Post Traumatic Parenting
Post Traumatic Parenting

Post Traumatic Parenting

Dr. Robyn Koslowitz

Overview
Episodes

Details

“How can I give my kids a normal childhood, when mine was anything but?” Post-Traumatic Parenting is the podcast for anyone who has ever asked themselves that question. Robyn Koslowitz, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and Post-Traumatic Parent, combines the fields of post-traumatic recovery and growth with our best understanding of how to raise Little Humans. Through interviews with experts in the fields of behavior science, psychology, trauma, and child development, as well as interviews with toy developers, children’s book authors, and anyone else who makes childhood a delight, Dr. Koslowitz explores how trauma impacts our parenting, and how to hack our traumas into superpowers and super-parenting. Each week, Dr. Koslowitz unpacks how to survive and thrive as a Post-Traumatic Parent. She shares behind-the-scenes insights into the research that underlies what we know about parenting, child development, and trauma recovery. Each podcast provides actionable tips about how to transform our Post-Traumatic Parenting and how to turn our parenting journey into a post-traumatic growth experience. Dr. Koslowitz interviews some of the famous names in these fields, and some experts you’ve never heard of (but should have!). Ready to go from survivor to thriver? Ready to become the parent you've always dreamed of being? Join us!

Recent Episodes

Trauma, Motherhood, and the Superpowers We Never Asked For with Anna Seewald
MAY 27, 2026
Trauma, Motherhood, and the Superpowers We Never Asked For with Anna Seewald
<p>What if the hardest parts of your parenting journey are actually pointing you toward your greatest growth?</p><p></p><p>In this deeply honest and powerful conversation, I sit down with psychologist and parenting educator Anna Seewald, host of the Authentic Parenting Podcast, to explore how trauma, loss, and early life experiences shape the way we show up as parents.</p><p></p><p>Anna shares her personal story of losing her mother at a young age and how that profound loss resurfaced when she became a parent herself, bringing unexpected grief, loneliness, and emotional challenges. Together, we unpack the reality of early parenthood: the isolation, the overwhelm, and the way parenting can activate “silent volcanoes” of past trauma.</p><p></p><p>You’ll walk away with a powerful reframe: parenting isn’t just raising a child, it’s a transformative process that reveals both your deepest wounds and your greatest capacity for healing.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Topics covered in this episode:</p><p></p><ul><li>The hidden loneliness and isolation of early motherhood</li><li>How parenting acts as a stress test for unresolved trauma</li><li>The impact of early parental loss on identity and parenting</li><li>“Trauma superpowers” and the concept of post-traumatic growth</li><li>The fine line between growth and toxic positivity</li><li>Hypervigilance vs. presence: two sides of trauma awareness</li><li>How gratitude and perspective can emerge from hardship</li><li>The importance of creating the support you didn’t receive</li></ul><p></p><p></p><p>About the Guest:</p><p></p><p>Anna Seewald is an internationally recognized psychologist, parenting educator, keynote speaker, and host of the Authentic Parenting Podcast. With over 25 years of experience, she is passionate about helping parents heal their own trauma so they can raise emotionally healthy children. Her mission is to end violence against children by transforming the way we approach parenting. To learn more, visit <a href="%5C">authenticparenting.com</a></p><p></p><p></p><p>Connect with me on Instagram<a href="%5C" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);"> @dr.koslowitzpsychology</a> and check out my new book <a href="%5C" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);">Post-Traumatic Parenting: Break the Cycle and Become the Parent You Always Wanted to Be</a></p>
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49 MIN
The Truth About Eating Disorders (That No One Tells Parents)
MAY 13, 2026
The Truth About Eating Disorders (That No One Tells Parents)
<p>What happens when food, feeding, and our kids’ bodies trauma shows up in ways we don’t always expect?</p><p></p><p>In this deeply honest and compassionate conversation, I speak with eating disorder specialist Ali Spotts-De Lazzer to unpack what’s really going on beneath eating struggles for both kids and parents.</p><p></p><p>Together, we explore why feeding your child can feel so overwhelming, how fear and control get tangled up in “healthy” choices, and why even the most well-intentioned parenting strategies can sometimes backfire.</p><p></p><p>Ali brings both her clinical expertise and lived experience to this conversation, offering a grounded, non-shaming perspective that every parent needs to hear.