News from The RADish Ranch
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Greetings!
It's 2022. A brand new year for healing and adventures.
The healing journey with your child can seem impossible, exhausting, and like heading into the vast unknown.
It can be easy to get lost in the day-to-day battles of parenting trauma and lose sight of where you're going and what you're doing, so to help stay focused, motivated, and strong, plan for healing like you would for an adventurous, once-in-a-lifetime road trip.
We've got strategies to help you prepare, survive, and thrive as you hit the road to find HOPE and HEALING for your family.
Stay safe and enjoy!
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Karen Poitras
President & Founder of The RADish Ranch
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The Plan
Write these categories in your Travel Journal and list 2 - 5 specific plans for each one.
Where do you want to go?
What healing would you like to see happen by the end of 2022?
- Personal goal
- Family goal
- Child goal
What do you want to see?
- More family time?
- Outings?
- Routines?
- Less aggression?
Make a packing list of supplies you'll need
- Specific parenting tools - find what goals you want to reach and what parenting strategies you'll need. Use books, online courses, or other resources.
- Brain-Based Behaviour Interventions - check out www.theradishranch.org for information on this amazing program!
- Respite care - train a provider to be able to help you along your journey and provide breaks for self-care.
- Family support - gather interested and supportive family members and let them know how they can help you on your Road Trip to Healing.
- Therapy - if you don't already have a therapist - FIND ONE! One for you as a parent to help you with support, resources, and trauma work along the way.
- Safety plan - create a safety plan with your child's therapist or care team to ensure that your journey is safe and therapeutic.
Before You Go
Tell people you'll be away
- Inform family and friends that this year is to focus on healing within your family.
- Reduce all plans and postpone big family outings or vacations until next year. You're busy taking a road trip!
Prepare your home
Just like on an actual road trip where you spend many hours in a car in close proximity to your family, on this healing road trip you will be spending many, MANY hours in your home with your family. Be prepared!
- Set up routines and structure
- Install door alarms for felt-safety
- If your child is violent or aggressive, prepare a safety plan
- Stock up on family activities and games
- Stock up on handcraft projects and books (for you and your child)
- Meal prep and plan (this is a great area to get friends and family involved in who want to support you!)
Rest up - now is the time to catch up on sleep & get ready - you're going to be busy!
- Schedule in a weekend (or week!) of R&R time - find respite care if at all possible!
- Do something that fills you up: spend a weekend with friends, spend time alone at home, go on a shopping spree, take time to work on a hobby, etc.
Travel Journal
- Start a Travel Journal for your Healing Journey.
- Write down your plans, goals, and packing list.
- Journal your feelings and thoughts throughout the journey.
- Each day write one or two things that you are thankful for.
The Journey
Pit stops along the way - a break from life and the road trip
- All road trips include pee stops, food stops, stretch-your-legs stops, and fill up-your-tank stops. Make sure you are planning pit stops along you journey so you can stretch, relax, get a change of scenery, and be better prepared for the rest of the journey ahead.
Detours
- Nothing goes exactly as planned - ever. When your road trip seems to go off the rails with a small (or large) detour, take some time to regroup and reset. Sometimes you are exhausted and need a break to find the road again, sometimes a new strategy is needed to reach a certain goal.
- Journal in your Travel Journal about the detour to help you remain focused on your goal. Write three things that frustrate you about the detour and three things you are thankful for that came about because of it.
Remember
- This trip you are on has no exact arrival time: you'll get there when you get there. Relax.
- No two trips look the same - travel your own road, at your own pace, with your own people.
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Be specific when writing your plans and lists in your Travel Journal - name exactly what your goals are and what you are working toward.
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What to pack:
You are going to be spending a lot of time at home with your family this year, so having the right equipment is essential.
While everyone's packing list will look different, here are some essential categories:
- snacks (healthy ones to keep your brains and bodies going, and junky ones for when you need a pick-me-up)
- family games (board games, card games, imagination play, outdoor games, etc.)
- stories & books
- music
- fun things to share as a family over the course of the trip (remember to focus on relationships, not just stuff).
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Drawing Your Road Map
Like any road trip where there are always more places you want to stop and see than there is time for, you will have many more healing goal than what will fit into you year. Keep this in mind when drawing your Road Map to Healing!
Be specific in your goals and stay realistic. Don't try cramming in as much healing as possible and setting unreachable expectations - this will lead to feelings of failure as a parent and feeling let down when expectations aren't met.
Remember to be gentle with yourself and your family as you plan your trip. If this year you can handle traveling around the block - great! If you can make it across the country or over the mountains - great! As a therapeutic parent you're exhausted and your child is reactive and traumatized - take it easy.
Focus on the journey, not only the destination.
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"I am learning to trust the journey even when I do not understand it." - Mila Bron
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Do you want help planning your road trip?
Book a coaching session today to get started!
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Are you ready to bring HOPE and HEALING to your family this year? |
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“Behold, I will bring health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.”
Jeremiah 33:6
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Box 58, Mariapolis, MB. R0K 1K0
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