but when BAD THINGS happen, his invisible angry dog Gobber barks in his ears, gives him brain mash and breaks things. One day a competition is announced at school - The Great Big Cook Off - can Billy Bramble defeat Gobber and change his epic bad luck? An irreverent story for children aged 8-12 about a less than perfect boy, this book will inspire any child who's ever secretly thought they might be less than perfect too.Trade ReviewBilly Bramble is a fantastic book. It gives you an insight into people who may struggle and how their surroundings can influence their behaviours and attitudes. Billy Bramble is a nice boy with an angry, imaginary dog. Together they battle with certain feelings. I believe everyone can learn something from this book, not least that through persisting, eventually, in spite of hardship, you can achieve. -- Coby, 12Brilliant and thoughtful insight into the mind of an eleven year old and the wonderful power of cooking. -- Lorraine PascalePoor Billy seems to get everything wrong. However hard he tries, somehow or another things never work out well. And secretly Billy knows why - it's him, there is something wrong with him. Sally Donovan's deeply felt story gives us a glimpse of how hard it is for Billy to keep trying and hoping that things might be different. He seems actively to push away all attempts to help him and the adults struggle to know how to do anything of use. With his tricky dog by his side Billy doesn't know how to be close. Until the Cook Off. The accumulation of the months and years of stubborn care provided by kind adults starts to break through and we see the vulnerable parts of Billy (which have been there all along) begin to emerge.This moving and psychologically sound story encapsulates many key themes expressed by vulnerable children and paints a vivid picture of the seeming impossible dilemmas they may be facing. Compelling for children, this book will also be of great value to adults as through Billy they gain insight into the risks children face when they begin to dare to trust. -- Dr Vivien Norris, Consultant Clinical PsychologistI like the way Billy has an invisible dog. It is one of the best books I have read. -- Sophie, 13I love Billy - he is funny and cool and awesome and I understand him. I think he was very brave for entering the competition. The story made me laugh a lot. -- JBThe book shows even if you are different you can achieve. -- Jordan, 14The story is good. It makes you want to read on. -- Adam, 12I liked the character of Billy. -- Thomas, 13An inspiring read which will encourage children to get cooking in order to make delicious food and also gain confidence in their own abilities. -- Jo Ingleby, BBC Cook of the Year 2015 and Chef in Residence at Redcliffe Children's Centre

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Book SynopsisHelping vulnerable children and young people to build protective behaviours is the key to keeping them safe.Full of creative ideas and activities, this guide provides the tools to help children develop these key skills. Topics include work around: building resilience and problem solving skills; identifying a 'safety network'; developing emotional literacy; awareness of grooming strategies and safe/unsafe touch; and cyber safety. The range of tried and tested techniques will be sure to engage any child in thinking about their personal safety, allowing adult carers to have confidence that their child will be empowered to better identify and avoid harmful situations and behaviours.Practical and easy to use, this is a valuable resource for professionals working with vulnerable children and young people, such as adopted or fostered children and those in residential care, as well as the parents and carers of these children.Trade ReviewNestled at the heart of child-centred practice, brimming with easy-to-do ideas, this book is a fantastic resource for practitioners in all sectors working with children. While acknowledging traumatic experiences including child sexual abuse and children entering the care system, the many examples from practice bring the creative, cost-free activities to life. This book enables children to engage with Protective Behaviours, so they can explore ways to feel safer and know they can always talk with someone if feeling unsafe. -- Judith Staff, Protective Behaviours Trainer and Specialist Practitioner, UKHelping Vulnerable Children and Adolescents to Stay Safe is an essential text for educators, carers and any professionals who work with children. The easy-to-follow activities and protective behaviours information are vital in helping us as a society to protect children from all forms of abuse. Prevention education is crucial to the well-being of children and I highly recommend Helping Vulnerable Children and Adolescents to Stay Safe for its age-appropriate and practical tasks. The information and skills children will receive via this book are both empowering and essential. -- Jayneen Sanders, Author of 'Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept' and 'No Means No!', AustraliaTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. Introduction. Chapter 1: Building Resilience and Self Esteem. Chapter 2: Emotional Literacy and the Body's Emotional Communication. Chapter 3: Feeling Safe and Understanding What It Means. Chapter 4: Body Awareness and Boundaries. Chapter 5: Developing Problem Solving Skills. Chapter 6: Working With Vulnerable Adolescents. Chapter 7: Safety Online.

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Book SynopsisHow can we help heal children who have been abused or neglected? Healing Child Trauma Through Restorative Parenting details how children can be helped to recover with the use of Restorative Parenting, an innovative model informed by psychological and neurological understanding of trauma and its effects. It explains the critical role that people, relationships and the environment play in a child's recovery. It shows what constitutes a therapeutic environment, whereby a child experiences therapy not as one-to-one sessions but as a lived experience. The authors show how other components of the model - building therapeutic relationships, promoting positive education and encouraging clinically informed life style choices - are intimately linked, each critical to the re-parenting which the child undergoes.This book will be welcomed by professionals working with children, including those in residential, health and foster care, psychology, education and health, as well as those commissioning services. The models, concepts and practices are transferable to public, private and charitable agencies.Trade ReviewHealing Child Trauma Through Restorative Parenting offers a coherent theoretical contribution, and a helpful addition to the range of literature on therapeutic residential interventions, that are so critical to meet the needs of the growing number of traumatised children and young people who find themselves 'looked after' on behalf of our society. As such, the book, and the model it expounds, emphasises the important role that residential care placements can offer in providing a vital 'time and space' in which young people can safely explore, and ultimately internalise positive experiences of the emotional health enhancing attachments that they need, with safe, caring and nurturing adults. -- John Diamond, CEO, The Mulberry Bush OrganisationHealing Child Trauma Through Restorative Parenting provides a much-needed resource for anyone working with children suffering from the impact of traumatic or abusive parenting. Robinson and Philpot address the need for a more comprehensive approach to care, providing clinicians and caregivers with evidence-based skills for re-parenting a traumatized child. -- Mary C. Walsh, D.Min., LMFTHaving the responsibility of being the primary carer and homemaker for a child, you often find yourself looking for someone to reorient you with the needs of a young person. This book includes reminders of the subtle everyday things that make care personal. It describes methods and strategies as it shows how child-centred children's services can be, if these principles and practices are applied. Central to the book is that the professional task has to be more than a theory, more than a professional practice. It has to be a relationship, it's personal and it's a necessary precondition for positive development. Whatever you are doing at whatever time of day and wherever you are, this book can be there with you helping you to hold the child in mind so that every moment is one devoted to growth and development. It's a gem of a book. -- Jonathan Stanley, Principal Partner, National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care and CEO, Independent Children's Homes AssociationTable of ContentsForeword. 1. Children in Care: What is Care and why are the Children there? 2. Restorative Parenting: Meeting the Lived Experience of the Child. 3. A Home for the Child: Creating a Therapeutic Environment. 4. Another Kind of Parent: Therapeutic Parenting. 5. It's the Relationship that counts. 6. A Matter of Choices: Clinical insight for the long term. 7. Education, Education, Education. 8. People at the Centre: Staff Consultation, Support and Values. Appendix I. Notes. References. The Authors. Subject Index. Author Index. About Halliwell Homes.