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Topics covered in this episode:</p><p></p><ul><li>The connection between safety, control, and eating disorders</li><li>How “healthy eating” can quietly turn into rigidity and fear</li><li>What orthorexia is and why it’s so hard to spot</li><li>The difference between ARFID, anxiety, and eating disorders</li><li>Why some kids are more vulnerable and why it’s not your fault</li><li>How diet culture and weight bias impact parenting decisions</li><li>The biological reality of restriction and binge cycles</li><li>Why parents often blame themselves and what’s actually happening instead</li><li>How self-acceptance (not perfection) is the key to change</li></ul><p></p><p></p><p>About the Guest:</p><p></p><p></p><p>Ali Spotts-De Lazzer is a licensed therapist, eating disorder specialist, and passionate advocate for helping families navigate the complex world of food, body image, and healing. With nearly 20 years of experience, she brings both deep clinical knowledge and lived understanding to her work with individuals and caregivers. Ali leads parent support groups and is the author of MeaningFULL, with a new book on supporting families through eating disorders coming soon. Her work centers on compassion, self-acceptance, and helping people truly live their full story. To learn more visit <a href="liveyourfullstory.com">liveyourfullstory.com</a>.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Connect with me on Instagram<a href="https://www.instagram.com/dr.koslowitzpsychology/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:rgb(255,255,255);"> @dr.koslowitzpsychology</a> and check out my new book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCSWBL4M" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:rgb(255,255,255);">Post-Traumatic Parenting: Break the Cycle and Become the Parent You Always Wanted to Be</a></p>
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73 MIN
Kids Do Well If They Can: Rethinking Behavior, Trauma, and Parenting with Dr. Ross Greene
APR 29, 2026
Kids Do Well If They Can: Rethinking Behavior, Trauma, and Parenting with Dr. Ross Greene
<p>What if your child’s “behavior problem” isn’t a behavior problem at all?</p><p></p><p>In this deeply practical and paradigm-shifting conversation, I sit down with clinical psychologist Dr. Ross Greene, originator of the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS) approach, to rethink everything we’ve been taught about parenting, discipline, and so-called “challenging behavior.”</p><p></p><p>Dr. Greene, author of The Explosive Child and Lost at School, shares how years of working with children and families led him to one central realization: kids don’t fail to meet expectations because they “won’t," they struggle because they “can’t yet.”</p><p></p><p>Together, we explore why traditional tools like sticker charts, timeouts, punishments, and “tough love” often miss the real issue entirely; and how they can damage trust and connection in the process.</p><p></p><p>Instead, Dr. Greene offers a radically different approach: one that prioritizes collaboration, curiosity, and solving the real problems behind behavior rather than reacting to the behavior itself.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Topics covered in this episode:</p><p></p><p></p><ul><li>The hidden flaw in behavior-based discipline systems (timeouts, sticker charts, rewards)</li><li>Why behavior is often a signal, not the problem itself</li><li>How trauma shapes both kids’ behavior and parents’ reactions</li><li>Why “proactive” problem solving reduces conflict and overwhelm</li><li>What to do when kids shut down, escalate, or refuse to talk</li></ul><p></p><p>About the Guest:</p><p></p><p>Dr. Ross Greene is a clinical psychologist and the originator of Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS), an evidence-based approach to understanding and supporting children with behavioral challenges. He is the author of several influential books, including <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Explosive-Child-Understanding-Frustrated-Chronically/dp/0062270451/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1459714667&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=explosive+child">The Explosive Child</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lost-School-Behavioral-Challenges-published/dp/B00Y34F5SQ/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1459715501&amp;sr=1-5">Lost at School</a>, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Found-Behaviorally-Challenging-Students/dp/1118898575/ref=pd_sim_sbs_14_3?ie=UTF8&amp;dpID=51MEO9wsCuL&amp;dpSrc=sims&amp;preST=_AC_UL160_SR106%2C160_&amp;refRID=0Y68C8MP1GJ869GZPVPZ">Lost and Found</a>, as well as his recently published book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kids-Who-Arent-Okay-Reimagining-ebook/dp/B0DV6M7NBB/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0">The Kids Who Aren’t Okay: The Urgent Case for Re-Imagining Support, Belonging, and Hope in Schools</a>. To learn more about Dr. Ross Greene, and to buy copies of his books, you can visit his website <a href="https://www.stephaniefoo.me/">here</a>.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Connect with me on Instagram<a href="https://www.instagram.com/dr.koslowitzpsychology/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:rgb(255,255,255);"> @dr.koslowitzpsychology</a> and check out my new book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCSWBL4M" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:rgb(255,255,255);">Post-Traumatic Parenting: Break the Cycle and Become the Parent You Always Wanted to Be</a></p>
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52 MIN
Complex PTSD & Parenting: Why Control Won’t Save Your Child with Stephanie Foo
APR 15, 2026
Complex PTSD & Parenting: Why Control Won’t Save Your Child with Stephanie Foo
