Attachment & Relational Trauma with Karen Treisman: from the archives

This is a republishing of an archived episode with Karen Treisman.Dr Karen Treisman, MBE, is a Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist and trauma specialist who has worked in the National Health System and children’s social services for several years. Karen has also worked cross-culturally in both Africa and Asia with groups ranging from former child soldiers to survivors of the Rwandan Genocide. She also is the author of 11 books/workbooks, including the bestselling book, “The Therapeutic Treasure Box,” and of 5 sets of therapeutic card decks.Karen has extensive experience in the areas of trauma, parenting, adversity (ACE’s) and attachment, and works clinically using a range of therapeutic approaches with families, systems, and children in or on the edge of care, unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people, and adopted children.Karen also specialises in supporting organisations and systems to move towards becoming, and to sustain adversity, culturally and, trauma-informed, infused, and responsive practice. This work focuses on creating meaningful and multi-layered cultural and paradigm shifts across whole systems. Karen was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship Travel Award which involved visiting several places in the USA to further study whole systems, and organisational approaches to trauma-informed and trauma-responsive care. This topic is also the focus of Dr Treisman’s new books (2 volumes) entitled “A Treasure Box for Creating Trauma-Informed Organizations: A Ready-to-Use Resource For Trauma, Adversity, and Culturally Informed, Infused and Responsive Systems”In addition to holding a doctorate in Clinical Psychology, Karen has undergone a range of specialist training courses including in EMDR, Narrative Therapy, Narrative Exposure Therapy, Trauma-focused CBT, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, Systemic Psychotherapy, Video Interaction Guidance, Sensory Approaches, and Theraplay.Karen has previously worked in both Milton Keynes’s and Kensington and Chelsea’s children-in-care and fostering services; and within the National Implementation Service for evidence-based interventions for looked-after children, children on the edge of care, and children in custody at the Michael Rutter Centre in the Maudsley Hospital; and as Clinical Lead for a court assessment and intensive intervention team for children on the edge of care and in proceedings in Islington.Karen is an external consultant, trainer, speaker, and assessor to a variety of UK and International local authorities/child welfare, health care teams, schools, charities, and organisations including Barnardos, PAC-UK, AdoptionPlus, BAAT, Pause, Action Trauma, Candle Trust, Grandparents Plus, Three Steps Ireland, MedicaCPD, and the Fostering Network. Karen is also an expert witness and regularly undergoes a variety of assessments for court. Additionally, Karen is also an associate editor for the Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma and a reviewer for the Journal of Adoption and Fostering; and for several book publishers.Karen was also awarded the 2018 Psychology Professional of the Year Award for Excellence in Attachment and Trauma; Youth Psychology Professional of the Year 2020; and an MBE for Outstanding Services for Children. She is also on the Queens 2020 Honours list.In This EpisodeSafe Hands Thinking Minds WebsiteKaren’s books on...