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Book SynopsisHelping Foster Children In School explores the challenges that foster children face in schools and offers positive and practical guidance tailored to help the parents, teachers and social workers supporting them. Children in care often perform poorly at school both in terms of their behavior and their academic performance, with many failing to complete their education. They will have often experienced trauma or neglect which can result in a number of developmental delays. By looking at why children in foster care do not perform as well as their counterparts, John DeGarmo, who has fostered more than 40 children, provides easy-to-use strategies to target the problems commonly faced. He emphasizes the importance of an open dialogue between teacher, parent and social worker, to ensure that everyone is working jointly to achieve the best outcome for the child. An invaluable resource for foster parents, social workers and educators alike, this book encourages a unified response to ensure foster children are given the best chance to succeed at school.Trade ReviewTrue to Dr. DeGarmo's authorship, he has written a book that will greatly assist everyone involved in the education of children in foster care. This book includes impressive examples that go a long way in helping the reader become emotionally involved while learning how to best meet the needs of all parties serving children in foster care with their educational needs. This is an easy to read book that will help everyone who reads it. -- Irene Clements, Executive Director of National Foster Parent Association (NFPA), USADr. John DeGarmo's latest book is a must read for parents, educators, and other professionals who work with students who are in foster care. Dr. John provides unique insight into the educational world of foster children from both his personal and professional experiences in the field. Classroom teachers and administrators will gain a much deeper level of understanding into the struggles that foster children face as they transition into our classrooms. Furthermore, Dr. John offers practical and useful strategies to assist educators and foster parents in making educational experiences more positive for the child during the time of difficult transition. -- Mike Newton, Ed. D. Superintendent of Jasper County Schools, Georgia, USAThe latest book for John DeGarmo, Helping Foster Children in School, is a guide for helping foster parents, social workers, teachers and others as they seek to understand the challenges children in foster care face. The book provides a basic understanding of foster care and why children live in the foster care system. With statistics provided, the book highlights the large number of children entering or live in foster care each year. It also makes clear the enormous number of school children who are not only trying to learn every day, but are dealing with the challenges of living away from their biological families in foster care. Helping Foster Children in School presents a number of challenges these children face from inconsistent school attendance during their early school years to multiple moves creating fractures in learning. The book identifies areas where children struggle and need support and gives ideas how the people in their lives can help. Helping Foster Children in School is an important read for educators, social workers and foster parents alike since they all are responsible for helping a child heal and achieve educational success. Each chapter leads with stories shared by former foster youth, foster parents, educators and social workers. These personal pieces help drive home the important role each of these individuals play in a child's success. Because teachers often aren't familiar with foster care and its impact on children, it's difficult for them to understand what a child is going through and how to relate, let alone teach. Helping Foster Children in School can fill in the learning gap for these teachers and provide them with a window into the world of a child. Educators need to understand the difficult experiences of children and how that impacts learning. Helping Foster Children in School is an educational tool that should be used by the people hoping to guide a child to achieve educational success. -- Fostering Families TodayTable of ContentsForeword. Introduction. 1. Foster Care: An Introduction. 2. Placement Disruptions. 3. School Performance, Academics, and Behavior. 4. Aging out of the System. 5. Why Teachers, Foster Parents, and Case Workers Struggle. 6. Expectations of a Foster Child While in School. 7. How Teachers Can Help. 8. How Foster Parents Can Help. 9. How Social Workers Can Help. 10. Creating a Support Team. Appendix A. Appendix B. Appendix C. Resources.

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Book SynopsisFriendship is so complicated! The children of The Adoption Club think they are friends - they go to the same school and belong to The Adoption Club.But what does it mean? What is the difference between a casual and a close friend? How should you respond to teasing? It's time for The Adoption Club to explore friendship.Written for counsellors and therapists working with children aged 5-11, as well as adoptive parents, this workbook is designed to help explore friendship, staying safe and social skills. It is one of a set of five interactive therapeutic workbooks featuring The Adoption Club written to address the key emotional and psychological challenges adopted children often experience. Together, they provide an approachable, interactive and playful way to help children to learn about themselves and have fun at the same time.Trade ReviewThe Adoption Club series by Regina M. Kupecky is a novel concept for helping adopted children share their stories. This therapeutic tool will help adoptees find and use their voices. Thank you, Regina! -- Sherrie Eldridge, author and speaker in the field of adoptionTable of ContentsIntroduction. Story. Bibliography.

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Book SynopsisWho are my birthparents? Is it okay to think about them? Can I care about all of my parents at once?A Place in My Heart tells the simple story of Charlie, a chipmunk adopted by a family of squirrels, who starts to wonder about his birthparents. At first he is scared that this might upset his family but feels much better when he talks to his mother. The story reassures children that it is okay to ask questions about their birthparents without upsetting their “forever” (adoptive) parents. This fully illustrated picture book for adopted children aged 2-5 gives you an opportunity to discuss adoption, birthparents, and the fact that our hearts are big enough to hold everyone we care about.Trade ReviewThis charming and realistic book helps children learn to talk about their feelings rather than act out. Charlie has big feelings about adoption, identity and birth parents and acts out his feelings. He is helped by his adopted mother to express his feelings in a positive way including an art project. The children I have used this book with love him and love doing the project. -- Regina M. Kupecky, social worker at The Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio, co-author of Adopting The Hurt Child, Parenting the Hurt child, A Foster-Adoption Story: Angela and Michael's Journey and The Case of the Multiple MothersI consider A Place In My Heart one of the very best books for young adopted children (and their parents) because it demonstrates how to make it 'OK' for children to hold their feelings and connections for both of their 'real' families: their birth parents and their adoptive parents. No surprise the book was written by an adult adoptee - she really 'gets it!' -- Beth Hall, Director, Pact An Adoption Alliance www.pactadopt.org , author of Inside Transracial AdoptionThis story... highlights that you may not have an answer to all your child's questions, but if you can hold their emotions and be by their side, they can live without these answers. -- Youth in MindA Place in My Heart is neither over nor understated in its dealings with adoption. The soft illustrations are well incorporated into the text and greatly enhance the narrative... It is evident that Mary Grossnickle is writing from experience. This is a comforting guide for parents and children alike who are dealing with adoption. -- Sasha Jawed * The School Librarian (SL) *

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Book SynopsisAs an adoptee, do you have mixed feelings about your adoption? If you do, you are not alone - adoptees often experience complex feelings of grief, anger, and questions about their identity. Sherrie Eldridge is an adoptee and adoption expert, and in this book she draws on her personal experiences and feelings relating to adoption as well as interviews with over 70 adoptees. Sherrie reveals how you can discover your own unique life purpose and worth, and sets out 20 life-transforming choices which you have the power to make. The choices will help you discover answers about issues such as: Why do I feel guilty when I think about my birth parents? Why can't I talk about the painful aspects of adoption? Where can I gain an unshakable sense of self-esteem? Sherrie also addresses the problem of depression among adoptees and common dilemmas such as if, when and how to contact a birth mother or father. This fully updated second edition includes new material on finding support online, contacting family through social media, and features three new chapters, including Sherrie's story of reuniting with her birth brother, Jon, in adulthood.Trade ReviewTwenty Life-Transforming Choices Adoptees Need to Make is indeed life-transforming for those who will take advantage of the wisdom contained therein. The practical help given in chapters six and seven alone are worth the price of the book! So often as adoptees we can struggle with a lack of understanding from those who are not adopted, and how to respond to triggering statements or actions. Sherrie's wisdom on these issues is spot on. Adoptees will find great solace in her words and real help for the plethora of issues we deal with post-adoption. I am so very grateful for this amazing resource! -- Deanna Doss Shrodes, Blogger, Adoptee Restoration, Author, Worthy to Be FoundAlthough geared toward adoptee concerns and beliefs, Sherrie Eldridge's latest book provides practical and spiritual information helpful to both adoptive and birth families. Social workers, therapists, and adoption professionals will find this book an important companion piece to Ms. Eldridge's first book, Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew. -- Dirck Brown, Ed.D., author Clinical Practice in Adoption; founder, Post Adoption Center for Education and Research (PACER)As an adoptive mom and singer/songwriter and speaker at adoption conferences, I am once again VERY grateful for the honest and extremely helpful nature of Sherrie's latest book, Twenty Life-Transforming Choices Adoptees Need to Make. Her previous books have been instrumental in preparing me and assisting us after the fact in our own family's adoption of two siblings who'd suffered greatly. As our children grow and comprehend more of their past, present, and future, Sherrie's insights and significant research continue to be an indispensable part of the healing, understanding, and hope-inspiring process for our entire family. -- Becky Wright, Singer/Songwriter/Speaker Founder of Tahlequah Orphan & Adoption Ministries Department of Artists in Christian Testimony, InternationalOnce again Sherrie Eldridge has written a very helpful book for the adoption community. This time her efforts have been directed toward adoptees and the twenty ways in which she encourages them to take control of their own healing. -- Nancy Verrier, M.F.T., author of The Primal Wound and Coming Home to SelfSherrie Eldridge speaks what so many of us wish we'd been able to explain to our adoptive parents. This has helped me tremendously as an adoptive mother myself now. -- Rebecca Kiessling, Founder and President of Save The 1, Co-Founder of Hope After Rape Conception, International Speaker and Attorney, Adoptee and Adoptive Mother.Sherrie Eldridge, the adoption expert who has so ably helped adoptive parents better understand their children's needs, is back again, helping other adoptees to learn from her own journey through search and reunion with her latest guide,Twenty Life-Transforming Choices Adoptees Need to Make. It's a well-written guide for adoptees of all ages, empowering them to grow in positive new directions-- regardless of the outcome of their search. If adoption is your mountain, Sherrie Eldridge is your best possible sherpa, for few understand all of its peaks and passes the way Sherrie does, and her sage advice can help you reach your own summit. -- Elizabeth Jurenovich, Ms, LCPAA, LPC, LMFT Executive Director Abrazo Adoption AssociatesSherrie has written an honest book of courage, trust, and hope. Her practical ideas, deep insights, and all-embracing sensitivity will be of great assistance to adoptees as they construct their life stories. Her core message: Do not look away; discover who you are. -- Dan Hughes, Ph.D., author of Building the Bonds of Attachment and Focused Family Therapy WorkbookThis is a powerfully written book. Sherrie's revealing documentation of her insights for adoptees combined with her own and others' intimate, personal experiences dramatically highlights her difficult but liberating journey. -- Dale E. Theobald, Ph.D., M.D., Senior Medical Director for Community Home Health Services and Palliative Care at Community North Health Network, Indianapolis, Indiana.It is impossible to articulate how life-changing Sherrie Eldridge's book has been for me! This book gave voice to my thoughts, emotions, and actions that were holding me back from fully living the life I was created to live. Eldridge uncovers the common threads adoptees hold on to throughout our lives, including grief, loss, rejection, fear, hope and love. Many clients say, "I wish I had known about this resource years ago". -- LeAnne Parsons CPC, ELI-MP, The Walk Your Talk Coach, Legacy Now Lived™Table of ContentsPART 1: Our lifelong search for truth. 1 Caught unaware, 2 Preparing to grow. PART 2: Twenty truths and twenty choices that can transform. 3 Thoughts about our birth parents are innate, 4 Painful feelings about our adoption are normal, 5 Learning about adoption dynamics will help us relax, 6 It may often seem like no one 'gets it', 7 Share deep feelings only with "safe" people, 8 We can control our anger -- really!, 9 We can get unstuck from our painful past, 10 Many of us experience echoes of loss, 11 An Hour with a Fellow Adoptee Is Better Than Therapy, 12 False guilt shouldn't stop us from considering a reunion 13: Search and reunion may become a top priority, 14 We don't need to fear seeming ungrateful or disloyal, 15 We must give up being pleasers, 16 Taking concrete steps toward obtaining our pre-adoption history requires courage... we can do it!, 17 When we feel overwhelmed we must be gentle with ourselves, 18 Birth relatives may reject us, but there's someone who never will, 19 The word "rejection" may not be in the vocabularies of other birth relatives!, 20 Letting go of our birth mother's original decision will set us free, 21 Our footsteps are unique across the sands, 22 We can help others by being transparent, Appendix, Notes

