Cathy Tompkins

On a recent call, an AZAFAP foster mom shared that the three girls who have lived with her for 3 years (one since birth) are being considered for reunification.  She was being a trooper, but anger and frustration were her go-to feeling states. As we listened to her report of a meeting during which she... Read More

Changes, Some Small, Some Huge Part of what you do as a parent to a child with a history of chronic trauma is celebrate small changes. Sometimes you must journal behavioral observations to even recognize those changes. It is very confusing when the progress you saw yesterday is not evident today. I heard myself say... Read More

I remember a 15-year-old girl and her mother. I always held family therapy with everyone in the same room. Some of my colleagues thought I was crazy to try to manage such a dynamic group of people in various types of pain, but I love a challenge.  In our next individual session, the girl looked... Read More