Of course we all know about emotional support animals. Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, or EAP, takes this to the next level. First of all, you need a horse. Then you need to be outside to engage all your senses and dive deep into the peace of the outdoors. Next, you need a trained Equine Assisted Psychotherapist. And of course a curious and willing client: your child perhaps?

You will save your family power struggles, meltdowns, and stress if you can just lower your family expectations. Then you can intentionally design your holiday celebrations that work best for your family. Nearly everyone can relate to the yearning for the perfect holidays that never turn out that way. The key to lowering your expectations is to include your children in a discussion of what you and they are expecting over the holidays. Call a family meeting and get everyone to write down their top 3 family events and/or traditions they they just can’t live without. Once you have that list, see if there is anything you can let go of. Including your children in a discussion of their own holiday expectations and then choosing only the most important can create harmony over the holidays.

As Brené Brown says, shame is a negative experience for people yet it is an inevitable and necessary part of life. In fact, if handled healthily, shame can lead to personal growth and positive change as well as modesty, humility, and gratitude. Keep reading to learn more about this complicated and taboo word and how it impacts all of us.

Shame is one of the 7 core issues of adoption. As I mentioned, I keep seeing all the ways that shame shows up in the adopted children I support. Shame is a complex issue that is quite nuanced and can hide in many forms. For the adopted child who comes from hard places, their shame can be toxic. This basically implies that the way they see themselves is twinned with shame.  Let’s spend some time examining how shame shows up. Because if you don’t know what’s truly behind undesirable behaviors, you can easily misunderstand the way that shame keeps rearing it’s ugly head.

Dear Director,
We just had our adoption day for our 2 children, siblings, aged 6 and 9. We are so delighted and have no real concerns. Our Resource Family Coordinator suggested that we sign up for Post Perm services now that the adoptions are finalized. But we are tired of people in our home, juggling our calendars to find time for the prep worker of the CYS worker, etc. On the other hand, we want to offer our kids the best life moving forward. Is it Ok to wait for problems to arise before we seek out these Post Perm services?
Signed, New Adoptive Parents

Respite funds are available to adoptive families to help strengthen your family. This can mean spending some time away from your children and refilling your emotional tank. It can look like you attending parenting trainings so you can improve those skills. Sometimes families use this funding to help their child build self-regulation skills through certain activities. The bottom line is that as adoptive parents, you are entitled to respite funding to keep your family close and connected.