The a-z Of Therapeutic Parenting, Sarah Naish
We can’t always be therapeutic, no matter how hard we try, but we just need to be as therapeutic as we can, whenever we can. After all, we are only human!
– Sarah naish, adoptive parent and author
The a-z Of Therapeutic Parenting has real strategies and solutions for kids with developmental trauma. Enough said. Seriously, for most adoptive parents I could end my review here. That’s how incredibly rare it is to find practical strategies that make sense.
But let me explain more… Sarah Naish is the adoptive parent of 5 children and fostered for years. She speaks from experience and that’s clear. Her book isn’t full of platitudes or theory. It’s practical which is what parents like myself are desperate for.
The book begins with general information on developmental trauma and strategic approaches. This is well written and helpful in making the paradigm shift from traditional parenting to therapeutic parenting. However, what makes this a 5-coffee review is PART 2: A-Z OF BEHAVIORS AND CHALLENGES WITH SOLUTIONS which is an indexed guide of behaviors with strategies to address each of them.
Each behavior (Lying, Food Issues, Brushing Teeth, Charming, and so many more!) has its own entry. Let’s take “Lying” as an example since that’s a hard one to deal with. Here’s a taste:
- WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE– This section includes descriptions of how the behavior may manifest in your home. The entry for lying includes: blatant lying, habitual lying for not reason, stalwart sticking to the lie…
- WHY IT MIGHT HAPPEN – This is one of the best parts of each entry because it’s honest. It doesn’t assume all kids have exactly the same motive. Instead it allows for the fact that some kids may be more willful than others. The entry for lying includes: avoiding shame, lack of cause-and-effect thinking, dysregulation, momentary hatred of parent…
- REALITY CHECK – Here’s where all adoptive and foster parents can connect. Naish gets personal and doesn’t gloss over how these behaviors can drive parents crazy. We’re only human after all! The entry for lying includes: the struggle parents feel over letting a child ‘get away’ with lying and the frustration we feel…
- USEFUL STRATEGIES – This is the information we are desperate for. The entry for lying has 6 bullet pointed suggestions to try. They’re not all going to work for every child – and because Naish is a fellow parent – she gets that. The strategies are varied, practical, realistic, and useful. I won’t give them away. Go pick up a copy of the book
My Bottom Line
The a-z Of Therapeutic Parenting is practical and comprehensive help for foster and adoptive parents who are looking for parenting strategies. It’s obviously written from the trenches, not the desk of an academic. I can’t recommend this book enough- in fact, I’d add a dollop of whipped cream to my 5-coffee rating if I could!
Consider too joining the Therapeutic Parenting facebook group founded by author Sarah Naish. Be sure to let them know you heard about them from @RasingDevon.
I have this book and as an adoptive patent have found it really useful. Recently I bought a new book called Superparenting by Dr Amber Elliott which I have also found really useful. One of the things I found as I read it is that I felt heard.
There’s lots of examples of situations that you might encounter and it always starts with the “exhausted hare” response, our automatic reaction in the situation, then it shows the way the “reward – punishment” way of dealing with it would go, before showing us the theraputic option.
I’ve just found it really encouraging to read, in the same way you describe A-Z of theraputic parenting.