"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

You Can Effectively Parent an Adopted or Foster Child Parenting under the best of circumstances is difficult, but because of their unique needs, raising children from hard places brings additional challenges. You might discover that traditional techniques that may have worked for you with your birth children are not working with your adopted or foster child. Renown child development expert Dr. Karyn Purvis will give you practical advice and powerful tools you can use to encourage secure attachment in your child, just as she did for coauthor Lisa Qualls. You will benefit from Karyn’s decades of research and understanding, plus Lisa’s hands-on experience and successful implementation of the strategies shared in this book. You will learn how to simplify your approach using scripts, nurture your child, combat chronic fear, teach respect, and develop other valuable skills to add to your parenting toolbox. The Connected Parent will help you lovingly guide your children and bring renewed hope and healing to your family.

There Is Hope for Every Child, Every Parent, and Every Family Parenting under the best of circumstances can be difficult. And raising children who have come to your home from “hard places,” who have their own set of unique needs, brings even more challenges. You may have discovered that the techniques that worked with your birth children are not working with your adopted or foster child. Renowned child-development expert Dr. Karyn Purvis gives you practical advice and powerful tools you can use to encourage secure attachment in your family. You will benefit from Karyn’s decades of clinical research and real-world experience. Coauthor Lisa Qualls demonstrates how you can successfully implement these strategies in your home, just as she did in hers. You will learn how to simplify your approach using scripts, nurture your child, combat chronic fear, teach respect, and develop other valuable tools to facilitate a healing connection with your child. The Connected Parent will help you lovingly guide your children and bring renewed hope and restoration to your family.

There are great rewards that come along with being a foster parent, yet there are also great challenges that can leave you feeling depleted, alone, and discouraged. The many burdens of a foster parent's day--hurting children, struggling biological parents, and a broken system--are only compounded by the many burdens of a foster parent's heart--confusion, anxiety, heartache, anger, and fear. With the compassion and insight of a fellow foster parent, Jamie C. Finn helps you see your struggles through the lens of the gospel, bringing biblical truths to bear on your unique everyday realities. In these short, easy-to-read chapters, you'll find honest, personal stories and practical lessons that provide encouragement and direction from God's Word as you walk the journey of foster parenting.

Illustrates the hidden challenges embedded within the evangelical adoption movement. For over a decade, prominent leaders and organizations among American Evangelicals have spent a substantial amount of time and money in an effort to address what they believe to be the “Orphan Crisis” of the United States. Yet, despite an expansive commitment of resources, there is no reliable evidence that these efforts have been successful. Adoptions are declining across the board, and both foster parenting and foster-adoptions remain steady. Why have evangelical mobilization efforts been so ineffective? To answer this question, Samuel L. Perry draws on interviews with over 220 movement leaders and grassroots families, as well as national data on adoption and fostering, to show that the problem goes beyond orphan care. Perry argues that evangelical social engagement is fundamentally self-limiting and difficult to sustain because their subcultural commitments lock them into an approach that does not work on a practical level. Growing God’s Family ultimately reveals this peculiar irony within American evangelicalism by exposing how certain aspects of the evangelical subculture may stimulate activism to address social problems, even while these same subcultural characteristics undermine their own strategic effectiveness. It provides the most recent analysis of dominant elements within the evangelical subculture and how that subculture shapes the engagement strategies of evangelicals as a group.

A 2023 SPE Outstanding Book Honorable Mention According to the American Psychological Association (APA, 2015), trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event, which can lead to difficulties with emotional regulation, social relationships, and the development of physical symptoms. Traumatic experiences may include physical or sexual abuse, neglect, experiencing or witnessing violence, war, suicides, and disasters. Because of the prevalence of students with traumatic experiences in K-12 schools, development and use of trauma-informed practices (TIP) is currently increasing in educational spaces across the United States as educators and others who work with children become more aware of how socio-emotional development and exposure to trauma places children on a pathway through adulthood. Because of growth in these areas, it is important for educators and others who work with children to have a resource to consult. Children and Trauma: Critical Perspectives for Meeting the Needs of Diverse Educational Communities provides teachers, administrators, and others involved in education with an understanding of trauma-informed practices and explains how they can be used in the classroom. Additionally, school districts could utilize this text to implement professional development, particularly if they are considering creating a districtwide trauma-informed system. Perfect for courses such as: Trauma-Informed Educational Practice | Psychology | Educational Psychology | Foundations of Education | Pedagogy | Methods of Emotional or Behavioral Disorders | Teaching Methods | Diversity in Education | Social Work | Human Development

