Adoption and Permanency-focused Therapy
Often individuals and families touched by adoption and/or foster care need unique and tailored services. For adoption, this includes first families (birth parents and extended birth relatives), adoptees and adoptive families. This may also include adoption case workers, school systems and legal representatives. Regardless of the age of placement, adopted children often benefit from therapy services at various points in development to process mixed feelings of belonging and abandonment, as well as explore important concepts of identity development. Similarly, adoptive parents and families also benefit from services to help understand and respond in ways that best facilitate attachment, love and communication. Whether you are just considering foster care/adoption or are many years down the road, enlisting an adoption-competent professional can help you navigate complicated life situations.
Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP)
When children do not feel safe and secure in their early formative years, whether due to abuse, neglect, placement disruptions, institutionalization or inconsistent caregiving, they can become traumatized by these experiences. Often, later in life, they may continue to struggle to feel safe, even when they are living in safe and loving families. They may struggle with forming and maintaining healthy attachments and connections and often exhibit challenging behavioral issues. This type of trauma is unique and often referred to as “developmental trauma.” Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) is a psychotherapy model developed by Dr. Daniel Hughes over the past 20 years which targets the relationship between children and their parents. DDP is informed by an understanding of attachment theory and focuses on enhancing the connection and communication of the child and the caregivers through the use of parenting support and family storytelling. Joanna has been trained in this model by Dr. Hughes.
Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI)
Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®) is an attachment-based, trauma-informed intervention that is designed to meet the complex needs of vulnerable children. TBRI® uses Empowering Principles to address physical needs, Connecting Principles for attachment needs, and Correcting Principles to disarm fear-based behaviors. While the intervention is based on years of attachment, sensory processing, and neuroscience research, the heartbeat of TBRI® is connection. TBRI® is designed to meet the complex needs of children who have experienced adversity, early harm, toxic stress, and/or trauma. Because of their histories, it is often difficult for these children to trust the loving adults in their lives, which often results in perplexing behaviors. TBRI® offers practical tools for parents, caregivers, teachers, or anyone who works with children, to see the “whole child” in their care and help that child reach his highest potential. Our skilled therapist Bridget is trained and certified in this intervention and utilizes this routinely in her approach.