Empowered to Connect Podcast

Our guest today has lived a life that is nothing short of miraculous.Tori Hope Petersen grew up in the foster care system, a bi-racial child in a confusing and volatile world. Growing up with a mentally ill mother and living in twelve different foster homes, nothing was in her favor. And yet, even with a minuscule chance of graduating college and a great risk of being homeless, jobless, and on drugs, Tori overcame every negative stereotype and assumption that attacked her identity. 

Tori joins us today to talk about everything from her story, how she learned to navigate the foster care system and how now, as an adult, she's trying to open all the doors she can that were closed to her as she grew up. Her new book, 'Fostered: One Woman's Powerful Story of Finding Faith and Family Through Foster Care' releases August 30th and we could not be more excited to read it. Listen to the end of the episode to hear how you can win a pre-order of Tori's book and be sure you're following her and her initiatives on social media: 
- @torihopepetersen on Instagram
- @fthefile on Instagram
- @belovedinitiative on Instagram
- Pre-Order her book here
- Learn more about Tori and book her to speak at your next event here 

To learn more about ETC, follow our Youtube Channel, like us on Facebook or follow us on Instagram!

Today two of our favorite people on earth join us - ETC parent trainers Tom and Dawn Jordi from Johannesburg, South Africa! They join us to talk about Tom's work in schools as a trauma informed school counselor and Dawn's homeschooling of their 4 kiddos during Covid, their journey into connected parenting and how the strategies and tools they learned in ETC classes and TBRI training over the years have helped them to build up and support the adoptive community in Johannesburg. They also tell us about unique opportunities that  emerged during the pandemic as their ETC Parent Classes began expanding not just throughout South Africa, but throughout Africa and as far out as Hawaii and the Philippines! They're two of the most enjoyable people you'll ever talk to, follow their podcast here, Tom's work as a Trauma Practitioner here and their community work in adoption here !

To learn more about ETC, follow our Youtube Channel, like us on Facebook or follow us on Instagram!

When it comes to parenting (and being in any kind of human relationship) - one of the most insanely humbling and difficult practices is repairing a rupture in the relationship. Maybe you've wronged the other person - maybe you were the one wronged - either way, the process of repairing often requires more than an 'I'm sorry'. Compound this difficulty with previous experiences with trauma, adversity and stress and you've got yourself a recipe for...well...being a human in this world. It's difficult. It's complicated. It's absolutely essential if you want to build or maintain a trusting, real relationship in this world. 

That's why we brought ETC training specialist Jesse Faris and co-writer of Cultivate Connection Becca McKay in to talk about how we repair relational ruptures with our kids and each other. There are some invaluable practical stories of how this plays out as well as a road map for a process to begin those repairs. 

To learn more about ETC, follow our Youtube Channel, like us on Facebook or follow us on Instagram!

Today we talk about the importance of giving our kids voice. For all humans, knowing how to negotiate to get needs met, to express to others what we need and when is a VITAL skill for survival as a human being. That is a learned skill - one that takes time, nurture and lots of practice with a trusted adult. For those of us and those of our kids who have experienced trauma, adversity and toxic stress at a young age, it can be insanely challenging and today Stela Sinanaj and Tona Ottinger join us to explain why that is and walk through exactly how to do this with our kids.

To learn more about ETC, follow our Youtube Channel, like us on Facebook or follow us on Instagram!

Today's connecting practice will make you think - or at least that's our goal. So often we respond or react to situations in our home without filtering the situation to figure out what's REALLY going on. Dr. Rachel Peterman, Clinical Therapist and Program Manager of Safe and Secure Tennessee, joins Becca McKay and JD to discuss the importance of slowing down and thoughtfully responding to situations and the massive positive implications of doing so!

To learn more about ETC, follow our Youtube Channel, like us on Facebook or follow us on Instagram!

'Being there' matters as a parent. It's a principle that transcends parenting styles and advice - 'showing up for your kids' is on everybody's list of important things to do as a parent. What if just 'showing up' isn't enough, though? What we know as humans is that it is possible to be physically with someone without feeling like they're emotionally present. THIS is what we're talking about today when we talk about 'being present'. We brought ETC's own Anteelah Love and Becca McKay in to talk about being physically present, emotionally present and what it means to be 'attuned' to your child. This episode will give you life!

To learn more about ETC, follow our Youtube Channel, like us on Facebook or follow us on Instagram!

We've got big news and we recorded a SPECIAL episode of the Empowered to Connect Podcast to tell you all about it! Tune in to hear about our holistic integrated therapeutic clinic, our partnership as an Ambassador Organization for the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development, the NEW PARENTING CURRICULUM called 'Cultivate Connection' and how you can partner with us at Empowered to Connect to help us continue to support hope and healing for families!

To learn more head to youtube.com/empoweredtoconnect !

As former doubters, we'll admit - this was a tough principle for some of us to learn. How can your kids respect you if you play too much? We're so glad you asked! This episode reveals all the things traditional parenting DIDN'T teach you about play - how it can be used as a tool to help your kids regulate, to help build connection and attachment, how play can become a tool to help de-escalate unwanted behaviors before they get to "that" point. The science backs up play as a serious parenting tool, it's time we find out why!

Tune in for a SPECIAL announcement about how to apply to be a facilitator for our latest parenting curriculum called "Cultivate Connection" - head to empoweredtoconnect.org and apply today for a training coming up and learn how you can help support hope and healing for families in YOUR community today!

To learn more about ETC, follow our Youtube Channel, like us on Facebook or follow us on Instagram!

Our latest Connecting Practice is one that can be applied to a ton of different parenting scenarios. How do we help our kids grow? It's certainly not by just telling them 'they should act their age' or by shaming them in comparison to other kids who can do x, y, or z things at their age, we know that. There must be a method we can use as parents to help them (and us) grow and develop skills, right??

There is and it is the subject of today's ETC Podcast episode! You can - and should - listen to today's episode and ALL of the episodes of the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever else you listen to podcasts!

To learn more about ETC, follow our Youtube Channel, like us on Facebook or follow us on Instagram!

Has it ever felt to you like you just couldn't figure out what your kid needs in a moment? If this is you, today is your episode. We gathered some brilliant therapeutic minds to ask them what we need to know about meeting our child's physical, emotional and sensory processing needs! Hear from Speech Pathologist Annie Cornell, Occupational Therapist Luz Wolfe and Clinical Therapist Stela Sinanaj why this is so important and how to meet these needs in our kids (and just as importantly - ourselves). 

To learn more about ETC, follow our Youtube Channel, like us on Facebook or follow us on Instagram!