In December 2020, President Lincoln's Cottage, a museum and historic site in Washington, DC, opened "Reflections on Grief and Child Loss," an exhibit that aims to build understanding of Abraham and Mary Lincoln as bereaved parents and weaves their story together with those of modern grieving families. This exhibit was developed by the…

Research and practice emphasize the importance of family involvement in early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, in order to address the unique and diverse challenges of families, support and resources may need to be prescribed on a case-by-case basis. This article suggests ways early intervention programs can…

Art therapy reduces trauma-related psychopathology in refugee youth. Given the added stress of COVID-19 on traumatized refugee populations, we adapted art therapy for refugee youth and their families in the virtual space. We describe program development, implementation and experientials, and clinical recommendations illustrated through two cases.…

The number of children with incarcerated parents has grown in recent years. Many of these children are being raised by another family member or are part of the foster care system. This adverse childhood experience can affect the academic, social, emotional, and behavioral development of children. To support them through this life experience,…

Learning about a child's condition and raising a child with a developmental disability can be challenging and emotionally overwhelming, but systematic support programs for parents are practically nonexistent. We find that providing support for parents should be an important public health priority which should be made available through educational,…

Children and adolescents who experience parental incarceration are faced with significant challenges. Additionally, parental incarceration disproportionally affects African American families and families in urban settings. Due to institutional, economic, and social barriers, access to community mental health services for these affected children…

School leaders are expected to be visibly in charge, always on top of their game, doing the right things to advance the school, and exuding confidence and command. For these traits, leaders have extensive resources to draw on to foster their professional growth. The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the regional and state…

It is estimated that there are 1,678,778 military children in the United States, with 80% of them attending U.S. civilian operated public schools. Therefore, it is critical that educators across school settings have access to information that supports the academic, behavioral, and social emotional health of military children. The current paper…

Too many parents who find themselves involved with child welfare agencies have had lives threaded with deeply traumatic events. As adults, their childhood histories manifest themselves in substance abuse, domestic violence, relational problems, risk-taking behaviors, emotional lability, self-harming, anxiety, and depression. To successfully…

Over the last 30 years, Robert Evans and Michael Thompson have been called to consult with more than 2,000 schools independent and public, in the United States and internationally. These school visits have given them a deep appreciation for the range and complexity of challenges schools face and for their capacity to master evolving problems. With…

Nearly four million undergraduates, or more than one in five college students, are parents of children under 18. These student parents face--in normal times--disproportionate economic insecurity, difficulty meeting basic needs, and significant time and caregiving demands. Student parents are now coping with the closing of colleges and…

College students may be misdiagnosed as personality disordered when in fact their problems are better explained by their upbringing. Growing up with a personality disordered parent may cause them to initially present with what appear to be personality disordered traits due to issues such as not learning adequate coping skills. Accurate diagnosis…

"The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" ("DSM") is useful for children and families for three practical reasons: (1) It provides a way to communicate about emotional and behavioral problems of youth in a common language; (2) Parents can get an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for a child if that process…

When parents make an unintentional mistake that harms their child, the associated guilt and grief can be overwhelming and difficult to treat. The parents described in this article unknowingly created a medical emergency when they added water to their child's formula, thinking it would help her constipation. The baby survived the trauma--but with…

Working with children and adolescents in the foster care system whose biological parents' parental rights have been, or are soon to be, terminated can present numerous challenges for counselors. Children in these situations often struggle with identification of conflicting feelings, grief resulting from the absence of the parent/parents, and…