Attachment & Trauma Affect Our Relationships

Melinda Cathey is a therapist who co-founded and served as executive director of The Harbor, a transitional care program in Russia. Melinda has spent nearly 30 years working with orphanages and trains and consults on trauma-informed therapy and The Harbor model of residential care with those working with orphans or foster kids in any capacity.  Melinda is passionate about helping churches create safe environments, and learn to understand and respond to trauma. Purpose: To provide insight, understanding, and practical tips on how church communities can become safer and more compassionate environments where people can partner more effectively with the Holy Spirit to be healing agents for one another. Topics covered in this 60-minute webinar include: An understanding of the way attachment and trauma issues affect God’s plan for our lives. Working definitions of attachment and trauma. 6 risk factors that will cause developmental trauma. The attachment cycle and development. Adverse Childhood Experiences (A.C.E). Brain development. Our personal attachment experience with God. Practical ways to support one another as God supports us. Presenter: Melinda Cathey, M.A. is an individual and marital therapist. Melinda lived in St. Petersburg from 1992 -2002 with her husband, Mark, and their three children. Before their time in Russia, Melinda received her MA in Counseling Psychology from Trinity International University in 1985 and practiced individual, family, and marriage counseling in a variety of settings: community health, church, private practice. While in Russia, she co-founded The Harbor with Alex Krutov in 2001 and served as its Executive Director until 2015.  The Harbor was the first transitional care program of its kind in St. Petersburg and the second in Russia. Most recently, Melinda completed TBRI (Trust-Based Relational Intervention) Educator Training in 2015 under the study of the late Dr. Karyn Purvis at TCU in Dallas, TX. She now trains and consults on trauma-informed therapy and The Harbor model of residential care with those working with orphans or foster kids in any capacity. Her training of TBRI principles has been enthusiastically received in Russia, Ukraine, Mexico, Bolivia, and the U.S. Melinda Cathey can be contacted at: [email protected] Handouts:  ACES Pyramid Attachment Cycles Three Parts of Brain Ways to Heal Each Other and Messages of Felt Safety References