Suggested Materials

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When Love is Not Enough: A Guide to Parenting Children with RAD-Reactive Attachment Disorder brings hope and healing tools to parents and professionals working to help challenging children. Effective interventions, a full step by step plan, clearer insight and understanding make a powerful difference in helping children heal. If you want to make a difference in the life of a hurting child, this book will do it! This plan was honed on some of the most difficult children in the US and has been used successfully to help thousands of children around the world. Children can learn to be respectful, responsible and fun to be with. This book tells the reader how to do it and then zaps them with a boost of encouragement to get started!

NOTE: this book is intended to help parents before their RAD children reach puberty.
   




Beyond Consequences, Logic, and Control covers in detail the effects of trauma on the body-mind and how trauma alters children's behavioral responses. The first four chapters help parents and professionals clearly understand the neurological research behind the basic model given in this book, deemed, 'The Stress Model.' While scientifically based in research, it is written in an easy to understand and easy to grasp format for anyone working with or parenting children with severe behaviors. The next seven chapters are individually devoted to seven behaviors typically seen with attachment-challenged children. These include lying, stealing, hoarding and gorging, aggression, defiance, lack of eye contact, and yes, even a chapter that talks candidly about how parents appear hostile and angry when they work to simply maintain their families from reaching complete states of chaos. Each of these chapters talks in depth on these specific behaviors and gives vivid and contrasting examples of how this love-based approach works to foster healing and works to develop relationships, as opposed to the fear-based traditional attachment parenting approaches that are being advocated in today's attachment field. The authors end with a Parenting Bonus Section: true testimonials from parents who have been able to make significant changes in their homes with this model of parenting, giving real-life examples of how they have been able to find the healing, peace, and love that they had been seeking prior to working through the techniques outlined in this book.
       





Have you ever loved with everything you had, and it wasn’t enough? Carrie O’Toole experienced the pain and suffering of infertility, miscarriage, and and international adoption that went painfully awry. Nothing could have prepared her for the decade-long journey of trying to love her little boy, who struggled to trust and connect after leaving the only home he’d ever known, a Vietnamese orphanage. Although this situation may be unique to Carrie, everyone can relate to the pain of love and loss, heartbreak and grief, trying to make life work when every effort fails. Relinquished: When Love Means Letting Go will take you through the emotional journey and struggle to find answers to the question many people face at some point—What if my love is not enough? What if the only way for healing to occur is for me to let go?





DETACHED! SURVIVING REACTIVE ATTACHMENT DISORDER is the true story of a young boy who never "attached" or "bonded" with his alcoholic mother. He felt unloved, uncared for, unsafe, sad, lonely and extremely angry. As he grew up, he, like most Reactive Attachment Disordered kids, acted out, exhibiting severely antisocial, even violent, behavior. You'll travel back in time to view a young child's life through his own eyes. You'll see an innocent boy become a severely emotionally disturbed teen. Then, against all odds, you'll read about miracles few ever thought possible.




Daniel A. Hughes, a leading practitioner in his field, specializes in an attachment-oriented approach to family therapy. Applying his model to children and families with a range of psychological problems, this book distills just the clinical strategies, offering practitioners a host of practical exercises and interventions on the core skills of his treatment program.
An accompanying DVD demonstrates Hughes putting these strategies to work in a therapy session, revealing the undeniable power of attachment-focused family therapy to create a safe psychological space for families to repair attachment breaks and build the foundation for a healthier future.



A child’s close bond with mother, father, or guardian usually provides a foundation for trust in all future attachments. Children deprived of early and healthy dependency―who do not form normal attachment with their caregivers―may later suffer from Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). This childhood disorder is characterized by a general failure in social relationships resulting from pathogenic care.
Although first included in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-III) in 1980, RAD is one of the more uncommon and understudied forms of psychopathology. Reactive Attachment Disorder: A Case-Based Approach adds to a now growing research base, providing scholars and clinicians with a well-rounded analysis of RAD and suggested treatments. The case-based approach used in this Brief follows the representative case of “Jorge,” presented as unfolding over time and structured to illustrate challenges of diagnosis, to show examples of co-morbidity, and to provoke reflection on what questions may arise during treatment. Readers are asked to appraise the overlap with other clinical syndromes, the forms of psychotherapy which may apply, and the potential role of psychiatric medications as part of a comprehensive treatment plan.



