Securely Attached
Dr. Sarah Bren
Securely Attached is your go-to parenting podcast, supporting moms and dads from pregnancy all the way through their child's adolescence and every stage in between.
Join us every Tuesday as clinical psychologist and mom of two Dr. Sarah Bren shares her expertise and interviews top experts in the field, simplifying complicated concepts and pulling back the curtain on the brain science and psychology that drives and shapes the parent-child relationship.
And now, every Thursday, Dr. Sarah Bren is joined by Dr. Emily Upshur and Dr. Rebecca Hershberg for a special segment, Beyond The Sessions. We're answering YOUR parenting questions from the perspective of clinical psychologists highly trained in developmental science and real-life moms who get that parenting is messy, and sometimes we have to laugh, cry, and throw out the "rules."
From toddler tantrums, to effective discipline strategies, to leaning into the principles of respectful parenting, and to managing your own mental wellness as a parent—this podcast is your ultimate resource for judgment-free, research-backed information you know you can trust.
About Sarah Bren, PhD
Dr. Sarah Bren is a licensed clinical psychologist and mom of two who helps parents understand the building blocks of child development and how secure relationships form and thrive. Her work is focused on helping parents find their inner confidence so they can respond to any parenting problem that comes along and raise kids who are healthy, resilient, and kind.
Join us every Tuesday as clinical psychologist and mom of two Dr. Sarah Bren shares her expertise and interviews top experts in the field, simplifying complicated concepts and pulling back the curtain on the brain science and psychology that drives and shapes the parent-child relationship.
And now, every Thursday, Dr. Sarah Bren is joined by Dr. Emily Upshur and Dr. Rebecca Hershberg for a special segment, Beyond The Sessions. We're answering YOUR parenting questions from the perspective of clinical psychologists highly trained in developmental science and real-life moms who get that parenting is messy, and sometimes we have to laugh, cry, and throw out the "rules."
From toddler tantrums, to effective discipline strategies, to leaning into the principles of respectful parenting, and to managing your own mental wellness as a parent—this podcast is your ultimate resource for judgment-free, research-backed information you know you can trust.
About Sarah Bren, PhD
Dr. Sarah Bren is a licensed clinical psychologist and mom of two who helps parents understand the building blocks of child development and how secure relationships form and thrive. Her work is focused on helping parents find their inner confidence so they can respond to any parenting problem that comes along and raise kids who are healthy, resilient, and kind.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Nov 9, 2021 • 45min
The psychology behind dysregulation with founder of Parenting Translator Cara Goodwin
If you have a toddler you're likely no stranger to tantrums, aggressive behaviors or limit testing. Joining me on the podcast is clinical psychologist and founder of Parenting Translator, Cara Goodwin. Today's episode is all about helping you understand what is happening in your child's brain and body when they become upset, so we can work with their nervous system to help them learn to regulate their big emotions. I want to hear from you! Send me a topic you want me to cover or a question you want answered on the show! ✨ DM me on Instagram at @securelyattachedpodcast or @drsarahbren ✨ Send an email to info@drsarahbren.com ✨ And check out drsarahbren.com for more parenting resources
Nov 2, 2021 • 53min
Nurturing your child's relationship to music with musician and dad Mark Joseph
As parents, we often strive to encourage a strong foundational relationship between our child and music. Whether placing headphones on your pregnant belly, attending music class with your toddler, or getting Baby Shark stuck in your head after playing it on repeat - we want to encourage their love of music, while also allowing it to be child lead. Joining me today is musician and father of 3, Mark Joseph. Mark and I will discuss the ways we can authentically create opportunities for music in our homes and how to allow our child's intrinsic motivations to drive the relationship. Mark also shares his own personal experience of finding resilience, self-actualization, and never losing his love of music. I want to hear from you! Send me a topic you want me to cover or a question you want answered on the show! ✨ DM me on Instagram at @securelyattachedpodcast or @drsarahbren ✨ Send an email to info@drsarahbren.com ✨ And check out drsarahbren.com for more parenting resources
Oct 26, 2021 • 48min
The evolution of love: How to use attachment theory to break cycles and worry less in your parenting with Bethany Saltman
Parents often worry, will my child attach to me? And the answer is almost always - yes! Attachment is less about whether or not a child will form a bond with their primary caregiver, and is more focused on the quality of that relationship and how secure it is. Today, I am joined by the author of Strange Situation: A Mother's Journey into the Science of Attachment, Bethany Saltman. Bethany will break down what attachment is and more importantly what it isn't, discuss the importance of cultivating delight, breaking cycles and offer suggestions for allowing attachment theory to help inform the choices parents make in raising their children. I want to hear from you! Send me a topic you want me to cover or a question you want answered on the show! ✨ DM me on Instagram at @securelyattachedpodcast or @drsarahbren ✨ Send an email to info@drsarahbren.com ✨ And check out drsarahbren.com for more parenting resources
Oct 19, 2021 • 44min
Considering hitting pause in your career? Redefining what it means to be a stay-at-home parent with Neha Ruch
Parents are redefining what it means to be a working mom or dad and embracing what today's guest, Neha Ruch, calls the grey area. As the founder of Mother Untitled she has a unique pulse on the mindset and challenges that modern mothers are facing when deciding to hit pause on career to focus on family life. In this episode we'll discuss tuning into your own needs to determine what works best for right now and recognizing there will be time to readjust as you and your family grow and evolve. We'll offer advice for navigating identify shifts, redefining self-care, and learning to feel confident fielding the all-too-common and all-too-intrusive question, what do you do all day? I want to hear from you! Send me a topic you want me to cover or a question you want answered on the show! ✨ DM me on Instagram at @securelyattachedpodcast or @drsarahbren ✨ Send an email to info@drsarahbren.com ✨ And check out drsarahbren.com for more parenting resources
