
Bruce Perry MD
What Happened to You; A Shift from "What is Wrong with You?"
Virtual Event
Program Takeaways
Small Moments of Presence Matter: Even brief moments of genuine, focused connection with your child can have a profound impact on their emotional and cognitive development. It’s not about the quantity of time, but the quality of your engagement.
Teach Emotional Regulation: Help your child understand their stress responses and equip them with simple tools, like deep breathing or rituals, to calm themselves during challenging situations. Regulation is the foundation for learning and resilience.
Relationships Shape the Brain: A child’s brain develops in response to relational experiences. Supportive, consistent, and meaningful interactions help their brain grow and adapt positively, fostering emotional well-being and cognitive capacity.
Create Predictable Environments: Predictable, structured routines help children feel safe and reduce stress. Stability and rhythm allow them to thrive and better handle challenges, both emotionally and academically.
Model Regulation and Calmness: Your emotional state directly influences your child’s ability to regulate themselves. Prioritize self-care and remain calm during stressful moments to set a positive example and create a stable, supportive environment for them to grow.
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Have you ever wondered “Why did I do that?” or “Why can’t I just control my behavior?” Have you ever judged another and thought, “What’s wrong with that person?”
When examining behaviors and emotions, it’s easy to place blame and look for what’s wrong. Renowned brain and trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry offers a groundbreaking and reflective shift from asking “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?”
Dr. Perry’s subtle but profound shift in his approach to emotional trauma creates powerful insights that will allow us to recalibrate our response to circumstances and relationships. With these powerful insights, Perry says we can strengthen our lives and the lives of our children.
Our earliest experiences don’t define our future, but they make up a part of who we are. By examining them, we can find strength and resolve to move toward a brighter future for ourselves and our families. By understanding the past, we open the door to resilience and healing and increase connection, self-worth and happiness. Perry will explore how and why the brain learns to bond with others to grow empathy and how we must protect our children from new threats to their capacity to love themselves and others.
Dr. Perry is the Principal of the Neurosequential Network and a Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University and La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. He is the author of “The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog,” a bestseller based on his work with maltreated children, and “Born For Love: Why Empathy is Essential and Endangered.” Dr. Perry’s most recent bestseller, “What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing,” was co-authored with Oprah Winfrey and was released in 2021. In addition to regularly presenting at the White House, Dr. Perry has been featured in a wide range of media including 60 Minutes, CNN, Nightline, NBC, ABC and CBS News. Several international documentaries have highlighted his research including a Pulitzer-prize winning series in Time, Newsweek, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.