This audio album is a wide ranging tool kit for anyone who wants to have a brain free from interference.   It was developed for vets, but has value for people with no trauma issues. 

Rearing Trauma recommends it for Mothers who have PTSD symptoms due to being empathetic toward a child RAD.  It can also help as parents seek to help their children develop healthy mental and emotional patterns.



A pioneering researcher and one of the world's foremost experts on traumatic stress offers a bold new paradigm for healing Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Such experiences inevitably leave traces on minds, emotions, and even on biology. Sadly, trauma sufferers frequently pass on their stress to their partners and children. Renowned trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he transforms our understanding of traumatic stress, revealing how it literally rearranges the brain's wiring - specifically areas dedicated to pleasure, engagement, control, and trust. He shows how these areas can be reactivated through innovative treatments including neuro feedback, mindfulness techniques, play, yoga, and other therapies. Based on Dr. van der Kolk's own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score offers proven alternatives to drugs and talk therapy - and a way to reclaim lives.



Is your child defiant, often angry, frequently lying, inordinately affectionate to strangers, resistant to affection from parents, lacking in remorse, and seemingly unable to trust anyone? Antisocial behaviors and attitudes like these can lead to a diagnosis of Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). Adopted children are especially prone to develop it. Parenting the Difficult Child: A Biblical Perspective on Reactive Attachment Disorder applies a biblical lens to a child exhibiting defiant and aggressive behaviors and RAD characteristics. Using specific examples and practical implementation ideas, it explains how parents can apply the clear, practical solutions of Scripture to address the habituated heart motivations, thoughts, and actions of an alienated, angry child. It shows how to get to heart issues and how to handle manipulation. The behaviors of the antisocial child challenge the whole family. Two chapters are devoted to encouraging and guiding parents and siblings who may themselves struggle with difficult emotions. Part three concisely explains several primary attachment theories and contrasts them with biblical principles. For example, what does the Bible say about the idea that children labeled with RAD do not trust and lack a conscience? It provides biblical principles pertinent for evaluating behavioral research and attachment therapies. Christian parents, counselors, and pastors will find this practical book helpful for learning what the Bible says about difficult children, including those labeled with RAD, and how to parent them.



Written by a professional therapist based on years of experience working with clients, families, and friends living with Reactive Attachment Disorder (R.A.D.) A comprehensive look inside R.A.D. from the perspective of a diagnosed individual using a journal to share experiences, thoughts, and feelings. The journal is an amalgamation of stories and experiences that have been shared with the therapist and author over years of practice in this area of specialty. This book gives helpful insight into the world of R.A.D. that will enable, therapists, families and friends, as well as those diagnosed, to better understand this "jungle" like world. INSIDE is written for professionals in the field of mental health with an Afterword that provides specific treatment information that professionals may use in their practices. This resource can also be a valuable resource for others seeking information on this disorder.





Attachment Disorders: Treatment Strategies for Traumatized Children is an essential resource for therapists, parents, social workers, DCS workers, foster parents, educators, and child care providers facing the many challenges of working with traumatized children who have attachment issues. This engaging book provides the reader with theoretical foundation of human socialization and of the attachment formation between a caregiver and infant. Catherine Cain clearly defines the concept of an attachment disorder, presents assessment information along with a detailed list of symptoms related to attachment, and details treatment strategies using case studies to help the reader visualize how to use those strategies with specific behavior. Written with ease and accessibility, Attachment Disorders will not only be a helpful tool for the seasoned clinician, but for anyone wanting to understand traumatized children.





Organized around extended case illustrations—and grounded in cutting-edge theory and research—this highly regarded book shows how an attachment perspective can inform psychotherapeutic practice with patients of all ages. Karl Heinz Brisch explores the links between early experiences of separation, loss, and trauma and a range of psychological, behavioral, and psychosomatic problems. He demonstrates the basic techniques of attachment-based assessment and intervention, emphasizing the healing power of the therapeutic relationship. With a primary focus on treating infants and young children and their caregivers, the book discusses applications of attachment-based psychotherapy over the entire life course.
*Incorporates advances in research on neurobiology, genetics, and psychotraumatology.
*Expanded with a section on inpatient treatment for traumatized children, including in-depth cases.
*Describes two promising prevention programs for expectant couples, families, and young children.
*The latest knowledge on disorganized attachment, attachment disorders, and assessments.