<p>What if the pressure to “get parenting right” is actually coming from your trauma?</p><p></p><p>In this powerful and deeply validating conversation, I sit down with Stephanie Foo, author of What My Bones Know, to unpack what it really means to parent while healing from complex PTSD.</p><p></p><p>Together, we explore the intense fear many trauma survivors carry into parenting; the belief that one wrong move could damage their child forever. We also discuss how modern parenting culture often amplifies that fear instead of easing it.</p><p></p><p>Stephanie shares her personal journey of becoming a mother while navigating C-PTSD, including the anxiety, perfectionism, and overwhelming pressure to control every outcome.</p><p></p><p></p><p>This episode is a must listen for anyone who has ever wondered:</p><p>“Am I messing up my child?”</p><p></p><p></p><p>Topics covered in this episode:</p><p></p><ul><li>Why “perfect parenting” is often a trauma response</li><li>The hidden ways parenting advice can prey on vulnerable moms</li><li>The difference between child distress and actual harm</li><li>Why control doesn’t create safety (and what does instead)</li><li>How C-PTSD shows up in parenting from hyper-attunement to dissociation</li><li>The truth about attachment (hint: you only need to get it right ~30% of the time)</li><li>The role of repair, not perfection, in raising resilient children</li></ul><p></p><p>About the Guest:</p><p></p><p>Stephanie Foo is the author of the bestselling memoir <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/what-my-bones-know-a-memoir-of-healing-from-complex-trauma-stephanie-foo/916e2e6fdff307fd?ean=9780593238127&amp;next=t&amp;utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_campaign=%7Bcampaignname%7D&amp;utm_content=6443417794&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=16235479093&amp;gbraid=0AAAAACfld42wm3ZJYOrS192gzz20OPUOL&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwyYPOBhBxEiwAgpT8P353Fr1ludibZnz305XmuimN8dbxEz4KYcG_sFKBVNuexJAUxJkqshoC0ukQAvD_BwE">What My Bones Know</a>, where she chronicles her journey of healing from complex PTSD. Her work has helped bring C-PTSD into mainstream conversation, giving voice to experiences that were long misunderstood or overlooked. To read more about Stephanie, and to buy a copy of her book, you can visit her website <a href="https://www.stephaniefoo.me/">here</a>.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Connect with me on Instagram<a href="https://www.instagram.com/dr.koslowitzpsychology/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:rgb(255,255,255);"> @dr.koslowitzpsychology</a> and check out my new book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCSWBL4M" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:rgb(255,255,255);">Post-Traumatic Parenting: Break the Cycle and Become the Parent You Always Wanted to Be</a></p>
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59 MIN
Helping Your Child Feel Seen: Why Mattering Changes Everything with John Miles
MAR 20, 2026
Helping Your Child Feel Seen: Why Mattering Changes Everything with John Miles
<p>What if the deepest wound a child carries isn’t what happened to them, but the feeling that they don’t matter?</p><p></p><p>In this episode, I speak with John Miles, host of the Passion Struck podcast and author of You Matter, Luma, to explore the hidden impact of emotional invisibility, achievement culture, and what it really means for a child to feel seen.</p><p></p><p>John shares his personal journey from high-achieving executive to feeling “invisible” in his own life, and how that experience led him to a deeper mission: helping children and adults reclaim their sense of mattering.</p><p></p><p>Together, we unpack why so many trauma survivors become high achievers, how “good” and compliant kids are often overlooked, and why feeling seen (not just safe or successful) is foundational to healing.</p><p></p><p>This conversation is a must-listen for any parent who wants to break generational cycles and raise children who know, deep down, that they matter.</p><p></p><p>Topics covered in this episode:</p><p></p><ul><li>What it means to “disappear” in your own life and why it happens</li><li>The difference between belonging vs. mattering</li><li>Why high-achieving environments can actually erase identity</li><li>How childhood trauma can lead to achievement-based self-worth</li><li>The hidden struggle of quiet, compliant kids</li><li>Why being “easy” doesn’t mean a child is okay</li><li>The concept of the "mattering gap"</li><li>How emotional invisibility impacts long-term mental health</li></ul><p></p><p>Connect with me on Instagram<a href="https://www.instagram.com/dr.koslowitzpsychology/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:rgb(255,255,255);"> @dr.koslowitzpsychology</a> and check out my new book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCSWBL4M" style="color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:rgb(255,255,255);">Post-Traumatic Parenting: Break the Cycle and Become the Parent You Always Wanted to Be</a></p><p></p><p>To connect with John Miles, click <a href="https://johnrmiles.com/">here</a> to visit his website. You can also visit the website <a href="https://youmatterluma.com/#thebook">You Matter, Luma</a> to buy a copy of his recently released book!</p>
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65 MIN