Supporting System Involved Youth Separated from Biological Families: The Impact of Traumatic Separation on Attachment

Pamela Parkinson, Ph.D., LCSW

Training Description

Do we realize the attachment trauma that family separation has on our kids of all ages? This includes kids being separated from their families in foster care, juvenile justice, immigrating to the U.S., etc. What does this breaking up of families do to our kids? This training will look at the deep attachment ruptures that are occurring for our system-involved youth and other ruptures that are happening in their lives which are contributing to the behaviors we see them exhibit. These ruptures are interfering with our kids having positive outcomes!

Learning Objectives

· Explore what is meant by the trauma of lossand the attachment ruptures that these traumatic losses create.

· Learn how these original attachment ruptures create trauma for our system-involved youth, how this results in ongoing retraumatization, and ways that we can decrease the pain of these ruptures.