I’m happy to say that Wendy Smith is joining me again on my Born To Talk Radio Show Podcast!
Meet Wendy Smith.
Wendy Smith, Ph.D., LCSW, is a retired clinical professor of social work and associate dean of curriculum development and assessment at USC, Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. She taught courses on child and adolescent development and social work practice with children, families, and transition age youth. Wendy is a licensed clinical social worker who maintained a private practice in psychotherapy in Los Angeles for thirty-five years. She specialized in the treatment of individuals, couples, and survivors of childhood maltreatment. Wendy is a recognized expert in child abuse and child development.
Wendy has a long history of community volunteer work related to children and families, including 8 years on the Los Angeles County Commission for Children and Families. She chairs the board of directors of the National Foster Youth Institute, and is a member of the Foundation Board of the Venice Family Clinic. Wendy is also a member of the Advisory Committee of the Children’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch. She is an advocate for individuals incarcerated for crimes committed as juveniles. Wendy has previously served on the boards of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition and United Friends of the Children.
Author.
Wendy is the author of Youth Leaving Foster Care: A Developmental, Relationship-Based Approach to Practice 2011.
Her latest book is Before Their Crimes
Before Their Crimes: What We’re Misunderstanding about Childhood Trauma, Youth Crime, and the Path to Healing. In this ground-breaking book, Wendy sheds new light on the relationship of childhood trauma and juvenile crime. She uses the framework of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) to explain how the toxic stress of early childhood trauma can make children vulnerable to committing criminal acts. Wendy draws from interviews with twenty men and women from across the racial and social divide who spent years in prison after committing serious crimes as children. Not only does she reveal the pernicious mechanisms that link early trauma to later crime, but also illuminates the potential for healing among even the most egregious offenders.
Wendy’s Takeaways.
“We forget how intense childhood is, and how everything that happens—the good and the bad—affects children deeply. Traumatic experience can be completely derailing for kids who are alone with trying to understand or recover from it. But if there is a trusted adult to process even the most distressing events with, children are able to heal and move forward in their lives.”
Thank you for sharing your story with us, Wendy!!!
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