Regulated & Relational

In this episode, Julie and Ginger talk about the school to prison pipeline with Leonard Webb. What an important topic this is!  Leonard retired from law enforcement and now uses his experience to address the issues of exclusionary discipline, implicit biases, and structural racism.   His goal is to improve the educational outcomes of students by improving relationships between administrators, teachers, parents, and students. Leonard provides equity-based solutions by bringing accountability to school leaders while increasing attendance and decreasing suspensions and expulsions.  He was appointed by Governor Hogan to the Juvenile Justice School Board in the state of Maryland.

Listen in to learn what the school to prison pipeline really is, why it is important, and how we can work to reduce its numbers. Mr. Webb states, “Underfunded schools lead to overcrowded prisons.”  There is a direct correlation and many ways to make a difference.  He uses the concept of RISK - establish Real relationships, have Intentional interactions, create Safe spaces, and Keep asking questions. Yes, it takes us out of our comfort zone but that is what a risk is. It is a shift of our focus.

Leonard tells us that it may not be easy, but it is really very simple.

To learn more about Leonard Webb and his program, visit his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/webbolutionary/ or go to http://endtheschool2prisonpipeline.com/. You can also email him directly at [email protected].

In this episode, Julie and Ginger discuss the Vagus nerve and other occupational therapist topics with Allison Morgan.  Allison is the founder and CEO of Zensational Kids, an educational company with the vision of providing schools and organizations with professional development focused on boosting mental health and well-being and learning for the entire school community. Allison creates programs that integrate trauma-responsive approaches, mindfulness, and Social-Emotional learning. Zensational Kids practices can be found in over 100 countries and 11,000 schools worldwide.

When Allison was practicing occupational therapy in the school system, she saw that when she implemented yoga and mindfulness into the sessions, many of the goals were achieved.  She realized that she needed to move away from the handwriting practice, the shoelace tying, the check list sheets, and the behavior charts. Change must come from the inside out and this led Allison to learn more about the nervous system and the Vagus nerve.

Listen in to learn exactly what the Vagus nerve is and where it is in the body.  Allison leads us through several exercises aimed at calming our nervous system.

To learn more about Zensational Kids and to access Allison’s free resources, go to: https://zensationalkids.com/.

In this episode Julie and Ginger talk about the Inner Working Model.   This is basically the blueprint for how we connect with others.  

John Bowlby says it best – “All of us, from cradle to grave, are happiest when life is organized as a series of excursions, long or short, from the secure base provided by our attachment figures.”  What is a secure base? What is the attachment cycle? Why does it matter? Listen in to learn how the answers to these questions lead to a person’s inner working model and how that affects them for the rest of their life.

Dr. Lou Cozolino says, “Brains link together. We are social creatures and our biologies are interwoven. Each brain is dependent on the scaffolding of caregivers and loved ones for survival, growth, and wellbeing. There are no single brains. Each brain adapts according to other brains they are surrounded by.” This is all based on our first relationships and the best way to therapeutically care for children is to understand our own inner working model.

Because - When we know better, we do better.

In this episode, the studio is full.  Julie and Ginger have Jen Alexander and Anna Paravano as guests. Jen Alexander is a veteran educator, counselor, and long-time ATN friend. She is a passionate leader in the building of trauma-sensitive schools. Anna Paravano is also a long-time ATN friend and previous board member.  Anna’s background is in interior design. She is a professional interior designer with over 40 years of experience, and she teaches at the college level. They are both moms to children with developmental trauma. 

These two ladies united to create a quick guide on how to create a safe and supportive physical environment using a trauma-informed lens.  This guide can be purchased by going to ATN’s bookshop at https://bookshop.org/shop/AttachmentTraumaNetwork.

The guide offers practical advice linked to what we can do right now, right here, to support students and adults.  We must emember that good design is different for children than it is for adults. Children see their environment from another lens.  Jen says, “Design is about how we use the space and interact in the space,” so, listen in to hear Jen and Anna talk about how décor looks in a trauma-sensitive design.

To learn more about these two ladies, go to www.Growing-at-Home.com or www.msjenalexander.com.

In this episode, Julie and Ginger are talking about relationships between parents and teachers with their guest host, Jessica Harris.  Jessica was a teacher with 17 years of experience until she began the CLIMB program.  As an alternative to out of school suspensions, the CLIMB program provides students with intensive instruction and support while keeping them in school.  Through this program, Jess is changing the educational landscape and using teacher-parent relationships as a tool.

We know that relationships are key between the teacher and their students, but what about between teachers and the parents? How do we initiate this relationship? How can we get off on the right foot? How do we approach this from a trauma informed lens? And - Why is it so important?