A Best Memoir of 2015, “This memoir is compulsively readable and full of humor and heart.”—AdoptiveFamilies.com “A punk rock Scheherazade” (Margaret Cho) shares the zigzagging path that took her from harem member to PTA member… In her younger years, Jillian Lauren was a college dropout, a drug addict, and an international concubine in the Prince of Brunei’s harem, an experience she immortalized in in her bestselling memoir, SOME GIRLS. In her thirties, Jillian's most radical act was learning the steadying power of love when she and her rock star husband adopt an Ethiopian child with special needs. After Jillian loses a close friend to drugs, she herself is saved by her fierce, bold love for her son as she fights to make him—and herself—feel safe and at home in the world. Exploring complex ideas of identity and reinvention, Everything You Ever Wanted is a must-read for everyone, especially every mother, who has ever hoped for a second act in life.

Domestic or international? Baby or older child? A child with special needs? The number of decisions you will need to make when deciding to adopt can at times seem overwhelming. The Everything® Parent’s Guide to Raising Your Adopted Child offers all the information any potential or newly adoptive parent might need. Parenting expert and adoptive parent Corrie Lynne Player has interviewed hundreds of adoptive parents and presents a cross-section of age, ethnicity, and cultural backgrounds to help you make the most informed decisions. This essential guidebook is packed with reassuring advice on how to handle the most common issues, including: -Questions to ask before adopting -Bonding techniques for each age group—from newborn to teenager -Adopting children with physiological or psychological special needs -Adopting outside your ethnic group -Navigating international adoptions -Fielding difficult questions about your adopted child’s birth parents -Helping your adopted child cope with feelings of loss and abandonment With this book by your side, you will bond with your child for a lifetime!

An integrative approach to play therapy blending various therapeutic treatment models and techniques Reflecting the transition in the field of play therapy from a “one size fits all” approach to a more eclectic framework that integrates more than one perspective, Integrative Play Therapy explores methods for blending the best theories and treatment techniques to resolve the most common psychological disorders of childhood. Edited by internationally renowned leaders in the field, this book is the first of its kind to look at the use of a multi-theoretical framework as a foundation for practice. With discussion of integrative play treatment of children presenting a wide variety of problems and disorders—including aggression issues, the effects of trauma, ADHD, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders, social skills deficits, medical issues such as HIV/AIDS, and more—the book provides guidance on: Play and group therapy approaches Child-directed play therapy with behavior management training for parents Therapist-led and child-led play therapies Cognitive-behavioral therapy with therapeutic storytelling and play therapy Family therapy and play therapy Bibliotherapy within play therapy An essential resource for all mental health professionals looking to incorporate play therapy into treatment, Integrative Play Therapy reveals unique flexibility in integrating theory and techniques, allowing practitioners to offer their clients the best treatment for specific presenting problems.

Practical Strategies for Gospel-Centered Children's Ministry When building a children's ministry at a church, there is so much to consider: Which curriculum should we use? How many volunteers do we need? How do we keep parents in the loop? And that's before we run into stalled check-in computers, missing activity sheets, and floors that need to be vacuumed. While all of the tasks of children's ministry are important, leaders can get easily distracted with the everyday work of doing ministry and lose sight of the main focus—the gospel. Writing from personal ministry experience, Jared Kennedy shares a four-fold approach for gospel-centered, missional children's ministry: hospitality, teaching, discipleship, and mission. This practical resource covers a variety of topics ranging from creating child protection policies to putting together lesson plans to catechism, helpful for children's ministers and volunteers alike as they disciple children with the powerful message of the gospel. Applicable: Includes questions for reflection and evaluation Helps Leaders Disciple the Next Generation: Features advice for sending kids and their families on mission Ideal for Nursery–5th Grade Teachers and Leaders: A practical and helpful resource for children's ministries Published in Conjunction with the Gospel Coalition (TGC)