Bruce Perry Blog

Chapter 6 of The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog discusses two unique, yet similar cases.   First, Bruce Perry describes his experiences working with a young boy named Justin, who is the inspiration for the name of this book.   Justin was raised among dogs in a cage by his then-caretaker and was unknowingly neglected for multiple years of his early childhood.   Second, Bruce Perry explores his experiences working with a teen named Connor, who was left alone by his babysitter for hours per day for the first eighteen months of his life.   Both boys experienced developmental delays and difficulties relating to others and engaging in social situations.   Additionally, Bruce Perry frequently revisited the subject of chapter 5 (The Coldest Heart), Leon, in order to provide comparison for what seemed like three individuals very similar experiences and drastically different outcomes.   I found these comparisons fascinating, frightening and hopeful.   These comparisons particularly stuck out to

In Chapter 5 of The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog, The Coldest Heart, Bruce Perry visits with 18 year old Leon in prison in order testify at Leon's sentencing after Leon brutally assaulted and murdered two teenage girls.   Perry explored Leon's background and attempted to find answers as to why Leon would commit such a crime and ultimately linked the murders to Leon's attachment (or rather lack thereof) growing up as a child.   Leon was raised with frequent prolonged periods of being left alone, which triggered adverse attachment responses later on in his life.   I truly appreciated the amount of compassion Perry held for Leon throughout his exploration of the case.   Perry very carefully took the time to understand Leon's background beyond diagnosis and gathered information that could assist Perry in depicting an accurate timeline of the events that took place leading up to Leon's crime.   I specifically appreciate Perry’s perspective in working with Leon becaus

Bruce Perry’s Chapter 4 of The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog, Skin Hunger, depicts the story of Laura and Virginia, a mother and daughter duo who both struggled with attachment trauma associated with Virginia’s past history moving from home to home within the foster care system.   My first reaction as I was reading this chapter was anger and frustration due to the marveling that took place from all of the medical professionals that Laura encountered.   For the first four years of her life, she was subjected to unnecessary medical procedures all in the name of looking for something facsinating.   Beginning at the age of infancy, the child who was already experiencing neglect (although not with ill intention) from her mother, was used as a stepping stone of curiosity and career fufillment by those who were supposed to be protecting her.   Due to this, Laura endured trauma after trauma with each medical procedure at the hands of medical professionals looking to get an edge up in their car

              While reading Bruce Perry's accounts of his work with Sandy and other children that he encountered at a residential treatment facility, I was struck by how much he pays attention to the physicality of the brain and how trauma literally molds the brain into a completely new structure if the trauma is out of the control of the child.   This fact is not something that I am unfamiliar with as I have encountered similar thinking when working with adults as a clinician. Many clients I have encountered through my work as a student have experienced trauma, especially during the earliest years of their lives.   I find this difficult to swallow because many of these people are still dealing with the aftermath of traumas that happened 5, 10, 20 or even 40+ years ago.                 I appreciated that Bruce Perry is willing to think outside of the box and consider medication that would treat the physical affects of hyperarousal due to stress with the medication, Clonidine.

Chapter 1 of Perry's book tells the story of his first child client, Tina, who endured sexual abuse during crucial developmental years, resulting in delayed development and trauma responses.   When reading this chapter, there are a few instances where I find that I relate to Perry's experiences.   First, I find it puzzling that the new therapists, the ones who are in training, are the clinicians that are working with arguably the most vulnerable clients.   When looking at Tina's case, Perry was new to providing therapy to children in general, and he was given a case in which there were multiple systemic vulnerabilities at play.   Specifically, Tina and her family presumably (as I only know the information given in the book, these factors are being assumed) encountered stressors such as socioeconomic status, racism, sexism, sexual abuse, potentially domestic violence and more.   I empathize with Perry as carrying the weight of a client this vulnerable as a new clinician fe