Medication, Therapists, OTs, Oh My! What To Look For As You Navigate Supports For Your Child.

When you're a foster parent and you're struggling with a youth in your care and you reach out to your casework team for help, it's not uncommon to receive a response with two limited options: medication or talk therapy. While it's possible that one or both of these tools will provide a baseline of regulation needed for your youth to grow and heal, it's also true that YOU can be a healing agent in the life of your child. In this episode, we'll recognize medication as helpful but also a tool that has to be used alongside the safety and trust of a caring adult relationship. We'll explore traditional talk therapy options and what to look for in a provider-hint, it's one that includes the caregiver in the healing relationship and doesn't point the finger at the child as the problem. Then we'll share our favorite professional support for foster families-occupational therapy! 

 

Episode references:

Connected Child Book-Chapter 1: https://www.amazon.com/Connected-Child-healing-adoptive-family/dp/0071475001 

TBRI Professionals Near You: https://child.tcu.edu/tbri-practitioner-list/#sthash.fCkdYAwU.dpbs 

Theraplay: https://theraplay.org/

Adoption Support and Preservation Program: https://www.brightpoint.org/strong-families/mental-health-wellness/community-based-services/ 

All Things Sensory Podcast by Harkla (an entire podcast about all the ways that Occupational Therapists can help): https://harkla.co/blogs/podcast 

OT provider list for families in the counties we serve-email abennett@therestorenetwork.org