The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog
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Miriam Galindo of Irvine, California, a former social worker and a licensed psychologist focusing on family therapy during divorce, also assists the Orange County Superior Court system as an expert advisor. Her 20-year practice has often involved working with at-risk children and families. Miriam Galindo’s wide-ranging experience has enabled her to serve her clients with both insight and compassion.
There are a number of popular books for lay readers on the topic of children’s experience of trauma. One of the most popular–and one of the most widely praised by professionals–is The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist’s Notebook. Author Bruce D. Perry established the ChildTrauma Academy in Houston, Texas, with the mission of improving the lives and prospects of children who have survived extreme trauma. A decade ago, he published the book, a series of case studies from his own practice.
Reviews have noted the book’s harrowing, intricately detailed descriptions of how physical and emotional abuse blighted the lives of children in a variety of circumstances. In many of these cases, experts diagnosed severe forms of deprivation-induced cognitive, social, and emotional impairments as a result of trauma. But one of the key takeaways for many readers is Perry’s demonstrations of how compassion, human interaction, and patient, repeated re-patterning of experience can result not only in intellectual blossoming, but also in rich and happy lives.
The Blog of Miriam Galindo 