In this episode, Julie and Ginger are joined by Taneesha Thomas and Emily Meeks of Focused Minds Education Group.  Not only are they trauma informed, but they dive into how to address the cultural biases that we all have. We know about the 4 Rs of education, but what are the 4 Rs of equitable instruction? They recognize that being trauma informed and acknowledging our own biases go hand in hand. We all need to realize the truth in what Emily says, “Choosing love is a real choice.” To learn more about Focused Mind Education Group and to order their latest book, go to https://focusedmindsedugroup.com/

In this episode, Julie and Ginger talk with Dr. Jenna Lichter, ATN’s Trauma-Sensitive Schools Coordinator. Listen in to learn more about trauma sensitive schools - what they are and what ATN does to support their creation. Dr. Lichter says, “It’s a culture shift. The school must realize the prevalence of trauma and its impact.  There needs to be a recognition of the signs of trauma and the schools must have trauma informed reactions and a resistance to re-traumatization." 

For more information about ATN’s Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools Conference happening in February 2022, visit our website at https://www.attachmenttraumanetwork.org/conference/. 

If your school is looking for trauma-informed training or consultation, contact our PD Collaborative at https://www.attachmenttraumanetwork.org/atn-announces-new-pd-collaborative/. 

To reach Dr. Jenna Llichter, email her at [email protected].

Learn how to be a leader in this movement!

In this episode, Julie and Ginger chat with Cissy White.  Cissy is a self-proclaimed Joy Stalker and Truth Teller, and boy, is she ever!  Her passion is to make trauma informed changes for survivors of trauma who are parenting with ACEs. With Julie and Ginger, Cissy discusses her path to healing. She says, “Trauma informed change must be led by survivors” and ATN could not agree more!   In 2013, Cissy began her blog, Heal Write Now. You can read more at https://healwritenow.com/.

In this episode Julie and Ginger acknowledge that the holidays are not always full of cheer for all families.  Children with traumatic experiences may not be able to embrace the joy of the season.  How can we manage? Julie and Ginger share tools that have worked for them, but Julie says, “Sometimes you just have to think outside of the box.” They reference Kathleen Benckendorf’s list of trauma-informed gift ideas. The list can be found here: https://www.attachmenttraumanetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/Gift-List.pdf

Their best advice – Take care of yourself!  You must have something in your cup to be able to serve it up.

If this podcast has helped you, please consider joining our Giving Tuesday campaign.  You can donate on Tuesday, November 30 or before/after.  Now more than ever, children, families, schools and communities need ATN.  Won’t you help us reach farther in 2022? -- www.attachtrauma.org/donate

In this episode, Julie and Ginger revisit the concept of shame.  Shame is a dangerous tool that leads to maladaptive behaviors.  Ginger says that “Shame is much more likely to cause destructive behaviors than to cure them.”  They explore the differences between empathy and sympathy by using Brene Brown’s video found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZBTYViDPlQ.  If you want to learn more about how to become shame resistant and exercise self-compassion, visit Kristin Neff’s website at https://self-compassion.org/.

Don’t forget! Our 5th annual Creating Trauma Sensitive Schools Conference is coming up in February! For more information about this conference go to: https://www.attachmenttraumanetwork.org/conference/  Here you can learn more about the conference and register. We hope to see you there!

In this episode, Julie and Ginger introduce the concept of shame.  According to Brene Brown, a world-renowned social worker with a focus on shame, shame is an “intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging.” What are the differences between shame, guilt, humiliation, and embarrassment and when are they harmful? Be sure to get your copy of Brene’s book, Daring Greatly, in ATN’s bookstore at ATN's Bookshop: Daring Greatly. Stick around and tune into Shame: Part 2 coming up next.

In this episode Julie and Ginger discuss the New York Times bestselling book Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. What is burnout?  How do you know when you are approaching burnout? Burnout is highly prevalent, and it needs to be talked about. They point out strategies to avoid burnout and relieve burnout. The authors, Emily and Amelia Nagoski, dedicated their book to all the givers, so if you are a giver, this podcast is for you! 

In this episode, Julie and Ginger talk about the Window of Tolerance, specifically what level of stress can we tolerate and grow from and what we can do when we are outside those windows of tolerance? What are hyper-arousal and hypo-arousal states? Why is this important? Julie says, “Our healthy relationships play a major role in how wide our window can get.  To be seen and to be told that we matter are very powerful factors in helping us maintain our window of tolerance.” Be sure to watch these videos from Tracy Farrell to further understand the Window of Tolerance concept: The Window of Tolerance Reimagined: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVEDueyZ2C4 and The Panda’s Island of Regulation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXE8DIMiv8Y

Julie and Ginger discuss why rewards and punishments don’t work for traumatized children.  What are rewards? What are punishments? What are consequences? Why don’t they work and what should we do? Alternative methods, where relationships are primary, are presented.  They explore how to look underneath the behavior instead of simply punishing the behavior.  Ginger says, “We want our children to get back up when knocked down.  We want them to believe in themselves.” It’s important that children not see failure as an endpoint, but actually, a starting point to grow

Registration is open for our 5th annual Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools Conference - Feb 20-25, 2022.  There are both in-person & virtual options.  For more information about this conference go to: www.attachmenttraumanetwork.org/conference  This conference is for educators and all who work in schools and child-caring organizations. Here you can learn more about the conference and register. It's a fantastic gathering of those leading and growing the trauma-informed education movement.  We hope to see you there!

Today, Julie and Ginger explore a timely topic - how to support students and staff returning to school during this pandemic.   They are joined by Jen Alexander, a teacher, school counselor, trauma informed expert and author of Supporting Students and Staff after Covid 19.  Jen says, “It's our job to notice the need and meet the need.”  She explains how to do this in the classroom, school, family, and community.

Visit Jen’s website www.MsJenAlexander.com for more of her resources and to order her books. Her books can also be found in ATN’s bookstore at https://bookshop.org/shop/AttachmentTraumaNetwork.

Don’t forget about our upcoming virtual Standing Strong conference on September 13-15, 2021.  It’s an event for those parenting/caregiving children impacted by trauma.  Our focus will be on how to advocate for our children - at school and in other systems.  For more information or to purchase tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/atns-2021-standing-strong-conference-tickets-162816002045.