Tag Archives: attachment

Removal from family: An enduring sensitivity

The decision to remove a child or young person from the care of their birth parents is a grave one that confronts child protection authorities daily. Removal occurs with the intention of protecting the child from harm and securing their … Continue reading

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Outcomes in child welfare: What a well-modulated nervous system looks like

In this, the third blog in this series, I will write about what a well-modulated nervous system looks like among children and young people who are recovering from a tough start to life. Please also refer to the first and … Continue reading

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What attachment security looks like

In the first blog of this series about child welfare intervention outcomes, I wrote about the importance of knowing, and being able to say, what progress toward successful outcomes looks like. In this second blog of the series, I will … Continue reading

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The Practitioner Scientist in Child Welfare

Some know that while attaining my post-graduate qualifications in Psychology I worked for five years as a Research Officer in the local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). During this period I worked closely with Psychiatry staff who were … Continue reading

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Children (and Young People) who Foster

I need my mum and dad to be there for me without me having to ask; to say the words that show that they understand what is happening for me and our family right now; to show that my needs are important without me having to explain them; and to sit with me and experience what I am feeling. Continue reading

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What is the infant’s experience of early trauma?

Below are my notes from a twenty-minute presentation I delivered on 15/6/22 on behalf of The Tweddle Foundation, at their event marking Infant Mental Health Awareness Week 2022. Good morning. My name is Colby Pearce, and I am a practising … Continue reading

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What do children in care need to recover from relational trauma?

In recent posts I have referred to three things that children in out-of-home care need, and need adults who are responsible for their care and welfare to understand, to support their recovery from complex relational trauma. These three things are: … Continue reading

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Why does my child chew their clothes?

Chewing their clothes is not necessarily evidence of wilful damage or a lack of respect. For many children it is an exaggeration of a very natural way in which they regulate their nervous system. As such, it is better conceptualised … Continue reading

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Why does my child follow me to the bathroom?

Those who take care of children who are recovering from a tough start to life commonly report that the child in their care follows them to the bathroom, and becomes unreasonably distressed when prevented from doing so. In my experience … Continue reading

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What I would have birth parents hear after the removal of their child

Twenty seven years speaking to children and young people (and care experienced adults) who have been removed from the care of their birth parents due to grossly inadequate care and maltreatment has left me with deep concerns about the impact of parental separation and loss on the developing child, and the capacity for alternate care and therapeutic supports alone to compensate for this. (read more at link) Continue reading

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