Listen in to learn what needs parents have, what needs teachers have and how we can fill those needs. The relationship between the parents and teacher is the key. The biggest obstacle to forming these relationships is time. Jess shares some tips to work around this obstacle.

Jess says, “We must share every win that every child achieves.” It is critical.

In this episode, we have invited a guest host, Kimberly Smathers, into the studio. Kimberly is on the Board of Directors of the Attachment & Trauma Network, and she is a true champion of ATN’s work. Kimberly is talking with Ginger Healy about her recent book, Regulation and Co-Regulation: Accessible Neuroscience and Connection Strategies that Bring Calm into the Classroom (15-Minute Focus).

You know Ginger as the co-host of this Regulated and Relational podcast, but what you may not know is that Ginger is a clinical social worker with almost 30 years of experience. She has worked as a child abuse investigator, a hospital social worker, and a school therapist. Oh – and she is a mom to children with special needs. So, she is very well positioned to author this book!

Ginger’s book is a quick and easy read, something we all need in our busy lives. Ginger points out that we aren’t born with the ability to regulate on our own. It takes years of experiences (and millions of those experiences) of co-regulation for us to develop that skill.

Listen in to learn the difference between accountability and punishment. Why is accountability healing? Why is punishment traumatizing? How can we use this knowledge to heal our entire community?

To order Ginger’s book, go to ATN’s bookshop at https://bookshop.org/p/books/15-minute-focus-regulation-and-co-regulation-accessible-neuroscience-and-connection-strategies-that-bring-calm-into-the-classroom-brief-counseling-gin/19786117?aid=22880&ean=9781953945792&listref=resources-for-educators

You can also reach out to Ginger at [email protected]. She would love to hear from you.

In this episode, Julie and Ginger talk about Belonging.  And what an important concept that really is! Love and belonging are crucial human needs and Brene Brown says, “You can’t study emotions and experiences that define being human without constantly bumping into the concept of belonging.”   It is that primal!

Listen in to learn the difference between fitting in and belonging. Spoiler alert – its all about relationships because true belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are, it requires you to be who you are.

Why is belonging so difficult for those with trauma?  How does lack of belonging relate to drug abuse? How does belonging release endorphins in our brains?

To learn more about “The Belonging Barometer” study, go to https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/the-belonging-barometer

And remember - we are a social species.  We must belong.

In this episode, Julie and Ginger explore the concept of grief by welcoming Emelio Parga into the studio.  Emelio is the founder and Executive Director of the Solace Tree, a grief and loss support center for children, teens and adults in Reno, NV.  He coordinates support groups there and in the schools in Nevada.  Emelio has collaborated to create The Good Grief Project for K-12 students who have experienced loss.  Additionally, he teaches courses on death and dying. 

Emelio says that “Grief impacts everyone” and “We all carry

Robin Williams says that “Everyone is battling something that you know nothing about.   Be kind always.” We must become doers, not just passive watchers! Be kind. Always.

To learn more about the Solace Tree and The Good Grief Project, go to https://www.solacetree.org/.

In this episode, Julie and Ginger are deep-diving into the concept of curiosity.   Brene Brown defines curiosity as recognizing a gap in our knowledge about something that interests us and becoming emotionally and cognitively invested in closing that gap though exploration and learning. This differs from simply being interested in something. Interest is just a state.  Curiosity can be both a state and a trait.

Listen in to hear the benefits of curiosity. It is positive to be curious and the curiosity of other people is a great way to build relationships. Relationships are of utmost importance with the children in our lives and therefore, curiosity is of utmost importance. As every teacher knows, if you get a child interested in something, the other things around that lesson will also be taken in. Curiosity must be in every classroom!

Learn why entering curiosity can be scary.  It is basically a not- knowing-stance and we must make it ok to not know.  We must model it. We have to show that being curious has great rewards.

We are curious about what you are curious about.  Send us a message at [email protected] about how curiosity affects your life. We want to know!

In this episode, Julie and Ginger dive into anger!  Brene Brown defines anger as an emotion we feel when something gets in the way of our desired outcome, or when we believe there is a violation of the way we believe something should be. She says that anger is both active and activating.

Anger is an emotion we all experience, and it causes us to go into a fight or flight response. This means we shift to a state of survival, with our heart rate and adrenalin level increasing, and our cognitive and relational abilities decreasing.

Julie says, “We have three options on how to deal with anger: express it, suppress it, or process it.” We never age out of the emotion of anger, instead we need to learn how to navigate it. Listen in for tips on how to safely navigate the anger of yourself and the children in your care.

We want to hear from you! Please let us know what works for