debor016

At Klingberg we are saying goodbye to many people and many things at many levels. We are closing several of our residential programs, discharging our kids, and laying off some of our staff. It is a sad time. I am completely committed to the principle of supporting kids in family homes whenever possible. We are developing several new programs to aid that effort. I am excited about these new possibilities. However, it is the end of an era for us. We did very good work in our residential programs. We used a trauma-informed, Risking Connection based approach. We love our kids. We have been looking through old pictures and marveling at all the wonderful things we did together: Boston trips, picnics, camping, fancy dinners, and all the everyday moments. As we look through the pictures we remember how much we learned from each child. Klingberg has a reputation for excellent treatment of the most severely wounded children in our state. The children who came to us were lost in a morass of self-...

We did a consultation this week with an agency that received both the basic and train-the-trainer Risking Connection training. They have proceeded to roll out their own training and have experienced major changes in their culture. They particularly emphasized how important their new awareness of vicarious traumatization had become. Staff have been saying that they feel more committed to the organization than ever now that they regularly have a place to share the effects of the work on themselves as people. They also mentioned something I hadn’t thought of before. They felt that they were much better advocated for their clients now that they understood the trauma framework, the concept of symptoms as adaptations, and what helps trauma survivors heal. This is really true. First, by understanding brain science and the effects of trauma, treaters can become more articulate in describing why punishment is not the best response to problem behaviors. They can describe how making amends can ...

I had the privilege of attending the Healing the Generations conference at Foxwoods this past Thursday and Friday. As usual, Alice Forrester and her Clifford Beers team put together a highly informative and restorative conference, with great organization and good food. The theme of this year’s conference was Trauma and the Brain. What struck me the most was the fact that many different researchers and practioners, all coming from difference disciplines, focus and research methods all reach the same basic conclusions. These seem to be… Relationships matter . There is so much evidence now of neglect and abuse impacting brain development, and of the possibility for healing within relationships. Childhood stress impacts brain development in many areas, and thus has great implications for both education and physical health. Healing cannot be maximized with just verbal interventions . Treatment that includes body based activities has the most potential. These include EMDR, yoga and medita...