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Book SynopsisMany people say being a parent is the toughest job there is. John DeGarmo, foster and adoptive parent, tells us just how tough it can be, having parented over 40 children. At times he and his wife, Kelly, have cared for up to nine children at a time, many with severe trauma and learning difficulties. Love and Mayhem is an honest and open account of the struggles, sadness and joy that comes with the job of being a parent to a traumatized child. From the sleepless nights with babies withdrawing from drug-addiction, to the heartbreak when a child moves on to another home, and the loving chaos that comes with a large and blended family, John DeGarmo fights for the many children who have come through his home.Ideal for foster families, general readers, fostering agencies and social workers who are looking for a true to life memoir of what it really is to be a foster parent.Trade ReviewTruly inspiring- John and Kelly DeGarmo go to extraordinary lengths to love broken children into wholeness and to teach others how to do the same. -- Rhonda Sciortino, author of Succeed Because of What You've Been ThroughSo many emotions abound in this book: joy and sorrow, trust and fear, elation and anger, confidence and uncertainty, energy and exhaustion, confirmation and questioning.... all reflect an honest view of foster parenting. Foster parents will love this book as it confirms everything they experience that others do not understand. For others it provides a true picture of the life of a foster family. Kudos to John DeGarmo for this well-written, entertaining and honest book. -- Irene Clements, Foster Care Consultant and President, National Foster Parent Association, USAJohn DeGarmo has established himself as an expert on foster care and adoption, yet he calls foster parenting the hardest thing he's ever done. Any foster parent I've ever known or read about would whole-heartedly agree with DeGarmo's assessment. In Love and Mayhem: One Big Family's Uplifting Story of Fostering and Adoption, DeGarmo tells stories from the front lines, as his family has fostered dozens of children through the years. On one level, DeGarmo's experience might discourage potential foster parents from entering the fray. Foster parenting can be full of heartbreak. DeGarmo does not gloss over the pain and ugliness of fostering. Yet the love and healing that foster children can find in families like the DeGarmos' is crucial and undeniable. DeGarmo describes the rewards and satisfaction of fostering in spite of the pain. Would that more families followed the DeGarmos' example and took up the mantle of fostering in cities across the country. -- Paul Mastin, adoptive parentTable of ContentsContents, Acknowledgments, Preface, Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six, Chapter Seven, Chapter Eight, Chapter Nine, Chapter Ten, Chapter Eleven, Chapter Twelve, Chapter Thirteen, Chapter Fourteen, Chapter Fifteen.

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Book SynopsisTherapeutic Residential Care For Children and Youth takes a fresh look at therapeutic residential care as a powerful intervention in working with the most troubled children who need intensive support. Featuring contributions from distinguished international contributors, it critically examines current research and innovative practice and addresses the key questions: how does it work, what are its critical “active ingredients” and does it represent value for money? The book covers a broad spectrum of established and emerging approaches pioneered around with world, with contributors from the USA, Canada, Scandinavia, Spain, Australia, Israel and the UK offering a mix of practice and research exemplars. The book also looks at the research relating to critical issues for child welfare service providers: the best time to refer children to residential care, how children can be helped to make the transition into care, the characteristics of children entering and exiting care, strategies for engaging families as partners, how the substantial cost of providing intensive is best measured against outcomes, and what research and development challenges will allow therapeutic residential care to be rigorously compared with its evidence-based community-centered alternatives. Importantly, the volume also outlines how to set up and implement intensive child welfare services, considering how transferable they are, how to measure success and value for money, and the training protocols and staffing needed to ensure that a programme is effective.This comprehensive volume will enable child welfare professionals, researchers and policymakers to develop a refined understanding of the potential of therapeutic residential care, and to identify the highest and best uses of this intensive and specialized intervention.Trade ReviewWhittaker, Del Valle and Holmes, together with their contributors, address key challenges related to how well-designed, short-term group care interventions can help children address severe emotional and behavioral conditions. Their careful attention to treatment design and measurement showcase strategies that can be readily applied to improve service quality and outcomes. -- Peter J. Pecora, School of Social Work, University of Washington, USAThis book makes an important contribution to one of the critical issues in the field of child welfare. It engages with many of the challenges of caring for very troubled young people who require resource-intensive support. -- From the Foreword by Robbie Gilligan, Professor of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College, DublinOffers greater understanding of a rich and varied field of residential child practice. -- Scottish Journal of Residential Child CareTable of ContentsForeword by Robbie Gilligan, Trinity College, Dublin. Part 1. Introduction. The Current Landscape of Therapeutic Residential Care: James K Whittaker, Jorge F. del Valle and Lisa Holmes. Part 1. Pathways to Therapeutic Residential Care. Chapter 1, Making Sense of Differential Cross-National Placement Rates for Therapeutic Residential Care: Some Take Away Messages for Policy, June Thoburn, Professor Emeritus, University of East Anglia and Frank Ainsworth, James Cook University, Queensland, Australia. Chapter 2. Needs and characteristics of high-resource users: Spain, Jorge F. del Valle, Amaia Bravo and Ana Sainero, University of Oviedo,Spain. Chapter 3. Needs and characteristics of high-resource using children and youth: North America, John Lyons, University of Ottawa, Canada, Chapter 4. Benarand characteristics of high-resource using children and youth: Denmark, Mette Lausten, Danish National Centre for Social Research, Chapter 5. Part 2. Promising Program Models and Innovative Practices. Varieties of Nordic Residential Care, Turf Jakobsen, Danish National Centre for Social Research, Chapter 6. MultifunC - Multifunctional Treatment in Residential and Community Settings: Norway, Tore Andreassen, Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs, Chapter 7. The Family Home Program: An Adaption of the Teaching Family Model at Boys Town, Ronald W. Thompson, Director, Boys Town National Research Institute and Dan Daly, Executive Vice President and Director of Youth Care, Boys Town, Nebraska, Chapter 8. A New Era in the Development of Therapeutic Residential Care in the State of Victoria: Australia, Patricia McNamara, La Trobe University, Australia, Chapter 9. Evidence-based Practices in Therapeutic Residential Care, Sigrid James, Loma Linda University, California, Chapter 10. Creating and maintaining family-staff partnerships in Residential Treatment Programs: Shared Decisions, Full Participationm Mutual Responsibilty, Richard W. Small, The Walker School, Massachusetts, Christopher Bellonci, MD, Tufts University, Massachusetts and President, American Association of Children's Residential Centers, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Susan Ramsey, The Walker School. Part 4. Preparing Youth For Successful Transitions from Therapeutic Residential Care. Chapter 11. Relationship between Adult Outcomes of Young People Making the Transition to Adulthood from Out-of-Home Care and Prior Residential Care, Nathanael Okpych and Mark Courtney, University of Chicago, Chapter 12. Supportive Pathways for Young People Leaving Care: Lessons Learned from Four Decades of Research, Mike Stein, University of York, UK, Chapter 13. Listening to young people in care in Israel: a brief note from research about successful transitions to adulthood, Anat Zeira, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Part 5. Critically Examining the Current Research Base for Therapeutic Residential Care. Chapter 14. Uncovering What is Inside the 'Black Box' of Effective Therapeutic Residential Youth Care, Annemiek T. Harder, Assistant Professor and Erik Knorth, University of Groningen, Netherlands, Chapter 15. Improving the Research Base for Therapeutic Residential Care: Logistical and Analytic Challenges Meet Methodological Innovations, Bethany R. Lee and Richard P. Barth, University of Maryland, USA. Part 5. Calculating Costs for Therapeutic Residential Care. Chapter 16. Estimating Unit Costs for Therapeutic Residential Care, Lisa Holmes, Centre for Child and Family Research (CCFR), Loughborough University perspectives and commentaries by: Richard W. Small and Christopher Bellonci: North America, Laura Palareti, University of Bologna and Chiara Berti, University of Chieti-Pescara: Italy, Andrew Kendrick, University of Strathclyde: Scotland, Frank Ainsworth and Deirdre Cheers: Australia. Part 6. Linking Focused Training and Critical Evaluation in Therapeutic Residential Care: A Foundation for Staff Support. Chapter 17. Helping staff to connect quality, practice and evaluation in therapeutic residential care: the SERAR model in Spain, Amaia Bravo, Jorge F. del Valle & Iriana Santos, Child and Family Research Group, University of Oviedo, Spain, Chapter 18. A European perspective on the context and content for social pedagogy in therapeutic residential care, Hans Grietens, University of Groningen, Netherlands, Chapter 19: Engaging the total therapeutic residential care program in a process of quality improvement: Learning from the Care Model, Martha Holden, Michael Nunno and Charles Izzo, Cornell University, New York and James Anglin, University of Victoria, Canada, Chapter 20. Outcomes Management in Residential Treatment: The CANS Approach, John Lyons, University of Ottawa, Canada. Part 8. Conclusion. Shaping the Future for Therapeutic Residential Care, James K Whittaker, Jorge F. del Valle and Lisa Holmes

