In this episode, we are joined by Heather Simonich. Heather is the Director of the Center for Holistic Health at Concordia College in Moorhead. She has 8 years of experience as an operations director at PATH, a foster care and adoption agency in North Dakota. She will be sharing with us what it means to view the world through a trauma-informed lens and practical strategies to use every day when caring for youth who have experienced trauma.

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In this episode, we are joined by Beth Syverson, adoptive parent and founder of Unraveling Adoption, an organization that seeks to connect and support in growth and healing those who have been touched by adoption. The holidays can be a time of intense and often conflictual feelings, and Beth is going to offer some insights and strategies on how to navigate the holidays with grace and ease.

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In this episode, we are joined by Jana Battagler, a licensed professional clinical counselor at Empower Counseling in Fargo, North Dakota. Jana is going to tell us all about overstimulation in parenting: what it is, how we got here, and ways to minimize our activation and empower us to take care of ourselves while caring for children.

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Join Rosilynn Morris as she shares her reflections on working as a Therapist in an organization that primarily served Native American children, teens, and adults. Discover how she learned to integrate Indigenous knowledge with evidence-based treatment to create a holistic approach to healing

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In this episode, we are joined by Ariana Krecklau, who is a therapist at Empower Counseling in Fargo, North Dakota, and who has experience working as a treatment foster care case manager. She will share with us what attachment is, why it is important, and how we can work to build strong attachments with the youth we serve.

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In this episode, we will learn why self-harm, diagnoses, when they should stop, interventions and how understanding is the key.  Guest Bruce O’Leary shares how to be supportive without reinforcing the behavior.  Bruce is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with an MA.  He has been trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), CBT, Internal Family Systems Theory with Complex Trauma and PTSD, and Emotionally Focused Therapy.  Bruce is a mindfulness-based practitioner serving people of all ages through a variety of services.

*Please be aware this podcast episode discusses self-harm and suicide, so please be mindful of your own needs and boundaries.

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If you have been brave enough to be a foster or adoptive parent, then you will agree that it comes with a cost. Yet many of us continue to put ourselves back into the battle zones willingly because the children we love desperately need safety and compassion. This hurts and can extract parts of our soul when things get difficult.  It often can take years to recover and heal from these wounds. In this podcast, we are joined by Scott Nyegaard, who provided foster care and adopted, and he will share with us his insights into this experience. Scott will share with us how, in those tough moments, it is difficult to make sense of the scars and often we stop trying because the cost is too great. Fortunately, all wounds can heal, and years later we can see the beauty in receiving the scars and know that our love for the kids was critical to their lives.

*Please be aware this podcast episode discusses suicide, so please be mindful of your own needs and boundaries.

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For many, back-to-school means sitting in a classroom for a majority of the day.  Mya Zavaleta is checking in to see how the first few weeks of school are going!  We will dive into the importance of getting children moving and outside. In this episode, Mya will provide practical tips, expert advice about how to reset your mindset, and ways to refresh your routines as we transition from summer to indoor learning.  Mya combines her love for nature with 20-years clinical experience as an Occupational Therapist (OT) to create her own Nature OT practice that boosts kids’ physical and mental health.

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Daniela Coats, Licensed Masters Social Worker, joins us from Texas to talk about her personal experiences growing up in a home that fostered and adopted as well as her work as a therapist and trainer supporting the entire foster family. She will share about lessons offered in her new book, The Day Lily Turned (Un)Invisible, on ways we can support and value birth children in foster families.

If you are interested in Daniela’s new book, The Day Lily Turned (un)Invisible, the hardcover is available just about anywhere books are sold (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, etc.). The paperback and e-book versions will only be available on Amazon (https://a.co/d/19SHI4w).

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The post Let’s Talk – The Experiences of Biological Children in Foster Families appeared first on Foster Adopt Minnesota.

Greg Luce is back to share valuable information about intercountry adoption. Hear from Greg how Congress could fix a loophole that denies US citizenship to thousands of intercountry adopted people, what help is available for intercountry adoptees who have no records of entry into the US, and The Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2024. This is the latest bill introduced in the 118th Congress on June 4, 2024. Find out what Greg is doing to address the issues to make much needed and overdue changes!

Greg is a Minnesota-based attorney who was born and adopted in the District of Columbia. He is the founder of Adoptee Rights Law Center based out of Minneapolis, MN and the executive director of Adoptees United Inc.

Information about the Adoptees United legal clinic: https://adopteesunited.org/citizenship/

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