Screaming.
There was lots of screaming.
But it had nothing to do with the therapist.
My husband was taking our child (let’s call her “Sally”) to the backroom.
And Sally wasn’t having any of it.
Listening from the lobby with my other child I thought, you haven’t even made it to the evaluation kido, don’t worry it’ll be okay.
Her screams trailed along the back hallway and eventually stopped. She and my husband had finally entered the backroom together. That is where their individual relationship would be monitored by the therapist remotely. While I had no idea what the actual evaluation looked like, I knew it was being videotaped and that my husband and I would be able to review it in our next session. That next session would determine the course of therapy for our family.
When Sally and my husband returned and they were both smiling! Now that was encouraging. Sally came to me, eager to take me to the backroom for my turn with her.
I was about to find out what happens there.
Once we entered the room, our therapist, Rachel, handed me a stack of cards. Each card had a playful activity for Sally and me to do together. I was to read the cards in order and lead my child in the activities.
It was fun!
We got to use our imaginations and interact. We played, talked, and spent time together. But, I’ll have to be honest, there was still some screaming in that back room. Sometimes Sally just hates following directions.
But hey, that’s why we were there, right?
We completed our activities and Rachel returned. She asked how it went and if our interactions portrayed typical one-on-one interactions with my child at home. Then we returned to the lobby where my husband was waiting to start the evaluation with our second child.
The next step is to review the video tapes from our backroom experience. I think suspenseful is the best way to describe our feelings right now. Having some else actually see and evaluate our relationship with our child is so very hopeful. We’re really just excited and ready to begin the review of the tapes—and to relive our backroom evaluation! Put your email address in the box below and “click” so I can keep you updated on what happens next! If you missed the reasons why we started attachment therapy you can read that here.
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Next in this series: Why Does One Foster Child Feel Like Two?
It’s NOT the Same. When, “That’s O.K. It’s Normal” doesn’t comfort foster parents.
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[…] me as we start attachment therapy with our family. I’ll be updating you on the entire process in following posts. Maybe you’ll decide it’s a good fit for your family as […]