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Book SynopsisPacked full of great ideas for fun games and activities, this book encourages positive attachments between a parent or carer and their child. When it comes to choosing the best games to play with children who have difficulties attaching, it is often hard to know how to play with a purpose. This book contains fun, age-appropriate games along with an explanation of why they matter. All the games included are designed for specific age ranges, from infants to older children, and help to address particular needs in children that are known to affect attachment, including fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. It provides an easy-to-understand description of attachment and reveals the crucial role that play has in forming attachments. Written for parents and carers, as well as for use by professionals, it is full of strategies to help build healthy attachments in children who have experienced early trauma.Trade ReviewFinally a book to engage children in building attachments with their parents through playing games. This book is practical and offers fun activities to encourage closer relationships between parents and children. -- Dr. Sue Cornbluth, National Parenting Expert in Childhood Trauma, USAWhen children are exposed to poor care very early in life, they have to suppress two very important processes that normally help children to feel safe with and enjoy their relationships with caregivers: separation distress which engenders the need for comfort and playfulness which leads to joyful connection. In this book, the authors focus on the playfulness side of parent-child connections, offering a wealth of practical, hands-on ways for caregivers to engage children in playful interactions. Parents and therapists who work with children exposed to poor care early in life will find this book extremely helpful. -- Jonathan Baylin, PhD, psychologist and coauthor of Brain Based ParentingIn a culture which is heavily focused on how to teach our children, or how to discipline them, the importance of play and joy in connection can get lost. All children, and especially children who have difficult early parenting experience, need connection and to discover the joy in relationship. Within this book Deborah Gray and her colleagues have delightfully put play at the centre of family life. There are lots of ideas for games tailored to age and with specific difficulties in mind. More importantly perhaps these ideas can act as a springboard for families to invent their own unique way of bringing fun into their lives. -- Kim S. Golding, Clinical Psychologist...really interesting, to the point, succinct... includes games for bonding with your child; between an adult/parent, games for the whole family, games for siblings... would be really beneficial for... a support group, foster carers doing foster parent training or skills to foster, prospective adopters... or a social work team. 7 out of 10. -- Al Coates, Adoptive parent and blogger at Misadventures of an Adoptive DadGames and Activities for Attaching With Your Child is a critical tool for anyone who is looking to nurture attachment with an adopted, biological or foster child. Deborah D. Gray, an expert in the field of attachment and adoption, along with her co-workers, have written an easily understandable and accessible book about games that can help children attach even in the most difficult of circumstances. They clearly lay out the importance of play for children and how it supports brain development, good social skills and the ability to connect with loved ones in order to aid in healthy connections. Step-by-step, from infancy to teens, they lay out activities for families to play in a fun, engaging and meaningful manner. What I like best is that it tells you how to use these activities for children all across the spectrum, from "normal" children to those who are detached and afraid to connect and have been hurt by trauma. As a social worker I have used some of these games and activities with my own clients to excellent effect but best of all, have shown parents how to play with their children where it counts the most which is with each other at home. As a foster mom I can say that these games work and have enhanced my relationships with my children. -- Karen Oil, Licensed Independent Clinical Social WorkerTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. Introduction. Chapter 1: Bonds, Attachment and Play. Chapter 2: The Value of Play. Chapter 3: Connecting the Two of You. Chapter 4: Connecting the Whole Family. Chapter 5: Connecting Siblings. Chapter 6: Activities to Help with Mood and Flexibility. Chapter 7: Building Attachment When Children Have Had Exposure to Toxins. Addendum. Resources.

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Book SynopsisHow Does Foster Care Work? is an international collection of empirical studies on the outcomes of children in foster care. Drawing on research and perspectives from leading international figures in children's services across the developed world, the book provides an evidence base for programme planning, policy and practice.This volume establishes a platform for comparison of international systems, trends and outcomes in foster care today. Each contributor provides a commentary on one other chapter to highlight the global significance of issues affecting children and young people in care. Each chapter offers new ideas about how foster care could be financed, delivered or studied in order to become more effective.This book is important reading for anyone involved in delivering child welfare services, such as administrators, practitioners, researchers, policy makers, children's advocates, academics and students.Trade ReviewThe authors conclude with the hope that the findings which are reflected in this volume have the potential to bring a greater understanding of the complex interplay of those factors that nurture or impede the well-being of children in care. They anticipate that it would impact positively on care planning, the provision of services, the development of policy and future research. We know that foster care works. This book may very well make it work better. -- Aotearoa New Zealand Social WorkThis is a must-read for any social worker who desire greater understanding of the theoretical principles and empirical evidence that undergird foster care today in a number of developed countries... We know that foster care works. This book may very well make it work better. -- Aotearoa New Zealand Social WorkEach study scrupulously teases out the different variables affecting outcomes. The volume ends with a synthesis of research findings giving direction for policy, practice and research... My personal preference is for those studies that powerfully convey the experience of children, such as chapters by Fernandez on Growing up in Care and by Ward and Munro on Very Young Children in Care in England. The latter highlights the instability that was a feature for many infants, with 45 per cent having four or more placements. The consequences of placement disruption and instability on relationships, emotional and behavioural health, and education are a theme in a number of chapters. This mirrors recent findings in Hannon et al. . 2010 and gives even greater weight to the authors' call for measures to improve placement stability. Pecora et al. in their chapter on Rates of Emotional and Behavioural Disorders among Alumni of Family Foster Care in the United States make comprehensive recommendations for policy and practice to improve the mental and emotional health of young people in care, which I warmly commend. Various authors comment on both the positive and negative aspects of contact, with Farmer arguing persuasively In her chapter on Fostering Adolescents in England for differential approaches to contact decisions, to support grandparent contact and promote children's links with extended family members. The volume clearly demonstrates the value of studying fostering cross-nationally and will be of interest to policy makers, commissioners of care services, practitioners and researchers. -- Wiley Online Library, Child Abuse ReviewFoster care practice needs both an international perspective and an evidence base to allow us to learn and develop. This book supports both of these objectives. -- Children & Young People NowTable of ContentsPart 1. Introduction. Foreword. James K. Whittaker, University of Washington, USA. Introduction: Reviewing International Evidence to Inform Foster Care Policy and Practice. Elizabeth Fernandez, University of New South Wales, Australia and Richard P. Barth, University of Maryland, USA. 1. International Perspectives on Foster Care. June Thoburn, University of East Anglia, UK. Part 2. Placement Movements and Destinations. 2. Five Year Developmental Outcomes for Young Children Remaining in Foster Care, Returned Home or Adopted. Richard P. Barth and Christopher Lloyd, University of Arkansas, USA. 3. The Placement Stability in Foster Care. Fred Wulczyn and Lijun Chen, University of Chicago, USA. 4. Foster Care in the Netherlands: Correlates of Placement Breakdown and Successful Placement. Johan Piet Strijker, University of Groningen, The Netherlands. 5. Profile and Scope of Foster Care in Spain. Jorge Fernandez del Valle and Mónica López, University of Oviedo, Spain. 6. Reunification in Australia: Insights from South Australia and New South Wales. Elizabeth Fernandez and Paul Delfabbro, University of Adelaide, Australia Part 3. The Foster Care Experience: A Life Course Perspective. 7. Very Young Children in Care in England: Issues for Foster Care. Harriet Ward and Emily R. Munro, Loughborough University, UK 8. Fostering Adolescents in England: What Contributes to Success? Elaine Farmer, University of Bristol, UK. 9. Rates of Mental, Emotional, and Behavioural Disorders Among Alumni of Family Foster Care in the United States: The Casey National Alumni Study. Peter J. Pecora, Catherine Roller White, Lee Ann Murdock, Kirk O'Brien, Casey Family Programs, USA, Ronald C. Kessler, Nancy Sampson and Irving Hwang Harvard Medical School, USA. Part 4. Psychological Outcomes and Correlates of Outcomes. 10. What Makes for Effective Foster Care: Some Issues. Ian Sinclair, University of York, UK. 11. Long-term Outcomes of Foster Care: Lessons from Swedish National Cohort Studies. Bo Vinnerljung, University of Stockholm, Sweden, Eva Franzén, Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, Sweden, Anders Hjern, National Board of Health and Welfare, Sweden and Frank Lindblad, Uppsala University, Sweden. 12. Foster Care in Denmark: Comparing Kinship and Non-Kinship Forms of Care. Lajla Knudsen, Tim Egelund and Anne-Dorthe Hestbæck, SFI, The Danish National Centre for Social Research, Denmark. 13. Selected Educational Outcomes for Young People Aged 17–19 Years in Long Term Foster Care in Ireland. Fiona Daly, Irish Association of Young People in Care, Ireland and Robbie Gilligan, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. 14. Can Tutoring by Foster Parents Improve Foster Children's Basic Academic Skills? A Canadian Randomized Field Trial. Robert J. Flynn, Marie-Pierre Paquet and Robyn Marquis, University of Ottawa, Canada. 15. Wellbeing in Foster Care: An Australian Longitudinal Study of Outcomes. Elizabeth Fernandez. Commentary by Robert Flynn. Conclusion. Richard P. Barth and Elizabeth Fernandez. List of Contributors. Index.