This book provides a quick and simple introduction into reactive attachment disorder and helps provide everyday solutions to help bring parents closer to their children. 

This book 'Reactive Attachment Disorder' helps parents understand their child's attachment psychology and provides effective solutions, so they can build a happy relationship.
This book provides a quick and simple introduction into reactive attachment disorder and helps provide everyday solutions to help bring parents closer to their children. This book 'Reactive Attachment Disorder' helps parents understand their child's attachment psychology and provides effective solutions, so they can build a happy relationship.




Reactive Attachment Disorder
Whatever you do, don't adopt from the foster care system without this knowledge. Educate yourself about reactive attachment disorder and possibly save your family from years of pain. Lanette Neal and her husband adopted a young sibling group of three children. No one had any idea what their life was about to become. Reactive attachment disorder came crashing in, and left destruction in its path. Lanette and her family have lived through reactive attachment disorder, but not without scars. They want you to be prepared for the intense daily struggles that you may encounter if you decide to parent a child who suffers from reactive attachment disorder. 
Adoption classes attempt to touch quickly on many possible situations you may become involved in once you adopt from the foster care system, but they need to spend more time on reactive attachment disorder training. Lack of training, unprepared parents, scared and stressed children are a recipe for disaster. Children suffer and the families that adopt them suffer. You may still desire to adopt a child from foster care with reactive attachment disorder, but if you are well prepared, you all have a better chance. This booklet is not a long read, but shares some important information for those interested in foster care adoptions. Adoption is a wonderful thing if you go into it with full disclosure. We all know that rarely happens. You must become your own advocate in your adoption journey. Protect your family and the child you may adopt someday by learning all you can learn. 
WHAT THIS BOOKLET IS NOT- This booklet is not a study guide for social work students, it is not an all inclusive study of reactive attachment disorder, or an A-Z attachment dictionary.
WHAT THIS BOOKLET IS- An adoptive mom who has offered to share some of her experiences dealing with a child with reactive attachment disorder. The basic signs and symptoms of reactive attachment and tips throughout. An adoptive moms view on becoming your own advocate as you educate yourself about this disorder that is just becoming more well known.





"An extremely useful parenting handbook... truly outstanding ... strongly recommended."
--Library Journal (starred review)
"A tremendous resource for parents and professionals alike."
--Thomas Atwood, president and CEO, National Council for Adoption

The adoption of a child is always a joyous moment in the life of a family. Some adoptions, though, present unique challenges. Welcoming these children into your family--and addressing their special needs--requires care, consideration, and compassion.
Written by two research psychologists specializing in adoption and attachment, The Connected Child will help you:
  • Build bonds of affection and trust with your adopted child

  • Effectively deal with any learning or behavioral disorders

  • Discipline your child with love without making him or her feel threatened

"A must-read not only for adoptive parents, but for all families striving to correct and connect with their children."
--Carol S. Kranowitz, author of The Out-of-Sync Child

"Drs. Purvis and Cross have thrown a life preserver not only to those just entering uncharted waters, but also to those struggling to stay afloat."
--Kathleen E. Morris, editor of S. I. Focus magazine

"Truly an exceptional, innovative work . . . compassionate, accessible, and founded on a breadth of scientific knowledge and clinical expertise."
--Susan Livingston Smith, program director, Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute

"The Connected Child is the literary equivalent of an airline oxygen mask and instructions: place the mask over your own face first, then over the nose of your child. This book first assists the parent, saying, in effect, 'Calm down, you're not the first mom or dad in the world to face this hurdle, breathe deeply, then follow these simple steps.' The sense of not facing these issues alone--the relief that your child's behavior is not off the charts--is hugely comforting. Other children have behaved this way; other parents have responded thusly; welcome to the community of therapeutic and joyful adoptive families."
--Melissa Fay Greene, author of There is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue Africa's Children





This book is mainly intended for parents (biological, adoptive, and foster) who are working with children who are diagnosed as having Reactive Attachment Disorders or those who are undiagnosed but show symptoms of having Reactive Attachment Disorders. The focus of this book is on the reactive attachment disorder behaviors and how the quilting method approach helps in restoring the damaged years.




