My TreeHouse had the pleasure of having Jim Harlow, LPCi lead a workshop for adoptive parents. Jim is an adoptive parent of five children from backgrounds of abuse and neglect and with special needs. After being self-employed for over 30 years and raising his family, Jim went back to school to earn his M.A. in Counseling at Dallas Baptist University. While currently a Child Development Fellow at the Institute of Child Development at TCU, Jim is completing the required supervised counseling hours for his Licensed Professional Counselor Internship in private practice. Aside from his personal experience in his own family, Jim and his wife have spent years working with other adoptive families in parent support groups. All of this life experience provides Jim with a unique understanding of and ability to connect with other parents and the struggles that they face daily.
The workshop material was based on many years of research and programming at Texas Christian University, and included information related to how children coming out of trauma, abuse, and neglect (specifically including children who have spent time in orphanages internationally) have altered development which influences the behaviors that they exhibit now and their abilities to respond to "normal" parenting techniques. The presentation gave parents practical methods to connect with, to empower, and to teach the children the skills that they need to be able to manage their responses to their environment. Parents left the training with greater insight into their family interactions and with new tools to refashion them positively.
Thanks Jim. You are a gift to our community!
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