A book of 16 interventions designed to teach new and imaginative ways for working with traumatized children in foster care and adoption and their families. Groundbreaking Interventions provides a wide variety of play-based methodologies that have been successful in working with children over the age of five in foster care and adoption.

This work provides a deeper understanding of how the adoption process works and supports children with the feelings they have about adoption. Mental health interventions provided.

A book appropriate for children and families connected by foster care. Recommended for ages 6 and up with ages 6-9 being read with an adult. Beautifully illustrated, this work provides an honest look and deeper understanding of how the foster care process works and the feelings that many children have about being removed from their families of origin, and being placed into foster care. There are brief references to real reasons why a family can't stay together such as a parent not being able to provide food and shelter, addiction, incarceration and being too young to parent a child. What is Foster Care? is written in simple terms it aims to inspire an honest conversation about the realities of how foster families are formed today. This book is authored by a licensed psychotherapist, who was also raised in foster care system and who's firsthand experience provides a special insight into the complex feelings for all involved. The book provides support to foster and adoptive parents, foster care and adoption social workers, as well as mental health workers. The story helps ease understanding of the foster care experience, and educates the reader about dealing with issues around grief and loss and the importance of belonging to a home called "family". "The most important thing to remember is that children can not be left alone. In fact, it is against the law to leave a child alone, uncared for or unprotected. Every child deserves and needs a safe home, a loving parent and a good education." You are worthy. You are loved. You are valuable. You are not alone. Written by Child Psychotherapist and Adoptee, Jeanette Yoffe, M.F.T.

Why doesn’t our child return our love? What are we failing to understand? What are we failing to do? These questions can fill the minds of adoptive parents caring for wounded, traumatized children. Families often enter into this experience with high expectations for their child and for themselves but are broadsided by shattered assumptions. This book addresses the reality of those unmet expectations and offers validation and solutions for the challenges of parenting deeply traumatized and emotionally disturbed children.

The essential guide to parenting adopted and foster kids--learn to create felt safety, heal attachment trauma, and navigate challenging behaviors and triggers Children who have been adopted and/or shuttled through the foster-care system experience trauma at a much higher rate than other kids, which can make it difficult for them to trust, relax, regulate their emotions, and connect with their new families. As a parent, learning how to heal attachment trauma, attune to your child's needs, identify triggers, and create felt safety is essential to providing the loving, supportive, and stable home they need to thrive. Written for parents of adopted and foster kids of all ages, this book offers resources for handling common concerns like sleep issues, food sensitivities, anger, fear, and reactivity. It also provides guidance on navigating transracial adoptions, working through parents' own hang-ups, and recognizing signs of developmental and psychological conditions. The book highlights practical strategies and provides real-life examples to address questions like: How do I help my adopted child adjust? Is this kind of behavior "normal"? How do I help my child live, heal, and thrive with PTSD?

An expert clinician brings attachment theory into the realm of parenting skills. Attachment security and affect regulation have long been buzzwords in therapy circles, but many of these ideas—so integral to successful therapeutic work with kids and adolescents— have yet to be effectively translated to parenting practice itself. Moreover, as neuroscience reveals how the human brain is designed to work in good relationships, and how such relationships are central to healthy human development, the practical implications for the parent-child attachment relationship become even more apparent. Here, a leading attachment specialist with over 30 years of clinical experience brings the rich and comprehensive field of attachment theory and research from inside the therapy room to the outside, equipping therapists and caregivers with practical parenting skills and techniques rooted in proven therapeutic principles. A guide for all parents and a resource for all mental health clinicians and parent-educators who are searching for ways to effectively love, discipline, and communicate with children, this book presents the techniques and practices that are fundamental to optimal child development and family functioning—how to set limits, provide guidance, and manage the responsibilities and difficulties of daily life, while at the same time communicating safety, fun, joy, and love. Filled with valuable clinical vignettes and sample dialogues, Hughes shows how attachment-focused research can guide all those who care for children in their efforts to better raise them.

A burgeoning evidence base supports that arts, play and other creative therapies have potential to help children in foster care, kinship care or adoptive families to recover from complex trauma. Written by contributors working at the cutting edge of delivering effective therapeutic interventions, this innovative book describes models for working with children in foster care, kinship care or adoption. Covering how to assess needs and contextual considerations for working with children and families, this book presents a range of creative therapeutic approaches spanning art psychotherapy, music therapy and dance therapy. It emphasizes the necessity of working with caregivers and other significant adults, as well as the child, to facilitate recovery. The theoretical foundations of attachment, developmental psychology and neurobiology are embedded in each chapter showing how they underpin each of the recommended creative therapies. This book will be suitable for professionals directly employing creative approaches in their practice, such as arts therapists and play therapists, as well as those working with children who are interested in creative alternate approaches, such as psychologists, counsellors, therapists and social workers.