MadaboutRad Tue, 08 Sep 2026 12:45:55 -0400 https://www.buzzsprout.com/2644114 en-us © 2026 MadaboutRad yes 67632f91-28b3-5129-ad0a-95b0d4278812 Trish Mares episodic false The Art of Disarming Challenging Children

]]> Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) Trish Mares https://storage.buzzsprout.com/um27ftcl5zpeorb3n50kgg1tvihy?.jpg MadaboutRad https://www.buzzsprout.com/2644114 MadaboutRad: An Overview of Reactive Attachment Disorder and CONTROL Intervention MadaboutRad: An Overview of Reactive Attachment Disorder and CONTROL Intervention MadaboutRad: Understanding Reactive Attachment Disorder
Hosted by Trish Mares, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor

Episode Summary:

In this episode, Trish Mares — a licensed professional clinical counselor with nearly 30 years of experience working with children who have trauma and Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) — introduces her audience to what she affectionately calls "radishes": children who carry traits of reactive attachment disorder.

Trish begins by explaining what RAD is: a disorder classified under post-traumatic stress disorder that develops when children lose trust in the world due to early experiences of neglect, foster care placement, extended hospital stays, or separation from a caregiver at birth. Even babies placed directly into loving homes can develop RAD if they don't hear their mother's voice right after birth, triggering the amygdala's fight-or-flight response.

She walks listeners through common RAD traits — children who present well in public but are challenging at home, who are manipulative, impulsive, attention-seeking, boundary-crossing, hypervigilant, food-hoarding, and possess a high pain tolerance — helping parents identify whether their child may be a "radish."

Trish then introduces her original framework called CONTROL, a technique she's developed and refined over 20 years to help children with RAD and their families:

  • C — Control: Teaching children they can only control themselves, not others
  • O — Options: Giving limited choices so children feel a sense of autonomy while the guardian retains final say
  • N — Neutrality: The hardest skill for parents — staying emotionally neutral so children can't manipulate their reactions
  • T — Trust: Built through consistent follow-through, natural consequences, and strategic unpredictability
  • R — Respect (and Reflective Tone): Showing respect unconditionally, modeling boundaries, and using reflective tones to help children feel heard
  • O — Others: Navigating the pushback from family members, schools, and professionals who may misunderstand these techniques
  • L — Love: Reframing love as a direct action, helping children who confuse victimhood with being loved


She also critiques outdated treatment approaches, such as asserting total control over the child or re-traumatizing children behind one-way glass, and recommends the book *The Neurobiology of Attachment-Focused Therapy* by Jonathan Baylin and Daniel Hughes.

Throughout the episode, Trish reassures parents that things may get worse before they get better — children will often push harder against new boundaries before accepting them — but with consistency, forgiveness, and love, progress is possible.

About the Host:
Trish Mares is a licensed professional clinical counselor who has spent nearly three decades specializing in children with reactive attachment disorder and trauma. She learned much of what she knows not from textbooks, but from excellent foster parents during her 12 years working exclusively with children in foster care.

Audience: Foster parents, adoptive parents, step-parents, and anyone who knows or works with a child who may have RAD traits.

]]> MadaboutRad: Understanding Reactive Attachment Disorder
Hosted by Trish Mares, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor

Episode Summary:

In this episode, Trish Mares — a licensed professional clinical counselor with nearly 30 years of experience working with children who have trauma and Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) — introduces her audience to what she affectionately calls "radishes": children who carry traits of reactive attachment disorder.

Trish begins by explaining what RAD is: a disorder classified under post-traumatic stress disorder that develops when children lose trust in the world due to early experiences of neglect, foster care placement, extended hospital stays, or separation from a caregiver at birth. Even babies placed directly into loving homes can develop RAD if they don't hear their mother's voice right after birth, triggering the amygdala's fight-or-flight response.

She walks listeners through common RAD traits — children who present well in public but are challenging at home, who are manipulative, impulsive, attention-seeking, boundary-crossing, hypervigilant, food-hoarding, and possess a high pain tolerance — helping parents identify whether their child may be a "radish."

Trish then introduces her original framework called CONTROL, a technique she's developed and refined over 20 years to help children with RAD and their families:

  • C — Control: Teaching children they can only control themselves, not others
  • O — Options: Giving limited choices so children feel a sense of autonomy while the guardian retains final say
  • N — Neutrality: The hardest skill for parents — staying emotionally neutral so children can't manipulate their reactions
  • T — Trust: Built through consistent follow-through, natural consequences, and strategic unpredictability
  • R — Respect (and Reflective Tone): Showing respect unconditionally, modeling boundaries, and using reflective tones to help children feel heard
  • O — Others: Navigating the pushback from family members, schools, and professionals who may misunderstand these techniques
  • L — Love: Reframing love as a direct action, helping children who confuse victimhood with being loved


She also critiques outdated treatment approaches, such as asserting total control over the child or re-traumatizing children behind one-way glass, and recommends the book *The Neurobiology of Attachment-Focused Therapy* by Jonathan Baylin and Daniel Hughes.

Throughout the episode, Trish reassures parents that things may get worse before they get better — children will often push harder against new boundaries before accepting them — but with consistency, forgiveness, and love, progress is possible.

About the Host:
Trish Mares is a licensed professional clinical counselor who has spent nearly three decades specializing in children with reactive attachment disorder and trauma. She learned much of what she knows not from textbooks, but from excellent foster parents during her 12 years working exclusively with children in foster care.

