In this episode, Julie and Ginger talk about the concept of Serve and Return. This notion was introduced through the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Harvard defines serve and return as “responsive interactions between children and the people who care for them and how those interactions help the children grow and reach their full potential.” So, what does that actually look like? Ginger outlines the five steps of serve and return and explains how we can implement them into o...
Nov 08, 2022•40 min
In this episode, Julie and Ginger continue their discussion of therapeutic parenting. If you are caring for a child with a trauma history, you know that therapeutic parenting is needed for the long haul, and we must make these strategies work. Co-regulation is vital, but how can we achieve it with our children? Ginger says, “We need to understand what a child can do and what they can’t do.” When they are in a position of fight, flight, or freeze, they can’t do what we are asking of them. Co-regu...
Oct 25, 2022•32 min
In the next two episodes, Julie and Ginger deep dive into the concept of therapeutic parenting. The healing of childhood trauma comes directly from relationships and a child’s biggest relationship is with their parents. We must be the buffer for the child. This is how resilience is created. Ginger says, “This is all about rewiring the child’s brain.” The number one tenet of therapeutic parenting is safety. Safety always comes first. Listen in to learn what it means to have felt safety by all fam...
Oct 11, 2022•50 min
In this episode Julie and Ginger welcome Scott Kuenneke and Mary DeMichele into the studio. Scott is an integral part of the CALO Programs Residential Treatment Facility clinical team and he oversees all Neurofeedback and QEEG brain maps for assessment and treatment. Mary developed “One Rule Improv”, a trauma-informed method of improv that creates a neurobiological change in the brain. Her method is used in classrooms, outpatient programs, foster care groups, group homes, RTCs and corporations. ...
Sep 27, 2022•51 min
Julie and Ginger invite Sandra Lake and James Moffett into the studio. They are both awesome trauma informed educators, and in this episode, they are discussing what it is like in schools this year versus last year. They both agree that safety and security are paramount, but how can that be accomplished in a non-traumatizing way? – Relationships. Its all about relationships. Sandra says, “Whatever amount of time you spend building relationships with your kids, double it. Double that time because...
Sep 13, 2022•34 min
In this episode, Julie and Ginger discuss Secondary Traumatic Stress. This is a hard topic to talk about, but it is so important. Ginger says, “Secondary traumatic stress is a very real thing, especially for caregivers and teachers who work with children impacted by trauma.” Secondary traumatic stress is sometimes called vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, or even burnout. It occurs when you feel emotions from knowing about a traumatizing event that was experienced by another person. The best ...
Aug 30, 2022•48 min
Today Julie and Ginger welcome Becky Haas into the studio. Becky’s background is in working with Resource Officers in schools by training them to become trauma informed. Her training has become a model for cities nationwide. Through her position as the Director of the Crime Prevention Program in Tennessee, she saw a reduction in drug related crime by 40% in one neighborhood. That is huge! Trauma informed approaches are often not taught to officers despite their close presence with students. Beck...
Aug 16, 2022•40 min
Julie and Ginger welcome ATN friend Guy Stephens into the studio. Guy is a lifelong Marylander, a father, a husband and a child advocate. He began by advocating for appropriate accommodations and supports for his neurodivergent son, which led him to found the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint. He is working to change policy and practices around the use of seclusion and restraint at the local, state, and federal levels. Guy says, “The biggest thing you have to change is the culture. You ha...
Aug 02, 2022•58 min•Season 2Ep. 30
In this episode, Julie and Ginger are discussing boundaries. They got a lot of insight from Brene Brown’s book, Atlas of the Heart. ATN’s Team R&R, an online community for educators, did a weekly dive into this great book. The recordings of the book study are available to Team R&R members. Why is it so hard to set boundaries? Why is it the most hard for the givers? Why are boundaries so important? Brene says, “Boundaries are a prerequisite for compassion and empathy. You can’t connect wi...
Jul 19, 2022•19 min
Today Julie and Ginger talk about praise and how to use it effectively in the home and in the classroom. They also discuss some of the challenges of praise, especially with children from a history of trauma. Why do our children often reject praise? How does encouragement differ from praise? What are some techniques you can use? First and foremost, praise MUST be sincere and sometimes you must approach praise from a counter intuitive lens. Our hosts share some ideas of how to do this, specificall...