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Book SynopsisAdopted children whose early development has been altered by abuse or neglect may form negative beliefs about themselves and parents, and may resist connecting with others. This book outlines how therapeutic stories can help children to heal and develop healthy attachments.With a thorough theoretical grounding, the book demonstrates how to create therapeutic stories that improve relationships, heal past trauma, and change problem behaviour. The story of a fictional family that develops its own narratives to help their adopted child heal illustrates the techniques. This second edition includes updated research on attachment, trauma and the developmental process; a new chapter on parental attunement and regulation; and a new chapter with full length samples of a variety of narrative types.The gentle and non-intrusive techniques in this book will be highly beneficial for children with attachment difficulties. This guide will be an invaluable resource for parents of adopted children and the professionals working with them.Trade ReviewOverall, I found this book to be an interesting and stimulating read. The early chapters refreshed my knowledge and understanding of attachment difficulties, particularly as they relate to adopted children. I found the Family Attachment Narrative Therapy approach and the case examples given fascinating and was pleased that parents were of key importance in developing their own narratives... I would recommend this book both to professionals working with adoptive families, to parents of adopted children and to those with an interest in this area or in therapeutic story telling. -- DebateThis book is a welcome addition to the resources available to not only adoptive parents but also social workers in practice with children and young people with attachment issues. -- RostrumThis book is a discussion and guide on the use of narrative to help children and parents work through difficult behaviour and attachment issues. But it is also much more... This book's emphasis on helping parents do the therapeutic work of building the family as a safe healing space is spot on. -- Children & Young People NowThis book provides a very valuable, innovative resource for adoptive families supporting children with complex, traumatic early life histories. The focus is on empowering adoptive families to support their children with complex, traumatic early life stories. The focus is on empowering adoptive families to support their children, by giving them a thorough understanding of how early life history will affect each child's internal working model... I found this a very exciting, meaningful book. It provides clarity and recognition of the challenges and issues for adopted children with complex, traumatic early life histories. -- Lapidus JournalStories are the currency of life. "Connecting with Kids Through Stories: Using Narratives to Facilitate Attachement in Adopted Children" discusses the importance of stories in forming bonds with adopted children, to children who may not have had the easiest life coming into a caring parent's care.... A strong pick for parenting collections, especially those with a focus on adoption. -- The Midwest Book ReviewThis is a clear, practical, relevant and optimistic book that gives adoptive parents a deeper insight into the lives of their children, and an effective intervention made all the more attractive because it is based on the universally familiar and compelling business of telling stories about life’s most significant emotional experiences. -- David Howe, Professor Emeritus, School of Social Work and Psychology, University of East Anglia, UKThis is a wonderful book that goes to the heart of the matter in healing traumatized adoptees. If adopted kids are to grow and thrive in their adoptive family, the how and why of the arrival into the forever home must be told. Using the context of storytelling to tell the often painful tale is brilliant - even challenging and older children will accept a story. I particularly like the abundant examples of stories, the words of encouragement to parents to get started, the use of narratives to cover all aspects of the aftermath of trauma, the overview of how trauma leaves a child afflicted and the overriding message that underneath all the chaotic behavior is a child desperately trying to tell us the meaning of his or her experiences. Once attune to this meaning, each member of the family can connect. Thus, the meaning of being a part of a healthy family emerges for the adoptee, brothers, sisters and parents. -- Arleta James, therapist, Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio, USATable of ContentsForeword. Acknowledgements Legacy of an Adopted Child. Introduction. 1. The Internal Working Model. 2. Putting the Pieces Together: Discovering the Child's Model. 3. Narratives that Bond, Heal and Teach. 4. Parental Attunement and Regulation. 5. Claiming Narratives. 6. Trauma Narratives. 7. Developmental Narratives. 8. Successful Child Narratives. 9. Stories, Stories and More Stories. 10. Conclusion. Appendix A. EMDR. Appendix B. Story Construction Guide. References. Resources and Recommended Reading. Index.