Audience: Foster parents, adoptive parents, step-parents, and anyone who knows or works with a child who may have RAD traits.

]]> Trish Mares Buzzsprout-19773200 Tue, 08 Sep 2026 12:00:00 -0400 1488 full false MadaboutRad: 2026-09-04 MadaboutRad: 2026-09-04 In the debut episode of MadaboutRad, licensed professional clinical counselor Trish Mares and school counselor Angela Flowers introduce listeners to Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) — a condition that affects children whose early bonding experiences were disrupted by neglect, frequent moves, medical crises, or separation from a primary caregiver.

Trish and Angela break down the core traits of RAD: the need for control, hypervigilance, creating drama when bored, collecting odd objects, high pain tolerance, sugar addiction, difficulty maintaining friendships, and the ability to present as charming to strangers while struggling at home. They discuss how these children often hold it together at school and unravel with their parents — particularly mothers — and how RAD is frequently confused with other attachment issues or misdiagnosed.

Trish shares her journey working at Buckeye Ranch with foster children, where she discovered her passion for this underserved area of mental health. She explains how early intervention can prevent RAD from evolving into personality disorders like borderline, and why even some professionals in the field don't recognize the disorder exists.

The episode closes with a powerful message: having a child with attachment issues doesn't make you a bad parent. The hosts preview future episodes where they'll cover concrete parenting strategies and techniques for helping RAD children thrive.

]]> In the debut episode of MadaboutRad, licensed professional clinical counselor Trish Mares and school counselor Angela Flowers introduce listeners to Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) — a condition that affects children whose early bonding experiences were disrupted by neglect, frequent moves, medical crises, or separation from a primary caregiver.

Trish and Angela break down the core traits of RAD: the need for control, hypervigilance, creating drama when bored, collecting odd objects, high pain tolerance, sugar addiction, difficulty maintaining friendships, and the ability to present as charming to strangers while struggling at home. They discuss how these children often hold it together at school and unravel with their parents — particularly mothers — and how RAD is frequently confused with other attachment issues or misdiagnosed.

Trish shares her journey working at Buckeye Ranch with foster children, where she discovered her passion for this underserved area of mental health. She explains how early intervention can prevent RAD from evolving into personality disorders like borderline, and why even some professionals in the field don't recognize the disorder exists.

The episode closes with a powerful message: having a child with attachment issues doesn't make you a bad parent. The hosts preview future episodes where they'll cover concrete parenting strategies and techniques for helping RAD children thrive.

]]> Trish Mares Buzzsprout-19766472 Mon, 07 Sep 2026 10:00:00 -0400 1233 full false @MadAboutRad-TikTok 4 (8-30-26) @MadAboutRad-TikTok 4 (8-30-26) Trish Mares explains that RAD can develop through early disruptions in safety and attachment—including NICU stays, severe colic, separation after birth, foster or adoptive placement, and repeated childhood moves—which may undermine a child’s trust in the world.

]]> Trish Mares explains that RAD can develop through early disruptions in safety and attachment—including NICU stays, severe colic, separation after birth, foster or adoptive placement, and repeated childhood moves—which may undermine a child’s trust in the world.

]]> Trish Mares Buzzsprout-19728449 Mon, 31 Aug 2026 04:00:00 -0400 107 full false @MadAboutRad-TikTok 3 (8-28-26) @MadAboutRad-TikTok 3 (8-28-26) Trish Mares describes common traits associated with children with RAD, including behaving well publicly while struggling at home with impulsivity, attention-seeking, poor boundaries, hypervigilance, poor focus, food hoarding, inaccurate reporting, and other challenging behaviors.

]]> Trish Mares describes common traits associated with children with RAD, including behaving well publicly while struggling at home with impulsivity, attention-seeking, poor boundaries, hypervigilance, poor focus, food hoarding, inaccurate reporting, and other challenging behaviors.

]]> Trish Mares Buzzsprout-19728438 Mon, 31 Aug 2026 04:00:00 -0400 99 full false @MadAboutRad-TikTok 2 (8-27-26) @MadAboutRad-TikTok 2 (8-27-26) Trish Mares introduces MadAboutRad, drawing on nearly 30 years of experience with children with Reactive Attachment Disorder to offer foster, adoptive, and stepparents greater understanding and practical insight into these resilient but often challenging children.

]]> Trish Mares introduces MadAboutRad, drawing on nearly 30 years of experience with children with Reactive Attachment Disorder to offer foster, adoptive, and stepparents greater understanding and practical insight into these resilient but often challenging children.

]]> Trish Mares Buzzsprout-19728417 Mon, 31 Aug 2026 04:00:00 -0400 40 full false @MadAboutRad-TikTok 1 (8-26-26) @MadAboutRad-TikTok 1 (8-26-26) Trish Mares introduces “MadAboutRAD,” explaining that Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) can develop when children lose trust in the world following experiences such as neglect, foster care, or prolonged hospitalization, leading to a heightened need for control, and promises practical solutions for helping them.

]]> Trish Mares introduces “MadAboutRAD,” explaining that Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) can develop when children lose trust in the world following experiences such as neglect, foster care, or prolonged hospitalization, leading to a heightened need for control, and promises practical solutions for helping them.

]]> Trish Mares Buzzsprout-19728324 Mon, 31 Aug 2026 03:00:00 -0400 44 full false