I am an international expert in the field of child trauma and attachment, and the author of Becoming a Family: Promoting Healthy Attachments with Your Adopted Child, a well-received book on adoption. I designed and teach a program for helping children heal from community trauma. Also, I developed and teach the STAT™ (Synergistic Trauma and Attachment Model) of therapeutic treatment, and created and ran a multi-modal mental health clinic specializing in healing developmental trauma. Currently I offer workshops and trainings for parents and professionals, returning recently from one such teaching trip in India. I run a regular column in Fostering Families Magazine, and write for other magazines and journals. My love has always been about children, as a Mom, an elementary school librarian, a school principal, a school psychologist, and now as a psychotherapist, consultant and educator for children and families when trauma is in their life’s picture. I am married to a physical therapist and work partner, Bob Patterson, and have lived in Chestertown since my marriage to Bob in 2004. You can find out more about my work at www.larkeshleman.com