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Book SynopsisAttaching in Adoption is a comprehensive guide for prospective and actual adoptive parents on how to understand and care for their adopted child and promote healthy attachment.This classic text provides practical parenting strategies designed to enhance children's happiness and emotional health. It explains what attachment is, how grief and trauma can affect children's emotional development, and how to improve attachment, respect, cooperation and trust. Parenting techniques are matched to children's emotional needs and stages, and checklists are included to help parents assess how their child is doing at each developmental stage. The book covers a wide range of issues including international adoption, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, and learning disabilities, and combines sound theory and direct advice with case examples throughout.This book is a must read for anyone interested in adoption and for all adoptive families. It will also be a valuable resource for adoption professionals.Trade ReviewAttaching in Adoption' is a valuable resource for parents not only as they contemplate building their family through adoption, but also as they travel child's emotionally challenged path towards mental health and happiness. Deborah Gray has described attachment and all of the skills and responses that relate to an individual's attachment style and degree of attachment, and she has done do in a manner easily understood by non-professionals. The chapter on developmental stages is an invaluable tool for parents to assess their child's emotional age and determine what tasks have yet to be mastered. Parents who understand and implement what tasks have yet to be mastered. Parents who understand and implement the wisdom and methods described in this book will certainly strengthen their families! -- Nancy Spoolstra, D.V.M., adoptive and foster parent and Executive Director of the Attachment Disorder NetworkAttaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today's Parents' is a brilliantly written sensitive educational journey into the development world of attachment. The book is a comprehensive and clear depiction of the importance of attachment, the challenge faced by parents adopting high risk children, and the negative effects of trauma and grief on the development of a secure attachment. The book reflects Ms. Gray's depth of perception, understanding of child development, empathy, and attunement with the children and families she has served in her therapeutic practice. Ms. Gray provides practical common sense tools for parents that can support them in developing skills that will enhance healthy relationships and connections with their children. Ms. Gray is realistic and honest as she speaks to parents. She empowers them to take charge in a nurturing way. She respects the importance of the balance of nurture and structure. The chapters building emotional intelligence, forming a team of support, and suggestions of when and where to seek professional help prove a hopefulness that there is a way out of the darkness of emotional chaos into the light of safety and trust for children suffering from attachment problems. Although "Attachment in Adoption" is written primarily for parents. I would encourage my fellow professionals to include this book on their "must read" list. It will assist them in their overall understanding of attachment and in their therapeutic work with adoptive parents and children -- Beverly Cuevas, LCSW, ACSW, Co-founder of Attachment Center Northwest, Founding member and Board member of ATTACH, Founding Board member of ADI (Attachment Disorder Institute)Deborah Gray had written an excellent book on parenting adopted children who resist being parented. It is not a cookbook, but rather a comprehensive book on parenting adopted children with attachment problems. That is why it is excellent. Deborah does not take the easy road of simply giving recommendations for various behavior problems. Instead she takes the more arduous route of first trying to help parents understand the meaning of their adopted child's behaviors. After helping parents to understand the reasons for their child's behaviors, she then gives them the tools for developing interventions that are most likely to fit their unique child. Deborah asks us to go beyond concluding that an adopted child has Reactive Attachment Disorder because they manifest a list of symptoms. She asks us first to also understand the impact of grieving and trauma on a child's functioning. She also asks us to know more about the effects of anxiety, cultural changes, and various other diagnoses, such as ADHD, FAE/FAS, and Learning Disorders. Most importantly, Deborah teaches us about the seven stages of attachment, beginning at birth and extending through adolescence, and she helps us to be aware of various interventions that can facilitate development at each stage. Finally, she tells us about emotional intelligence, its failure to develop following early abuse and neglect, and the importance of understanding ways to facilitate it. Deborah's contribution to parenting adopted children with attachment problems is substantial. It is based on understanding and having empathy of the meaning behind a child's symptoms, along with effective, sensitive, and well-matched parental interventions. At the same time, she addresses the necessity of parental self-care, is parents are to persistently provide the quality of care that their adopted child requires.After reading her book, many parents will feel certain that Deborah understands their child and their family. These same parents will also be likely to understand their child more deeply themselves, and at the same time be able to develop the unique practical skills that parenting their child requires. -- Dan Hughes, Ph.D. author of 'Facilitating Developmental Attachment and Building the Bonds of AttachmentDeborah Gray's work captures theory, practicality, and sensitivity toward traumatized children - all in one book. Too many books have only one of these components, and her integration of may important facets of all three, comfortably leads the reader to a clear understanding of how children are hurt and how families help them heal. I will be extremely comfortable recommending 'Attaching in Adoption' to parents and professionals. I also think it is suitable for adolescents to read. It would help them understand so many of their issues - particularly around the entire birth family "web' and issues of shame and self-blame. I like this book! -- Gregory C. Keck, Ph.D., Founder, Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio and co-author of 'Adopting the Hurt Child' and 'Parenting the 'Hurt Child'Gray, a clinical social worker specializing in attachment, grief and trauma, has penned a comprehensive guidebook for adoptive parents, taking an in-depth look at how children and families adjust. The author notes that many of today's adoptions involve older children, who may have been abused or neglected, or who may have spent years in institutions or various foster situations; due to their past experiences these children may have difficulty attaching to their adoptive parents. Explaining that attachment forms the template for future adult relationships, Gray stresses how important it is for adoptive parents to be patient in forging this new bond. She advises creating a high structure/high nurture environment for the child, and instructs parents to find out about their child's background. The book covers many issues, including cross-cultural and interracial adoption, religious concerns and other complications for attaching, such as ADHD and learning disabilities. Gray also includes a detailed exploration of development delays common in kids who have been adopted later in life. While the book is densely written, it will nevertheless be invaluable for adoptive parents. Gray compassionately helps readers form realistic expectations, while offering a myriad of suggestions for families and children striving to form lasting, loving relationships. -- Publishers WeeklyI have no idea what percentage of a personality is determined by genes. I don't know what a percentage of personality is. But if there's anything I can do to load the dice of fate in my child's favor, I will do it. Most adoptive parents feel the same. 'Attaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today's Parents' is for us. I wish this book had been around a decade ago, when my husband and I first started thinking about adoption. I wish it had been around when we brought our daughter home two years later. And I wish it had been around when our daughter was 21 months old and the babysitter quit and a new one started and our forlorn, frantic child screamed all day, every day, for a week.How we searched Penelope Leach, T. Berry Brazelton, Richard Ferber, and all the other illustrious names in childrearing literature! Their advice, while sometimes helpful, didn't quite fit. What we needed was a Deborah D. Gray to set out - in straightforward, unthreatening language - practical tips for responding to the challenges all adopted children face when they leave one home (their birth parents', their foster family's, or their orphanage) and enter another. Our child's adjustment was relatively easy. But if we'd known more, it could have been easier. 'Attaching in Adoption' covers the full range of attachment challenges - from the transitory to the traumatic and from infancy to adulthood. Gray's approach is positive, practical and realistic, providing age-specific advice with clear explanations of developmental stages for adopted children and checking age-specific advice with clear explanations of developmental stages for adopted children and checklists to help parents assess how their child is doing at each stage. The best part, for those of us who adopted before this book was published, is that it's never too late to learn. For those struggling with serious attachment disorders, this book could be a lifesaver. I agree with Nancy Thomas [the author of 'When Love Is Not Enough: A Guide to Parenting Children with RAD] who wrote: 'This is the most comprehensive work on the subject I have ever enjoyed reading...My wish would be that every adoptive parent could read this book before beginning the journey to adopt.' -- Adoptive FamiliesIn 'Attaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today's Parents', Deborah Gray is able to translate into the written word the same caring, compassion, and respect that she shows toward both child and parent in her person-to-person contacts. In this book she returns again and again to the importance of both nurturing and structure in working to form close family relationships; the striking part is how well she is able to provide both for parents in the writing of this book. She emotionally nurtures parents while providing clear structure for them in creating a family environment that will promote attachments. In identifying ways to promote attachment, she follows a clear developmental approach, recognizing the needs of children of varying ages and helping parents identify how and where their child might be stuck in earlier stages of development. This is very important aspect of this work; what is necessary at one stage may be inappropriate at another. My favourite chapters of the book, however, are two of the shorter ones. Both fill gaps in the adoption literature for parents. The chapter on 'Trauma and Traumatic Loss' translates the more recent information on the physiologic and psychological effects of trauma, as reported in the professional literature, into material that parents can understand and use in their day to day parenting.The second chapter that I particularly like is the one on 'Building Emotional Intelligence'. In this section, Deborah again takes the material from non-adoption sources and translates it into very practical ideas for adoptive parents to use in helping their child build and maintain healthy friendships. She identifies the gaps that children may have in their skills and provides ideas for remediation. As Deborah points out, "Skill in building and retaining healthy friendships is highly correlated with future happiness in life - much more so than are academic skills."Although this book is primarily written for parents, most professionals in the area of adoption will find a wealth of practical ideas for helping parents be successful in building attachments with their adopted children. -- Vera I. Fahlberg, M.D., author of A Child's Journey through Placement"This is the most comprehensive work on the subject I have ever enjoyed reading. Deborah's incredible insight from her years of experience with difficult kids shines through in this enlightening book. No stone is left unturned in her effort to give a clear understanding of attachment. This book will be a powerful tool to help families with their children wounded by attachment breaks. My wish would be that every adoptive parent could read this book before beginning their journey."Nancy Thomas, founder of Families by Design, parent trainer, presenter, and author of 'When Love is Not Enough -- A Guide to Parenting Children with RAD.'"This positive, but realistic book is an important resource for all adoptive families, at any stage of pre and post-adoption. The information on attachment challenges will allow prospective adoptive parents to understand the possible issues of their new children. Those that have adopted will be able to recognize some behaviors of their children and learn methods of parenting that will help all to achieve success.As an adoptive parent and adoption professional, I found the vignettes heart warming and at other times, heart wrenching, but realistic and achievable within a hectic family setting. The clear explanations of the phases allows parents to easily measure where they are, where their children are and how they can improve their parenting and health of entire family. 'Attaching in Adoption' is also a valuable resource for professionals who work with parents. It will assist them to help parents to manoeuvre the sometimes-challenging path of adoptive parenting. Deborah's focus on the health of the family helps to normalize the specialized skills and techniques taught. -- Yolanda Comparan, MSW, Program Manager, Adoption Resource Center Northwest Region (Seattle) Children's Home Society of WashingtonTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. Introduction: Equipping Parents of Children at Risk for Attachment Problems. 1. What is Attachment and Why is it Important? 2. Challenges for Children and Parents. 3. What Children Have Already Learned About Attachment. 4. Grief and Its Effects. 5. Trauma and Traumatic Loss. 6. The Impact of Cultural Change. 7. Other Complications for Attaching. 8. Emotional Development: Promoting Attachment at Every Phase. 9. The Shape of Progress. 10. Relaxing the Grip of Anxiety and Control. 11. The Fairness Factor. 12. Building Emotional Intelligence. 13. Forming a Team of Support. 14. Getting Professional Help. Epilogue. Appendix. Resources. Index.

