The Connected Parent: Trauma-Informed Parenting Guide for Building Attachment and Trust in Adoptive and Foster Families

Discover practical, hope-filled strategies for building trust, connection, and healing in your family.

If you're parenting an adopted child, foster child, or a child from a difficult background, this trusted resource will help you strengthen attachment, address challenging behaviors, and create a more connected home.

Traditional parenting approaches often fall short when children have experienced trauma, loss, neglect, or disrupted attachment. In The Connected Parent, renowned child-development expert Dr. Karyn Purvis and adoptive mother Lisa Qualls provide practical tools and compassionate guidance to help parents understand their children's unique needs and respond with confidence, connection, and care.

Parents will learn how to:
• Encourage secure attachment and healthy family relationships
• Respond effectively to challenging behaviors and emotional struggles
• Use practical scripts and strategies to simplify everyday interactions
• Help children overcome fear, anxiety, and insecurity
• Create an environment where healing, trust, and connection can grow

Drawing on decades of clinical research, real-world experience, and proven Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®) principles, the authors offer actionable solutions that parents can begin using right away.

Whether you're an adoptive parent, foster parent, caregiver, or professional supporting children from hard places, The Connected Parent provides the tools, encouragement, and hope needed to nurture healing relationships and help every member of the family thrive.

Lisa Qualls is the mother of twelve children by birth and adoption, and sometimes more through foster care. She is the creator of the One Thankful Mom blog and a popular speaker at events for adoptive and foster parents. She mentors and encourages moms and dads using the methods developed by child expert Dr. Karyn Purvis. 

Karyn Purvis, PhD was an authoritative speaker, writer, trainer, and passionate advocate for children. Her work has been featured in Newsweek, Focus on the Family, Dateline, and countless other media outlets. She was the founder of the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at Texas Christian University where her tireless devotion to loving and serving children continues to flourish.