The Trauma-Informed Pediatric Practice: A Resilience-Based Roadmap to Foster Early Relational Health

In this engaging, approachable book, a pediatrician and a psychologist walk step by step through the transformational process of creating a trauma-informed practice. They begin with essential concepts such as the debate over “ACE screening,” then share how to prepare an organization for change, assess risks to relational health, support caregivers, use resilience-based interventions, and finally how to sustain a trauma-responsive practice. Reflecting the authors’ call for interdisciplinary collaboration, the book is presented as a dialogue between two experts, describing how they collaborated on their own practice transformation—including both the pitfalls and the factors that made the process successful.
 
A growing body of research shows that early relational health is the essential factor in building resilience in children to buffer the effects of trauma and adversity and prevent toxic stress from occurring. This hands-on guide shows how to help build safe, stable, nurturing relationships between children and caregivers, and how to be responsive not just to children’s trauma, but to their parents’ as well. In the hands of Gillespie and King, what may seem like an overwhelming undertaking becomes one that we can—and must—undertake to fully support the health and wellbeing of children.
 
CONTENTS INCLUDE
The ACE debate and ethical considerations
Building the case for resilience
Navigating barriers to safe, stable, nurturing relationships
Understanding early relational health
Supporting caregivers to strengthen safe, stable, nurturing relationships
Building caregiver–child relationships
Revamping anticipatory guidance
 Designing and using efficacious interventions to support early relational health and heal trauma
Supporting families that have experienced trauma
Addressing physician overwhelm
Sustaining trauma-responsive practices

 

R.J. Gillespie, MD, MHPE, FAAP, is a pediatrician in private practice in Portland, Oregon. He has a particular interest in exploring the impacts of parent and caregiver trauma on health and wellness in early childhood, with the intention of supporting all families to be the best versions of themselves. Dr. Gillespie does consultation on practice-based quality improvement, particularly in the areas of screening and assessments that support early relational health, and has participated in multiple national and statewide screening initiatives through the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Oregon Pediatric Society, and the Children’s Health Alliance, amongst others. He provides guidance for state and regional initiatives on trauma-informed care and strives to make the science of toxic stress, childhood adversity, and resilience accessible and meaningful to practicing clinicians as well as all the families under his care.

Amy King, PhD, is a licensed psychologist who provides training, consultation, and education to professionals and organizations. She specializes in trauma-informed work and resilience building. Dr. King advises organizations around wellness, staff vitality, and creating trauma-responsive spaces. Her specialties include working with professionals to help create resilient children, patients, and thriving families, guiding them to heal their stress and trauma through connected relationships. Dr. King has served as a statewide trainer for the Oregon Department of Human Services, Child Welfare, and as a subject matter expert to promote child wellness in pediatric settings on behalf of Children’s Health Alliance. Her current work is promoting resilience by training professionals who work with children and families, through partnership and collaboration. Dr. Amy & her team serve folks who aim to be champions in connected spaces. When she’s not working to promote resilience, you can find her with her family on their small hobby farm in Newberg, Oregon.