Heather T. Forbes, LCSW, is the owner of the Beyond Consequences Institute in Boulder, Colorado. Heather has worked in the field of trauma and healing since 1999. She is an internationally published author on the topics of raising children with difficult and severe behaviors, the impact of trauma on the developing child, adoptive motherhood, and self-development. Heather travels around the world working to educate and support professionals and parents raising children with traumatic histories. She strongly believes that the healing of the child is directly correlated to the healing of the parents and the family system.
Her signature style is to bridge the gap between scientific research and real-life application to equip parents, educators, and therapists with practical and effective tools. Much of her experience and insight on understanding trauma, disruptive behaviors, and adoption-related issues comes from her direct mothering experience of her two internationally adopted children. Heather is also the author of three best-selling parenting books and two cutting edge trauma-informed school resources.
Heather T. Forbes, LCSW
Author, Speaker, School Consultant, Parent Coach
Recent Clients • Published Articles • T.V. Interviews • Global Webinar Series • Educational Resources
Recent Clients
Parent & Professional Agency/Organizations
Casey Family Services
United Way
Children's Home Society
Bethany Christian Services
Catholic Charities
Children's Aid Society
Buckner
MN Dept. of Human Services
Children's Bureau
Parent & Professional Agency/Organizations
Denver Dept. of Human Services
Weld County DHS
MN Adopt
Utah Adoption Council
Sonoma County Job & Family Services
Midwest Foster Care
Thrive St. Cloud, MN
Mercer County Job and Family Services
Mecklenburg County
Schools
UCLA
Texas A&M
Nevada Dept. of Education
UConn Health Center
Pomona Unified School District
Francis Howell School District
Menominee Indian School District
Lac du Flambeau School District
Academy of St. Louis
International
Hollyburn Family Services - Vancouver, Canada
Community Living - Kawartha Lakes, Canada
International Adoptive Families of Queensland
ASFC Australia
Relationships Australia
PPSS Australia
ICARN Australia
Published Articles
"Beyond Stars, Stickers, and Rewards: Responding to
Trauma in the Classroom"
Fostering Families Today
(May/June 2009)
"Issues Facing Adoptive Parents of Children with Special Needs"
Fostering Families Today
(March/April 2009)
Adoption Now U.K.
(2008)
"Going Beyond the Behaviors: How to Heal from the Impact of Early Trauma"
Fostering Families Today
(May/June 2006)
"Beyond Consequences, Logic, and Control"
Journal of Social Work
(2003)
"Issues Facing Adoptive Mothers of Children with Special Needs"
More articles can be found here.
T.V. Interviews
Colorado 9 News - NBC (July 2012)
Heather speaks on why a Tennesee Mom returned her adopted son to Russia.
Denver Celebration (April 2009)
Heather speaks about effective parenting strategies to help children.
Colorado & Company (April 2009)
Heather discusses her second book "Beyond Consequences, Logic, and Control: Volume 2."
Fox 31 News Denver (March 2009)
Heather talks briefly on strategies to help parents with stressed out children.
Fox 35 News Orlando (May 2008)
Heather discusses how a parent coach can help a family with children who have difficult behaviors.
Global Webinar Series
Presented by Heather T. Forbes, LCSW, this webinar series is made up of 75-minute independent sessions each tackling a new topic and attended by people from all over the world. The series builds on top of the knowledge gained from Heather's published book series and live trainings providing an in-depth look at specific behaviors or areas of interest involving children with trauma and severe behaviors providing "what to do in the moment" techniques to help parents, professionals, and teachers navigate the effects of trauma. Each session is initially live to the public then offered as a video recording.
Previous topics include:
Teenagers...whatever!
Traditionally, we believed that a child's brain was almost fully developed during the first years of life. As as many parents can attest to, the brain undergoes massive changes during the teenage years.
Ever found yourself emotionally hijacked during the most stressful moments with your child, unable to stay calm? Learn strategies and techniques to keep from getting pulled into the negative vortex.
Staying Regulated Through the F-Bombs
The Trauma-Sensitive Classroom
Stress at the level of trauma profoundly impacts a child's ability to learn, process, retain, and retrieve information. Learn how to create a trauma-informed classroom to help children succeed at school.
Different levels of development that are compromised due to childhood trauma. These include cognitive, language, academic, physical, social, and emotional development.
Developmental Trauma
Boundaries are different from consequences...it is a matter of removing the fear. Learn how to lovingly implement limits in a way to build connection and offer emotional safety.
Boundaries vs. Consequences
Trauma is stored in fragments within the memory system. By giving children their story, they can start “making sense” of their histories through story telling experience and start the healing process.
Giving Your Children Their Story
Many children with developmental trauma in their histories are masters at manipulation. Learn how to help your child change this unhealthy passive aggressive strategy of manipulation.
Manipulation Madness
If you can measure the magnitude of sibling rivalry on the Richter schol in your home, this is for you! Solutions to ending sibling rivalry and ways to meet the needs of all your children are discussed.
Sibling Rivalry
Educational Resources