Jul 05, 2022•40 min•Season 2Ep. 28
In this episode, Julie and Ginger talk about their latest book study, Atlas of the Heart , by Brene Brown. ATN’s Team R&R, an online community for educators, is doing a weekly dive into this great book. One part of this book really stood out to Julie and Ginger, the chapter on Disappointment, Unmet Expectations and Regret. They said that we all have movies running in our heads showing the outcomes we expect, however, since life doesn’t always play out as expected, that leads to disappointmen...
Jun 21, 2022•21 min•Season 2Ep. 27
In this episode, Julie and Ginger welcome Jack Hinman into the studio. Jack is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and he has been providing mental health services to individuals and families for over 20 years. Jack specializes in Attachment Theory and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). He focuses on helping young adults launch into adulthood through an attachment focused lens. Jack says that, “Connection is both the outcome and the intervention.” In mid-June, the Engage Transitions facility will ...
Jun 07, 2022•46 min•Season 2Ep. 26
In this episode, Julie and Ginger welcome Jethro Jones into the studio to discuss social media and its impact on traumatized children. Jethro is the 2017 NASSP Digital Principal of the Year. He is a former principal and host of Transformative Principal. He is the founder of the Center for Cyber Ethics, an independent nonpartisan educational institute. He is an author of 2 books: SchoolX: How Principals Can Design a Transformative School Experience for Students, Teachers, Parents – And Themselves...
May 24, 2022•48 min•Season 2Ep. 25
In this episode, Julie and Ginger have long-time ATN friend, Jane Samuel in the studio. Jane is a marriage and family associate whose practice focuses on children and families with an attachment-focused lens. Many of her clients are foster and adoptive families. In this episode, she talks about the value of narratives and storytelling. What exactly is a narrative? How can this be used in healing? Storytelling is useful in all settings – by parents, by teachers, and by clinicians. Jane also sugge...
May 10, 2022•48 min
In this episode, Ginger and Julie dive into Restorative Practices with Joe Brummer in the studio. Joe is an expert in developing trauma-informed and restorative approaches in schools and organizations. He is a consultant and author of the book, Building a Trauma-Informed Restorative School . This book can be ordered from ATN’s bookstore at Building a Trauma Informed Restorative School . Joe is also a member of ATN’s PD Collaborative, a group of trauma-informed educational experts available to pr...
Apr 26, 2022•44 min•Season 2Ep. 23
In this episode, Julie and Ginger talk about the delicate balance between structure and nurture. What are the differences in punishment, consequences, accountability, and discipline? These terms are defined and discussed to determine what works best when doing trauma informed, therapeutic parenting and why. We should always seek to understand what is underneath the child’s behaviors, and we need to ask why they are acting the way that they do. As Julie said, “None of this is easy. It’s all about...
Apr 12, 2022•49 min•Season 2Ep. 22
In this episode, Julie and Ginger reflect on what our lives have been like dealing with Covid and building resilience throughout the pandemic. Ginger says that “It’s important to recognize that we can be both overwhelmed AND hopeful at the same time.” What is meant by holding space for others in a time of chaos? In her book, The Art of Holding Space , Heather Platt says that holding space means “being willing to walk alongside another person on whatever journey they are on.” Julie and Ginger als...
Feb 15, 2022•38 min•Season 1Ep. 21
In this episode, Julie and Ginger talk with Jessica Sinarski. She is a renowned mental health professional and author, having authored Riley the Brave , Riley the Brave Returns to School, and What’s Inside Your Backpack . Jessica’s superpower is making brain science accessible and entertaining for both children and adults. Jessica says that she loves to take “her brain nerdy self and marry it with what everyone needs to know about the brain and attachment and development”. In this podcast, Jessi...
Feb 01, 2022•33 min•Season 1Ep. 20
In this episode, Julie and Ginger talk with Dyane Carrere, educator, author, counselor, and staff developer. Dyane specializes in supporting students on the fringes. Her book, The Re-Set Process: Trauma Informed Behavior Strategies can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Re-Set-Process-Trauma-Informed-Behavior-Strategies/dp/1681254190 . Dyane describes the four steps of the Re-Set Process and explains how these steps can proactively help all students, not just those that are dysregulated. She ...
Jan 18, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 19
In this episode, Julie and Ginger are joined by Taneesha Thomas and Emily Meeks of Focused Minds Education Group. Not only are they trauma informed, but they dive into how to address the cultural biases that we all have. We know about the 4 Rs of education, but what are the 4 Rs of equitable instruction? They recognize that being trauma informed and acknowledging our own biases go hand in hand. We all need to realize the truth in what Emily says, “Choosing love is a real choice.” To learn more a...