A Safe Place for Caleb is a comprehensive and richly illustrated resource for individuals of all ages who are dealing with attachment problems. Parents, professionals, and lay people will find this book helpful in understanding and addressing attachment disorders in children, adolescents, and adults.
The first half of the book is an interactive story that follows the experiences of Caleb, a young boy who relates his difficulties and frustrations in forming and sustaining healthy relationships. He learns strategies for coping with attachment issues during his journey to the Safe Tree House, where he is introduced to the four "attachment healing keys". These act as therapeutic tools to unlock difficulties with attachment, and are presented using text and illustrations that are easily accessible for readers of all ages, even for young children.
The second half of the book presents a summary of current scientific thought on attachment styles and disorders, and provides a wide array of assessment tools, photocopiable material and healing techniques to address attachment difficulties. Lists of helpful organizations and relevant reading materials are also presented.
Based on established psychological principles, the book is a unique and imaginative guide for professionals, parents, caregivers, and people of all ages who are dealing with attachment issues.




This book describes the struggles of a young girl who experienced early trauma and then repeated, failed foster placements. Tilly is a smart and tenacious four year-old who creates chaos and destruction in her attempts to protect herself from becoming too close to anyone. When Tilly is placed with a new family on a farm, Tilly’s new mom proves to be as determined as her young daughter and eventually discovers ways to help her little girl recover. This book provides guidance and hope to the many families who have a child suffering from reactive attachment disorder. It is also helpful for parents whose children have defiance and behavior issues.





This book is a "Digest" from the original Visions for Tomorrow curriculum to provide basic information to the general public. There is a series of these "digests", each covering a mental illness in the VFT curriculum, providing basic and valuable information for families who are dealing with a first time crisis or still trying to get information to better provide for their child's needs.




In moving and refreshingly candid prose, Rescuing Julia Twice tells Traster’s foreign-adoption story, from dealing with the bleak landscape and inscrutable adoption handlers in Siberia, to her feelings of inexperience and ambivalence at being a new mother in her early forties, to her grow­ing realization over months then years that something was “not quite right” with her daughter, Julia, who remained cold and emo­tionally detached. Why wouldn’t she look her parents in the eye or accept their embraces? Why didn’t she cry when she got hurt? Why didn’t she make friends at school? Traster de­scribes how uncertainty turned to despair as she blamed herself and her mothering skills for her daughter’s troublesome behavioral is­sues, until she came to understand that Julia suffered from reactive attachment disorder, a serious condition associated with infants and young children who have been neglect­ed, abused, or orphaned in infancy.

Hoping to help lift the veil of secrecy and shame that too often surrounds parents struggling with attachment issues, Traster describes how with work, commitment, and acceptance, she and her husband have been able to close the gulf between them and their daughter to form a loving bond, and concludes by providing practical advice, strategies, and resources for parents and caregivers.





Nadya was nine years old when Lori and Karl Hetzel rescued her from an orphanage deep within Siberia. With little grasp of language and no experience of life outside the Russian adoption system, Nadya suffered from severe neglect and trauma, and was later diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Though Lori and Karl went into her adoption educated to the challenges they might face, Nadya’s cognitive delays were far more severe than they expected. The Hetzel family—including two biological sons and a daughter adopted from Kazakhstan—struggled for years through a lonely maze of rages, emergency hospitalizations, and terror before seeing any relief. In Loving Harder, Lori fearlessly tells the story of her darkest days in order to give hope to other struggling families, doing so with knowledge, grace, humor, and love. For those struggling to love harder, regardless of the cause, this book is the answer to a prayer.



This book vividly shows how creative arts and play therapy can help children recover from experiences of disrupted or insecure attachment. Leading practitioners explore the impact of early relationship difficulties on children's emotions and behavior. Rich case material brings to life a range of therapeutic approaches that utilize art, music, movement, drama, creative writing, and play. The volume covers ways to address attachment issues with individuals of different ages, as well as their caregivers. Chapters clearly explain the various techniques and present applications for specific populations, including complex trauma survivors.