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Book SynopsisAdopted children who have suffered trauma and neglect have structural brain change, as well as specific developmental and emotional needs. They need particular care to build attachment and overcome trauma.This book provides professionals with the knowledge and advice they need to help adoptive families build positive relationships and help children heal. It explains how neglect, trauma and prenatal exposure to drugs or alcohol affect brain and emotional development, and explains how to recognise these effects and attachment issues in children. It also provides ways to help children settle into new families and home and school approaches that encourage children to flourish. The book also includes practical resources such as checklists, questionnaires, assessments and tools for professionals including social workers, child welfare workers and mental health workers. This book will be an invaluable resource for professionals working with adoptive families and will support them in nurturing positive family relationships and resilient, happy children. It is ideal as a child welfare text or reference book and will also be of interest to parents.Trade ReviewThere are lots of examples and case studies, which makes it easy to understand the concepts described. The author has the ability to bring theory and practice together in a way that is very easy to read and understand... Adoption is a lifelong process and I believe this book can be used through the lifespan of the child, as it would be a handy reference to remind adoptive parents of the challenges their child faces... This book gives a good understanding of the challenges children face when they come into the care system and when they are adopted. It also provides clear and practical guidance on how to support children to rebuild their r relationships and in the process to make them more resilient for the future. A must Read! -- Adoption TodayThis is a very readable, well structured and clearly written book with helpful case examples and a focus on the needs of children at different developmental stages. -- IASW - Irish Social WorkersIn 'Nurturing Adoptions', Deborah Gray delivers an exceptional depiction of the emotional, developmental and neurological impacts of early childhood trauma and neglect. Additionally, she highlights critical areas of assessment that social workers must consider when home studying families prior to placing children who have experienced abuse or neglect. In a field laden with a variety of controversial and coercive methods of working with children demonstrating symptoms of reactive attachment disorder, it is refreshing to see that Deborah not only discourages the early and over diagnosis of RAD, but provides lots of strategies for assessing and working with children and families that are evidence based and sensitive to the development needs of children. My hope is that this book will be read by all social workers and therapists working with foster and adoptive families. We will be making it required reading for our social work staff. Thank you, Deborah, for such a valuable contribution to this field. -- Karen Alvord, L.C.S.W., Executive Director of Lilliput Children's Services, Sacramento, CaliforniaThe "required reading in adoption" list just got longer, and shorter. 'Nurturing Adoptions' is several long-awaited books in one: a deft overview of neglect and trauma's effects of children and families, a collection of practical pearls for adoptive parents, a best practices for child welfare professionals, and a lovely illustration for child therapists of Deborah Gray's state-of-the-art therapeutic approach. While I do enjoy traipsing around the Pacific Northwest to Deborah's fantastic trainings, it's so nice to finally have this material collected in book form, especially one so infused with hope, wry wit, empathy for all involved, and hard-earned practical wisdom. Her previous book, 'Attaching in Adoption', which has been our must-read attachment book for parents and professionals, now has a wonderful new sibling. -- Julian Davies, M.D., Co-Director of The Center for Adoption Medicine, University of WashingtonDeborah Gray, once again, addresses the primary issues that parents and professionals confront when they become involved with hurt children. She has something for just about everyone in the adoption world! Her detailed examination of many cogent issues will help anyone whose life is touched by children and adolescents who have lost so much prior to their adoptions and yet have so much to gain in their new families. Reading Gray's work will leave no stone unturned. -- Gregory C. Keck, Ph.D., Founder/Director of The Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio, Co-author of 'Adopting the Hurt Child' and 'Parenting the Hurt ChildDeborah Gray thinks like a child, both imaginatively and yet very concretely. That's why 'Nurturing Adoptions' is filled with creative ideas and practical suggestions that bring a fresh approach for traumatized children learning to love and trust in an adoptive family. I started to mark the pages of 'Nurturing Adoptions' that contained especially useful ideas and soon found myself in a blizzard of bookmarks. Too much good stuff! -- Mary Ann Curra , M.A., Director of Social Services at World Association for Children and Parents (WACAP), Washington StateNurturing Adoptions' is a "must read" for anyone providing therapeutic services to adoptive families. Deborah provides a wealth of information based on current research that enables therapists to help children and their families heal and develop positive relationships. -- Patty Jewell, L.C.S.W., Therapeutic Foster Care and Home Run Program Supervisor, Bethany Christian Services, Indianapolis BranchAt last there is a "how to" book for professionals working with children with the scars of abuse and neglect. Deborah Gray lays out the foundations of research in this field, explaining how and why children respond to stresses of their early lives. From these foundations she helps professionals and families to create a milieu that will build self-esteem, address trauma and grief, and work towards resiliency. Therapists with little experience in this field may not recognize the many issues that are impacting the child's behavior. Often I find that these mental health professionals are at a loss, incompletely understanding the impact of a child's early trauma on their emotional development. Here, as well, is a toolbox to help both adoption professionals who are new to adoption and those with years of experience. This book will be quoted over and over again to my patients, therapists in my community, and even in my home. I plan to have two copies - one to share with families at work, the other to refer to as a parent as I nurture my own children towards coping with their pasts. -- Deborah Borchers, M.D., Pediatrician specializing in adoption and foster care medicine, Adoptive Mom, Cincinnati, OhioDeborah's work in 'Nurturing Adoptions' identifies the importance of considering the biological impact of trauma and neglect in children. She bridges the physiological and psychological effects of traumatic stress that can develop into lifelong emotional or attachment issues. Deborah has the unique ability to give practical context to the challenging outcomes that are reflective of stress, trauma and neglect in children. Her sensitive, insightful writing style draws the reader into her work with ease. Whether you are a parent by birth, adoption or foster care or a professional working with children you will benefit from Deborah's expertise and dedication to families! -- Cindy Haftner, Executive Director, and Leah Deans, Resource Director, Adoption Support Centre SaskatchewanThis is an essential book for professionals and parents! Deborah Gray reviews and explains valuable, current and applicable research. She then goes much further and clarifies the "whys" and "how's". Why are we seeing children and families in such distress and how to we assist them? 'Nurturing Adoptions' offers skill building in assessment, treating, placing, parenting, teaching and loving traumatized and neglected children. Parents and professionals will find important information about building resiliency of children, of families and of professionals. The vignettes used to describe research, techniques and strategies are so thorough and encouraging they can be visualized.Deborah, what a gift you've given to those of us that are committed to and have claimed hurt children. Thank you for sharing you passion with this optimistic resource. As soon as it's available. 'Nurturing Adoptions' will be on my list of "must haves". -- Yolanda Comparan. M.S.W., Owner/Operator, Adoption Referral & Information Service, Mom by Adoption, Washington StateDeborah's book made me sigh with relief. Finally there is a resource that lets us see the big picture. There is risk to focus only on what is diagnosed "on the surface". For example, a child adopted internationally may have RAD or sensory integration disorder. Deborah enlightens us that children are not that simple. She fosters one to stop and think about the child as a whole, how the child is was wired in the womb and how the child's world to date has left an enduring impression. She blends the scientific biomedical research with hands-on easy to understand therapeutic approaches to children who have experience trauma. Both parents and professionals will find this book a blessing. -- Julie K. Keck. M.D., Neurodevelopment Paediatrician, Director of the International Adoption Clinic at Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis, IndianaTable of ContentsIntroduction. Part 1. The Issues of Neglect and Trauma in Today's Adoption. 1. The Changing Nature of Adoption. 2. Trauma, Stress, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – Interrelationships. 3. Neglect. 4. Traumatic Stress – The Symptom Clusters. 5. Early Relational Trauma, Traumatic Loss, and Effects on Development. 6. Trauma and Neglect – Double Insults. 7. Attachment and Trauma/Neglect. Part 2. Putting the Pieces Together – Restoration after Traumatic Stress and Neglect. 8. Common Ground: What Parents, Caseworkers, Teachers, and Therapists Can Do to Help. 9. The Role of the Child Welfare/Social Worker. 10. The Role of the Mental Health Worker. 11. Structuring Careers and Practices. 12. Creating Resilience in Children and Their Families. Appendices. Glossary. Useful Tools and Exercises. References. Resources and Recommended Reading. Index.

