How stress affects your child's brain and body: The science of co-regulation, resilience, and healing with Dr. Nicki Bush

Developmental psychologist and UCSF professor, Dr. Nicki Bush, joins me this week to explore stress and how it affects our children and what parents can do to help protect their child's developing brain and body.

Together we explore:

• Why some stress can actually be good for your child, and when it starts to become harmful.

• The surprising ways stress can show up across your child's behavior, learning, mental health, and physical health.

• How your own nervous system communicates safety or danger to your child, even when you aren't saying a word.

• Why being a calm parent does not mean never feeling stressed, anxious, angry, or overwhelmed.

• What happens inside the body when we rest, and why your own rest may be more important for your child than you realize.

• Why focusing solely on changing a child's behavior can cause us to miss what is actually driving it.

• How working with the parent-child relationship can sometimes be more powerful than treating the child alone.

• The remarkable research showing that relationship-based therapy may actually change the biological effects of early trauma and stress and maintain those effects long after the therapy ends.

• Why early experiences matter so much, but do not have to determine your child's future.

If you've ever worried about how your own stress might be affecting your child, wondered whether difficult experiences can have lasting effects, or felt pressure to keep your child calm and happy, this conversation offers a much more hopeful way to understand stress. Because our biology is remarkably adaptable, and the relationships children have with the people who care for them can be a powerful part of how they heal, grow, and thrive.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MY GUEST:

🔗 Dr. Nicki Bush

🔗 Intergenerational Developmental Health Program

📱LinkedIn: Nicole (Nicki) Bush, PhD

LEARN MORE ABOUT ME:

🔗 Dr. Sarah Bren

🔗 Check out my group practice, Upshur Bren Psychology Group, offering therapy and coaching for individuals, children, parents, and families

📱IG: @drsarahbren

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES AND RESOURCES:

🔗 Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center

🔗 The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

👉 If your child is struggling, support doesn't always have to mean sending them to therapy on their own. At Upshur Bren Psychology Group, we work with parents and children together at our Westchester, NY offices, and we also offer virtual parent support, where we can work exclusively with you to better understand what's driving your child's behavior, strengthen your relationship, and create meaningful change for your whole family. Visit upshurbren.com to learn more or schedule a free consultation.

CHECK OUT ADDITIONAL PODCAST EPISODES YOU MAY LIKE:

🎧 Listen to my podcast episode about how sensitivity shapes children's health, behavior, and resilience with Dr. W. Thomas Boyce

🎧 Listen to my podcast episode about understanding sensitivity, resilience, and what really shapes kids with Dr. Jay Belsky

🎧 Listen to my podcast episode about how to support your child's secure attachment even if you didn't grow up with it, with Dr. Miriam Steele