Oct 12, 2021 • 39min
How will masks impact children's language and social-emotional development? A conversation with SLP Becky Birkenfeld
Masks can cause a great deal of stress for parents - it's one more thing to remember before getting out the door in the morning, can be a source of power struggles, and perhaps the most daunting, the fear that months spent without seeing full faces will impede their child's development. Today I am joined by speech-language pathologist and founder of Let's Gab Speech, Becky Birkenfeld. Becky will answer all our burning questions about mask wearing and suggest some actionable and simple strategies parents can start implementing to encourage social, emotional and language development with their child. I want to hear from you! Send me a topic you want me to cover or a question you want answered on the show! ✨ DM me on Instagram at @securelyattachedpodcast or @drsarahbren ✨ Send an email to info@drsarahbren.com ✨ And check out drsarahbren.com for more parenting resources
Oct 5, 2021 • 30min
Navigating sibling fights: Q&A with Dr. Emily Upshur
Sibling dynamics can be complicated! And the way we parent the interactions between brothers and sisters often looks different than how we would handle the same situations in a playdate, daycare or school setting. In today's episode, I am joined by Dr. Emily Upshur and we'll help one mom who asks for advice on how to understand and respond to her kids when they're fighting. We'll offer mindset and behavioral shifts you yourself can make, break down the psychology of sharing, and help you set appropriate developmental expectations of your children. Plus, we'll help you reframe the situation to turn these tough moments into opportunities to help your children hone their empathy skills. I want to hear from you! Send me a topic you want me to cover or a question you want answered on the show! ✨ DM me on Instagram at @securelyattachedpodcast or @drsarahbren ✨ Send an email to info@drsarahbren.com ✨ And check out drsarahbren.com for more parenting resources
Sep 28, 2021 • 26min
Finding your footing in fatherhood: My husband's journey with RIE and respectful parenting
Parents often feel they need to be perfectly aligned with their partner in their parenting approach. While it is true that sharing the same overall values and standards do help, allowing your partner to parent in a way that feels most authentic to them can actually make for a healthy and diverse experience for children. And both relationships, while different, can still create secure attachment bonds. Today I am welcoming my husband Danny to the podcast. We'll share the lessons we learned ourselves, so you don't repeat our mistakes. And also offer you tools we used that helped us to get on the same parenting page. I want to hear from you! Send me a topic you want me to cover or a question you want answered on the show! ✨ DM me on Instagram at @securelyattachedpodcast or @drsarahbren ✨ Send an email to info@drsarahbren.com ✨ And check out drsarahbren.com for more parenting resources
Sep 21, 2021 • 47min
Busting parents' biggest sleep myths to turn bedtime from stressful to restful with Lauren Wolf
If you've ever asked, "is it bad my baby naps less than my friends' kids?" "is it too late to break the poor sleep habits I created?" or the all too common "am I doing this right?," this sleep episode is for you! Along with my guest, infant and child sleep consultant and owner of Lolo Lullaby, Lauren Wolf, we'll be busting parents' biggest sleep myths. Whether it's navigating power struggles, setting proper developmental expectations, making mindset shifts, or learning to find what works best for you and your unique child and family - by the end of this episode you'll walk away with some concrete strategies you can implement to help sleep time turn from stressful to restful. I want to hear from you! Send me a topic you want me to cover or a question you want answered on the show! ✨ DM me on Instagram at @securelyattachedpodcast or @drsarahbren ✨ Send an email to info@drsarahbren.com ✨ And check out drsarahbren.com for more parenting resources
Sep 14, 2021 • 35min
Time Saving Hacks: 5 ways parents can get back time
You don't need to be Ferris Bueller to realize that time moves pretty fast these days. And for parents, that can lead to feelings of stress, exhaustion and burnout. In this episode, I'll walk you through 5 actionable steps you can start taking today to get more time back into your days and weeks. And then, once you've found these extra minutes or even hours, I'll help you take stock of what matters most. So you can be intentionally spending this newfound freedom on things that fill up your tank and allow you to show up as the best version of yourself - for you and for your entire family. I want to hear from you! Send me a topic you want me to cover or a question you want answered on the show! ✨ DM me on Instagram at @securelyattachedpodcast or @drsarahbren ✨ Send an email to info@drsarahbren.com ✨ And check out drsarahbren.com for more parenting resources
Sep 7, 2021 • 27min
Expanding the postpartum conversation: How PMADs can affect new fathers with Dr. Emily Upshur
The postpartum period presents new parents with a massive identity shift and an overwhelming flood of sudden changes. It's important we talk about this and acknowledge that having a newborn is hard. While about 20% of mothers experience a PMAD, there is also a lesser talked about, yet still common situation that can occur. 1 in 10 new fathers or non-birthing partners experience some form of perinatal mood and anxiety disorder within the first year after the birth of their child. In this episode, Dr. Emily Upshur and I will dispel the myth that PMADs only affect mothers, the importance of preparing for this possibility ahead of time, and what you can do to support you partner (mom or dad) if you think they need help. I want to hear from you! Send me a topic you want me to cover or a question you want answered on the show! ✨ DM me on Instagram at @securelyattachedpodcast or @drsarahbren ✨ Send an email to info@drsarahbren.com ✨ And check out drsarahbren.com for more parenting resources
