Written by Emmi Honeybourne-Ward
Reflecting back on the early weeks, months (or even years) following a child joining the family is something I spend a fair amount of time doing with the majority of…...
Written by Shivani Chotai
Lenny the Lion This is the story of a ferocious lion who is now learning to be brave like a cub. Lenny the Lion is on an adventure of a…
READ MOREWritten by Aarti Daya
Many adopted and fostered children experience high levels of shame (http://www.pafca.co.uk/theory-article/the-impact-of-shame/). Shame is a complex emotion that feels desperately uncomfortable for children and usually children will learn to limit behaviours…...
Written by Jill Mack
Many adoptive parents are puzzled by the apparent change in behaviours during the adolescent period. They describe their children who were previously warm, loving and kind-natured as turning into something…
READ MOREWritten by Shivani Chotai
To past, present and future parents, I see you desperately trying to hold everything together, why would you trust me to hold you as well when you have fought and…
READ MOREWritten by Aarti Daya
PICA is the eating of non-edible, non-nutritious items such as stones, plastic, wood etc. It is more common in children on the Autism Spectrum, children with a learning disability and…...
Written by Shivani Chotai
The attachment system can operate a bit like a book, closing down due early traumatic experiences (i.e. abuse or neglect). This means compassion and affection from adoptive parents or carers…...
Written by Adele Freeman
What is Blocked Care and how do I know if I have it? I recently wrote about why, as a therapist, we often prioritise work with parents over working directly…...
Written by Sam Piggott
“My child flies away somewhere and I don’t know where she goes or what she’s doing!” This was one of the comments a foster carer made to me when we…...
Written by Lucy Murray
In this piece I wanted to think about the importance of your self-care. “My self-care!” I hear you cry! I’m guessing that between trying to parent the traumatised children in…...
Written by Lynn Findlay
Protecting our Online Reputation – Self Care as a Digital Parent “Secure your own mask before helping others” Introduction In my previous article on digital parenting I wrote about how…...
Written by Adele Freeman
What is Child to Parent Violence? Child to Parent Violence (CPV), also known as Adolescent to Parent Violence and Abuse (APVA) or Parent Abuse (PA) has been gaining increasing attention…...
Written by Lynn Findlay
There is no escaping the rapid advances in technology, social media and a young person’s online world in recent years. For our children born into this world as digital natives…...
Written by Lucy Murray
Your child or adolescent harming themselves can be a terrifying prospect. It may leave you, as their parent(s) or carer(s), feeling powerless, scared and unsure about the best way to…...
Written by Amber
What is Mindfulness? Mindfulness is the practice of accepting but simultaneously letting go of negative thoughts and emotions. An analogy that many carers and adopters have found useful in our…...
Written by Amber
Lots of children who have had abusive and/or neglectful early lives are delayed in their abilities to understand and use their senses in the same way that non-traumatised people do…....
Written by Charlotte
Life is full of beginnings and endings and one of the social skills that school teaches our children is how to manage these. Every school and family have their own…...
Written by Amber
I so often hear that foster carers and adopters feel that their knowledge of their child(ren) is not taken into account by the powers that be. The struggle in getting…
READ MOREWritten by Grace
Parent and child foster placements are in greater demand than ever before. The following is a summary of the literature available on Parent and Child Foster Placements by Grace Bowmer,…...
Written by Charlotte
Going on our annual summer holiday is a time we all look forward to. It’ll be a time when we have a break from the day to day routine, we’ll…...
Written by Amber
What is Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)? FAS comes under the banner of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), which is a broad spectrum of completely preventable intellectual and developmental deficits in…
READ MOREWritten by Amber
Sexualised behaviour in fostered and adopted children is very common but it is an incredibly difficult subject for adults to think and talk about openly. As a result we often…...
Written by Amber
Stealing is a reasonably common behaviour seen in fostered and adopted children. It can be alarming for parents and carers but it is frequently an expression of attachment behaviour and…...
Written by Amber
Many children who have started out in homes that were abusive and/or neglectful face significant challenges around food. This can be due to a relatively simple association with a lack…...
Written by Amber
Fostered and adopted children are often very controlling of their environments and the people within it. It’s often tough to know how to approach the controlling behaviour or even why…
READ MOREWritten by Amber
Competitiveness between adopted or fostered children and others is incredibly common and can be very disruptive to family life. It frequently results in bickering and falling out and can leave…...
Written by Amber
Children who attention-seek, i.e. monopolise their primary caregivers’ time and who struggle to tolerate your attention being elsewhere, can be an extraordinary challenge. It is not uncommon for these compulsive…...
Written by Amber
Many fostered and adopted children have difficulties with wetting (aka enuresis) and soiling (aka encopresis). Indeed there are many children with happy, healthy enough lives who have such problems. There…...
Copyright © 2018 to present Dr Amber Elliott. All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of the contents of PAFCA may be made without written permission. PAFCA (PAFCA) is part of The Child Psychology Service Ltd. Sole Director Dr. Amber Elliott BSc(Hons), ClinPsyD, CPsychol, CSci, AFBPsS. Company Registration Number 8506066. Registered Office: 4 Pascoe Drive, Lichfield, WS14 9FB.