Last week I blogged about a wonderful clinic in Canada that combines sensory, neurofeedback and neurodevelopmental interventions for children with learning disabilities, ADHD and processing disorders.

Well today, I’m pleased to share with you about a mental health nurse providing attachment therapy in Sydney Australia. Debbie Jeffrey is an adoptive parent who found the lack of attachment therapy and support for families in Australia raising traumatized children to be overwhelming. So, with her background in mental health counseling, Debbie decided to do something about it.

Her practice is now devoted to helping families of attachment disordered children which includes providing the much-needed therapy, as well as the equally needed coaching and support of the parents.

Debbie has written an awesome article featured in this week’s international adoption newsletter distributed by the Boris Gindis Center. The article, entitled ADHD or Hyperarousal? Hyperactivity in Traumatized and Adopted Children explores whether high level of activity, non-stop talking and other symptoms are truly ADHD or are hyperarousal of a traumatized child. Ms. Jeffrey gives one of the clearest and most concise introductions into the effect of trauma on a developing brain that I’ve read for a long time.

She concludes by saying that while there is no doubt that some adopted children have ADHD, that parents of children from institutions need to be aware that there are some patterns of hyperactivity that are really hyperarousal caused by early neglect, abuse or maltreatment.

Ms. Jeffrey then gives parents some helpful strategies for “cooling off” the brains of hyperaroused children (my words not hers).

Ms. Jeffrey fits one of my favorite criterion for a good therapist…that is she’s “been there, done that”. She clearly states that she realizes that the parents are co-therapists in the effort to heal the child’s attachment disorder and she’s all about the work of coaching the parents to be agents of change.

Congratulations Ms. Jeffrey on your growing practice!