by Cathy Tompkins, MA | Apr 14, 2021 | Thoughts for Families
When I’m not annoyed, irritable, distracted, angry, hungry, or otherwise dysregulated, it is pretty cool what my neocortex can come up with in the way of creative responses to the children in my care. I’ll share an old, favorite story then another, less productive but...
by Cathy Tompkins, MA | Mar 11, 2021 | Thoughts for Families
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...
by Cathy Tompkins, MA | Feb 11, 2021 | Thoughts for Families
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...
by Cathy Tompkins, MA | Jan 12, 2021 | Thoughts for Families
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...
by Cathy Tompkins, MA | Dec 23, 2020 | Celebrations, Thoughts for Families
I’ve been procrastinating about this blog and wasn’t sure why. I usually really look forward to this. I realized the level of ambivalence I have about Christmas was holding me back. Then I found a way to talk about it with you that you might find helpful. All in the...
by Cathy Tompkins, MA | Nov 11, 2020 | Thoughts for Families
As a new mom, I once decided that I would measure my success as a mother by whether my children lied to me. Looking back on this, I want to reach out and give myself a big, reassuring hug and tell my younger self that this was a very unrealistic and ungenerous...
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