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Book SynopsisThe perfect starting point for parents of transracially adopted children and those who are considering adopting transracially.The Interracial Adoption Option is a personal guide to interracial adoption which draws on the lives and experiences of the authors, a white US couple, who adopt two African-American children. Starting from their decision to adopt their first child interracially, it describes the situations and decisions that followed as a result of their child's racial background. The authors' combine their personal experiences with practical advice. They address common issues like where to live, how to choose a doctor and how to take care of your child's hair and skin. They also tackle difficult questions such as, 'Does race matter?' 'Why is a healthy racial identity important?' and 'What do I do if I suspect my child is being treated unfairly because of his/her race?' An accessible introduction to the complex world of interracial adoption, this book is the first book you need to read if you are thinking of adopting transracially or have done so already.Trade ReviewRarely does a book address the particular challenges of parenting children adopted into a family of a different race. This work eloquently weaves together cutting edge scholarship on racial identity development in children with pragmatic approaches to parenting transracially. Fine and Johnson offer the reader, both parent and adoption professional, a highly accessible map to traverse this previously unexplored terrain of transracial adoption. They provide rich vignettes that boldly and poignantly illustrate the preparation and skills necessary for all involved in the field of transracial adoption. This is a highly valuable contribution to our understanding of adoption across races. -- Kathleen Reardon, Ph.D., MSW, Founder and Co-director, Crossroads Counseling Associates, Harvard, Massachusetts, USAMuch more than an excellent guide to transracial adoption, The Interracial Adoption Option: Creating a Family Across Race is an invitation to the opportunity, joy, and richness of becoming a multiracial family. It underscores how critical it is for white parents of children of color to acknowledge their own privilege and to make a lifelong commitment to guiding their children in developing a healthy racial identity -- and provides a wealth of concrete ideas, examples, and resources for doing so. Fern Johnson and Marlene Fine seamlessly combine the wisdom of scholars with the warmth of loving, adoptive mothers in a beautifully written and accessible book that blends exhaustive research with the fullness of lived experience. -- Kara Mikulich, Adoptive MotherBased on my experience as the adoptive parent of an African-American son, this book succinctly captures the unique rewards and challenges of adopting a child of a different race. Many dilemmas and decisions explored by the authors mirrored my own journey, and made me wish that this book had been written twenty years ago. Their informative and straightforward discussion offers insights for those considering forming a multiracial family through adoption, and for those seeking to understand and support such families. It fills an important gap in the adoption literature and offers insights for all involved with transracial adoptive families. -- Linda Pursley, Adoptive ParentTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. Introduction. 1. Making the Decision to Adopt a Child of Another Race: When Birds of a Feather Might Not Flock Together. 2. Talking about Race and Adoption with Others: You're Doing What?!! 3. Helping Your Child Develop a Healthy Racial Identity: 'Daddy, Why Am I Brown and You're Pink?'. 4. Talking about Race and Adoption with Your Child: 'Mommy, Who's My Real Daddy?'. 5. Navigating School: Homework for Parents. 6. Creating a Support System for You and Your Child: It Takes a Village. Index.

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Book SynopsisWhen you decide to foster, you are faced with many difficult decisions, dilemmas and questions: How do you navigate the daily struggles of foster parenting? How can you nurture bonds with your foster child who is angry, sad, and defiant? How can you prepare to step back when it's time to let go?Foster Parenting Step-by-Step is a concise how-to guide to fostering that summarizes what to expect as a foster parent, and gives immediate practical solutions. It outlines the different stages of a fostering relationship, raising common issues encountered at each age and how to tackle them. It also explains the impact of trauma on your child: how this can show itself through challenging behavior and how to respond to it. This book will provide fostering parents with the skills and knowledge to support the needs of the children in foster care. It will be invaluable not just to foster parents but also to those professionals supporting foster placements.Trade ReviewDr. Gopal has been a lifeline for many children in foster care and their parents and foster parents for many years. [She] is also a well-known speaker and has blessed the National Foster Parent Association with numerous workshop presentations at our annual education conferences. In Foster Parenting Step-by-Step: How to Nurture the Traumatized Child and Overcome Conflict, Dr. Gopal… writes as if she were sitting across the table from you and explaining the incredibly many aspects of foster care and foster parenting. My recommendation is to read the book from cover to cover, taking time to mark those areas that you know you will want to refer to time and time again as you welcome additional children into your home. This new book provides insights and recommendations that will be beneficial to all who chose to provide foster care and/or kinship care. -- From the foreword by Irene Clements, Foster Care Consultant and President of the National Foster Parent Association (NFPA), Minneapolis, USAThis useful book is valuable for foster carers (and prospective foster carers) in helping to consider the issues around looking after other people's children who have suffered early difficulties in their lives. It will help any foster carer to work reflectively and consider the options and issues that the child they are looking after is facing, together with ideas about strategies that might usefully be used in understanding and managing situations. As with all good foster care sharing ideas and thoughts gained in studying this book is made more effective by discussion in supervision. -- Jim Bond MBE, Foster Carer and CounselorTable of ContentsQuotes from Foster Children. Preface. Introduction. 1. The Motivational Stage – First Things First! Know What to Expect. 2. The Planning Stage – About Your Family. Are You Prepared? 3. The Welcoming Stage – Getting to Know Your Foster Child. 4. Displacement Trauma. 5. The Adapting Stage – Attachment and Protecting Your Foster Child. 6. The Educational Stage – Parenting Issues and Much More. 7. The Empowering Stage – Successful Evidence-Based Strategies. 8. The Letting Go/Adopting Stage. Resources and Useful Addresses. Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisCapturing the warmth and fun of forming close relationships with children, this book offers simple advice to parents of children who find it difficult to attach and bond - whether following adoption, divorce or other difficult experiences.Attachment therapist Deborah D. Gray describes how to use the latest thinking on attachment in your daily parenting. She reveals sensory techniques which have proven to help children bond - straightforward activities like keeping close eye contact or stroking a child's feet or cheeks - and explains why routines like mealtimes and play time are so important in helping children to attach. The book offers positive ideas for responding to immediate crises like difficult behaviour and meltdowns, but importantly also offers longer-term strategies to help children to develop the skills they need to cope as they grow up - the ability to plan, concentrate and be in control of their emotions. Offering fascinating insights into how children who struggle to attach can be helped, this book is full of easy-to-use ideas which will help you to enjoy the many pleasures of bonding and attaching with your child.Trade ReviewDeborah has provided us with a highly practical book aimed at helping parents to parent in a way that promotes attachment security. This book is full of wisdom and clear suggestions for parenting children with a range of insecurities across a range of ages from toddlers to teens. Whilst there are some UK/USA differences, there really is something for everyone here. I especially liked the focus on parents taking care of themselves and the way that all behavioural management suggestions are provided within the context of providing warm, nurturing care that promotes connection, security, and self esteem. When these qualities are central within parenting our children will grow to successful maturity able to fulfil their potential. -- Kim Golding, Clinical Psychologist with Worcestershire Health and Care NHS TrustA must read for parents! Informative and practical knowledge for parents about two critical aspects of childhood development; emotional intelligence and attachment. -- Dr. Sue Cornbluth, Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Psychology at Temple University, Philadelphia, USAThis is a lovely, practical, wise book that parents will find helpful on many levels. The author seamlessly integrates attachment concepts, brain science, and concrete examples of parent-child interactions to provide a well-spring of hands-on guidance for raising resilient, secure, emotionally intelligent kids. I highly recommend it. -- Jonathan Baylin, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Broudy and Associates, Wilmington, DelawareAttaching Through Love, Hugs, and Play is an invaluable resource for parents wanting to deepen their relationship with their children. For struggling parents, Attaching Through Love, Hugs and Play provides an accessible resource for understanding what is driving their children's challenging behaviours. More importantly, in this volume, Deborah Gray provides a practical playbook for bringing joy and laughter into the parenting relationship! -- Dr. Karyn Purvis, Director of the Institute of Child Development, TCU, Fort Worth, TexasIn Attaching Through Love, Hugs, and Play, Deborah Gray focus on parenting skills that develop strong secure attachments needed for children to be willing to turn to a special adult or adults for protection, calming and reassurance of their worth. Gray provides a wealth of concrete examples of how touch, play, language, structure and limit setting can be employed to strengthen the nurturing parent-child connection that is the foundation of pre-social child development. Any parent, foster parent or adoptive parent who is helping an abused or neglected child recover from early trauma and/ or neglect will find a wealth of invaluable practical guidance in Attaching Through Love, Hugs and Play. Public child welfare agencies should consider making Deborah's Gray's books widely available to foster parents and adoptive parents who are desperate for guidance in parenting children whose early histories have left a legacy of fear, anger and distrust of caregivers. -- Dee Wilson, Director, Child Welfare Services, Casey Family Programs, Author of the Sounding Board commentariesThis easy-to-read book has much to offer to adopters or step-parents about how to develop attachments... Parents will find many examples of everyday behaviour that they face alongside practical strategies to illustrate how to respond helpfully, especially for children whose early experience include trauma, abuse or loss... As the title suggests, t values sensory approaches to forming emotional connection, using touch and play to help provide nurture and regulate emotional states... Overall this is a very rich and positive book, which presents a well-informed, humane, evidence-based view of parenting strategies that will enhance attachment. it is likely to be valuable resource, especially for parents of children who have had adverse early experiences. -- Alison Paddle, Independent social worker * Seen and Heard *Table of ContentsDedication. Introduction. 1. Close Connections: Attaching and Bonding. 2. Put Your Oxygen Mask on First 3. Teaching Children to Calm, Care, and Think: Behavior and Daily Routines. 4. Helping Children with Thinking and Caring. 5. "Carrots and Sticks", Rewards and Limits. 6. Life Stories. 7. Promoting Attachment in Tweens and Teens. Epilogue.

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