Jan 04, 2022•32 min
In this episode, Julie and Ginger talk with Dr. Jenna Lichter, ATN’s Trauma-Sensitive Schools Coordinator. Listen in to learn more about trauma sensitive schools - what they are and what ATN does to support their creation. Dr. Lichter says, “It’s a culture shift. The school must realize the prevalence of trauma and its impact. There needs to be a recognition of the signs of trauma and the schools must have trauma informed reactions and a resistance to re-traumatization." For more information abo...
Dec 21, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 17
In this episode, Julie and Ginger chat with Cissy White. Cissy is a self-proclaimed Joy Stalker and Truth Teller, and boy, is she ever! Her passion is to make trauma informed changes for survivors of trauma who are parenting with ACEs. With Julie and Ginger, Cissy discusses her path to healing. She says, “Trauma informed change must be led by survivors” and ATN could not agree more! In 2013, Cissy began her blog, Heal Write Now. You can read more at https://healwritenow.com/ ....
Dec 07, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 16
In this episode Julie and Ginger acknowledge that the holidays are not always full of cheer for all families. Children with traumatic experiences may not be able to embrace the joy of the season. How can we manage? Julie and Ginger share tools that have worked for them, but Julie says, “Sometimes you just have to think outside of the box.” They reference Kathleen Benckendorf’s list of trauma-informed gift ideas. The list can be found here: https://www.attachmenttraumanetwork.org/wp-content/uploa...
Nov 23, 2021•47 min•Season 1Ep. 15
In this episode, Julie and Ginger revisit the concept of shame. Shame is a dangerous tool that leads to maladaptive behaviors. Ginger says that “Shame is much more likely to cause destructive behaviors than to cure them.” They explore the differences between empathy and sympathy by using Brene Brown’s video found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZBTYViDPlQ . If you want to learn more about how to become shame resistant and exercise self-compassion, visit Kristin Neff’s website at https://s...
Nov 09, 2021•42 min
In this episode, Julie and Ginger introduce the concept of shame. According to Brene Brown, a world-renowned social worker with a focus on shame, shame is an “intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging.” What are the differences between shame, guilt, humiliation, and embarrassment and when are they harmful? Be sure to get your copy of Brene’s book, Daring Greatly , in ATN’s bookstore at ATN's Bookshop: Daring Greatly . Sti...
Oct 26, 2021•28 min
In this episode Julie and Ginger discuss the New York Times bestselling book Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle . What is burnout? How do you know when you are approaching burnout? Burnout is highly prevalent, and it needs to be talked about. They point out strategies to avoid burnout and relieve burnout. The authors, Emily and Amelia Nagoski, dedicated their book to all the givers, so if you are a giver, this podcast is for you! To order your copy of Burnout: The Secret to Unlock...
Oct 12, 2021•40 min•Season 1Ep. 12
In this episode, Julie and Ginger talk about the Window of Tolerance, specifically what level of stress can we tolerate and grow from and what we can do when we are outside those windows of tolerance? What are hyper-arousal and hypo-arousal states? Why is this important? Julie says, “Our healthy relationships play a major role in how wide our window can get. To be seen and to be told that we matter are very powerful factors in helping us maintain our window of tolerance.” Be sure to watch these ...
Sep 28, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Julie and Ginger discuss why rewards and punishments don’t work for traumatized children. What are rewards? What are punishments? What are consequences? Why don’t they work and what should we do? Alternative methods, where relationships are primary, are presented. They explore how to look underneath the behavior instead of simply punishing the behavior. Ginger says, “We want our children to get back up when knocked down. We want them to believe in themselves.” It’s important that children not se...
Sep 14, 2021•52 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Today, Julie and Ginger explore a timely topic - how to support students and staff returning to school during this pandemic. They are joined by Jen Alexander, a teacher, school counselor, trauma informed expert and author of Supporting Students and Staff after Covid 19 . Jen says, “It's our job to notice the need and meet the need.” She explains how to do this in the classroom, school, family, and community. Visit Jen’s website www.MsJenAlexander.com for more of her resources and to order her bo...
Aug 31, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Today Julie and Ginger partner with Michele Nigliazzo, ATN’s Court Advocacy Director. They discuss the impact of discovering that your child needs Special Education services. They reveal that grief is a natural response. Listen to Julie, Ginger and Michele share how to best navigate IEP meetings. Michelle recommends two books on the subject: From Emotions to Advocacy and Special Education and the Law. Visit the Wright’s Law website, https://www.wrightslaw.com/ , to learn even more. Don’t forget ...
Aug 17, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 8
