Stylist, salon owner, and trauma-informed mentor Kim Russell shares how foster care, adoption, and early survival patterns shaped her empathy, leadership, and mission to create safe spaces. We talk behavior as communication, complex vs. single-event trauma, and how adults can better support teens.

Key takeaways

Behavior = communication from the body.

Trauma lives in the body; safety comes first.

“People-pleasing” often begins as protection.

Belonging changes trajectories (her vo-tech turning point).

Trauma-informed = lived experience + learning + healing.

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