“When trauma is our teacher, we are ill-equipped to live healthy lives in healthy environments. What we learn, we live.”

We know that trauma often accompanies children when they enter the child welfare system. Usually, we talk about the effects of trauma and how caregivers can respond with support. Today, we’re looking at trauma through the lens of personal history to understand how individuals can discover, address, and heal the trauma in their own stories.

Joining us to offer insights on “Story-Informed Trauma Therapy” (SITT), the method he created, is Byron Kehler. Byron is a Trauma Therapist with a private practice in Portland, Oregon. He’s here to help us understand the stories that lie behind hard behaviors and explore how we can respond with compassion, wisdom, and hope.

In this episode, you’ll hear how best to help children while keeping their stories in mind, the power of helping children who have endured trauma maintain a sense of control, why our pasts can have such a big influence on our patterns today, and much more.

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes for this episode: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/byron-kehler-278/

Whether it’s across the world or in all four corners of her home, my guest today has over two decades of experience in the foster care and adoptive community. Beth Guckenberger lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband, Todd. Together, they serve as the Co-Executive Directors of Back2Back Ministries, a nonprofit dedicated to providing comprehensive care to vulnerable children and families worldwide.

After graduating from Indiana University, the Guckenbergers moved to Monterrey, Mexico, where they lived for 15 years. Between biological, foster, and adopted children, they have raised eleven children. Today, Beth travels and speaks regularly at conferences, youth gatherings, and church services about “reckless faith.”

In this episode, you’ll hear the power of trusting God’s plan even when things feel overwhelming, strategies for maintaining a strong marriage in the midst of demanding family responsibilities, some of the hardships and joys that come with stepping into hard places, and much more!

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes for this episode: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/beth-guckenberger-277/

Adoption and foster care are often depicted in dramatic ways in the media.

Whether it’s an adult suddenly discovering the truth that they were adopted or a depiction of constant conflict between a child involved in the foster care system and their caregivers, media can easily give us a skewed perspective of what life is actually like for the real people navigating these situations.

That’s why it’s so important to listen to the real voices of children, families, and workers in the foster care community—not to chase sensational details, but to approach their stories with compassionate curiosity. When we do, we discover that each journey is unique, that many see their experiences as stories of strength rather than sorrow, and that every person’s life is far richer than a single chapter.

My guest for this conversation knows this firsthand. While adoption isn’t the defining feature of her daily identity, it has profoundly shaped her perspective.

Hope Watts was adopted through the foster care system as a young child. Today, she enjoys raising awareness about foster care and encouraging others with a message of quiet resilience.

In this episode, you’ll hear the importance of holding space for each other’s stories, some powerful encouragement for foster parents, how to meet people with compassion, and much more.

Find resources mentioned and more in the show notes for this episode: https://theforgotteninitiative.org/hope-watts-276/