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The Importance of Relationships for Child, Community and Culture

  • Virtual United States (map)

Join Dr. Bruce Perry as he speaks about the power and regulating effects of healthy relational interactions on the developing child.

Dr. Bruce Perry recently co-authored the book "What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing" with Oprah Winfrey. Perry has served as a consultant and expert witness on many high-profile incidents involving traumatized children, including the Columbine High School massacre, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Waco siege, and the YFZ Ranch custody cases. He is one of the leads of The Child Trauma Academy (CTA) in Houston.

This presentation will focus on the power and regulating effects of healthy relational interactions on the developing child. Providing an introduction to basic neurodevelopment and traumatology for clinicians, professionals, parents, caregivers and policy makers, Dr. Perry will address the positive impact of high quality caregiving, supportive families and stable communities while illustrating the devastating impact of neglect, trauma, chaos, violence and relational poverty.  Individuals who have few positive relational interactions are at greater risk for developing trauma-related problems, while positive relational interactions can help promote healing and healthy development for both the normal and maltreated child. 

More About Dr. Bruce Perry

Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D. is Principal of The Neurosequential Model Network, LLC and Senior Fellow of The ChildTrauma Academy, a Community of Practice based in Houston, TX. He is also Professor (Adjunct) in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago and the School of Allied Health, College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Dr. Perry is the author of over 500 journal articles, book chapters and scientific proceedings. His clinical research over the last ten years has been focused on integrating emerging principles of developmental neuroscience into clinical practice. This work has resulted in the development of innovative clinical practices and programs working with maltreated and traumatized children, most prominently the Neurosequential Model©, a developmentally sensitive, neurobiology-informed approach to clinical work (NMT), education (NME) and caregiving (NMC).