Adoptive families working through attachment issues often feel alone. It doesn’t have to be this way, though. They are on the front lines, under fire, and need reinforcements. The communities around us want to help, and yet they usually don’t know how when it comes to attachment issues. A little perspective can change all of that. Upside Down shares stories and perspectives from dozens of families healing through the spectrum of attachment issues, from general attachment concerns to Reactive Attachment Disorder. It explains how extended family, friends, associates, and communities can provide support without causing further damage to a hurting child and more isolation to the families working so hard to heal them. Topics include the reality behind the rose-tinted movies, the why behind the weird limits, the tangle of community, what adoptive families really wish for (besides coffee), sample letters for care providers, links and further resources, and 30 pages of bonus content only available in the paperback edition.





A comprehensive guide to the problems of the individuals coping with intractable children who do not understand their feelings and have no legacy of love to draw upon.





An introduction to Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy by the developers of this evidence-based, effective, and empirically validated treatment.





This book is written primarily for therapists. Many non-therapists will benefit from its reading. America appears endangered. Disturbed children and the consequences of these same individuals raising even more disturbed children has reached, perhaps, the point of no return, regardless of the power of preventative measures the effectiveness of therapy. This book explores effective methods of reaching severely disturbed children.




Connection. The cornerstone of this book. We were born with an innate drive and need to connect with others but how do we do it? We're living in an age of technology that makes almost instant communication possible, but can we truly make a deep connection staying on our Facebook page all the time? E-mails and texts make communication available instantaneously. These are just a few of the many ways we communicate, but does that type of communication equal connection? People marry to connect. People seek friendship to connect. People become involved in communities and organizations to connect. People are starving to connect, yet for so many, connection seems almost impossible to achieve much less to keep alive. Why is this? Because so many people have no idea at all what it takes to make a true and deep connection with another human being. Yes, being connected is an innate drive, but just because something is built into us doesn't guarantee we know how to do it in a healthy and mature and loving way. The good news about connection is that a tremendous amount of it is skill based. What does this mean? It means that people can learn how to connect. No one has to bear the loneliness of isolation. You can learn how to connect. How to make and keep that friend. How to stay in a relationship because it brings you joy, not because you think you have no where else to go. How to choose wisely when it comes to making a lifetime commitment to another. Knowing how to connect in a healthy way can make these things, and many others, possible for you. Understanding and applying the basic tenets of Attachment Theory is the key to learning how to connect. Every day that we do not connect positively, lovingly, and maturely, a part of us dies. Learning how to truly, deeply, and appropriately connect can help resuscitate the part of us we lost. It's time to become whole again and connections show us how.  

***What readers are saying about this book**
“I finally understand why I’ve made so many decisions that undermined my happiness.” 
~ Roger G.

“If I’d read this book before my last marriage, I just might still have that relationship.” 
~ Marla B.

“Karen has given us some keys to unlock the parts of ourselves we’ve shut off. If you truly want to know yourself, you must read this book. I highly recommend it.” 
~ Trudy Post Sprunk, LPC, LMFT, President of IPYA




Concise and easy-to-understand, this book provides an introduction to what attachment means and how to recognise attachment disorder in children. 
Colby Pearce explains how complex problems in childhood may stem from the parent-child relationship during a child's early formative years, and later from the child's engagement with the broader social world. The book explores the mind-set of difficult and traumatised children and the motivations behind their complex tendencies and behaviours. It goes on to offer a comprehensive set of tried-and-tested practical strategies that can be used with children affected by an attachment disorder. This second edition has been updated to include the new DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for Reactive Attachment Disorder and an increased number of illustrative case vignettes.
This is a perfect introduction to the subject for parents, carers and practitioners in supportive roles caring for children.



In this volume, leading authorities provide a state-of-the-art examination of disorganized attachment: what it is, how it can be identified, and its links to behavioral problems and psychological difficulties in childhood and beyond. The editors offer a fresh perspective on disorganized attachment, not as a characteristic of the infant or child but as the product of a dysregulated and disorganized parent–child relationship. They present cutting-edge research and exemplary treatment approaches. With attention to the subjective experiences of both mothers and children, the book shows how focusing on the caregiving system can advance research and clinical practice.



Know a Mom who needs to find her own inner peace again?  Coloring books are such a great way to take time for SELF CARE.




More self care ideas!




A Special Worship Song