Friends, Relatives, and Supporters of the Attachment and Bonding Community
The purpose of this web site is to seek help for Connell Watkins (therapist), Julie Ponder (therapist), Brita St. Clair (therapeutic mom), and Jack McDaniel (intern, college student).
Connell has dedicated 23 years of
her life to attachment and bonding work. If you know Connell personally, as I
do, you know that she is completely and passionately committed to offering hope
to heal the deep and lasting wounds of attachment disorder - one family at a
time. Connell has done this work with little regard for her own safety, comfort,
or financial security, always placing the families she works with first. This is
what she and her team were doing when 10 year old Candace Newmaker died.
Connell, Julie,
Brita, and Jack are now facing very serious criminal charges of child abuse
resulting in death. They were all devastated by this tragic event and the
loss of a precious child to whom they were dedicated to giving a chance to heal
and to accept love. They will carry that pain with them for the rest of their
lives. Now they are also suffering public scrutiny, professional censure, and
the devastating financial obligations of a legal defense, in addition to the
prospect of spending years in jail if convicted.
As
a member of the attachment and bonding community, I know how difficult it is for
anyone without personal experience to understand the severity of this disorder
and the unconventional techniques that are sometimes required. Parents and
therapists are often accused of being too strict and even abusive when they set
and keep firm limits and directly confront their children to avoid allowing them
to continue manipulating and conning. It will be a daunting task for the
attorneys to accurately portray this disorder, therapy, and Connell's life-long
dedication to healing wounded children and their families. To convince an
uninformed jury that Connell, her colleagues and the mother had only the highest
and best intentions of healing this child, and not of shaming or in any way
hurting this child, will be a huge challenge.
Because
of the challenges that face everyone involved, if you are able and feel inclined
to help, please do so by taking one or more of the following actions:
Pray
for comfort and for discernment.
Connell and her colleagues need your prayers. The attorneys,
judges and jury members need them, too.
Write
about your personal experience.
If you have personal experience that would give Connell, her colleagues or
this mom encouragement or support, please write about it and send it to The
Defense Team for Connell Watkins, Julie Ponder, Brita St. Clair and Jack
McDaniel.
Contribute
to the cost of defense.
All four people involved in this legal action also need financial help. If
you are able and feel inclined to help, please send a contribution to Legal
Defense Fund for Connell
Watkins, Julie Ponder, Brita St. Clair and Jack McDaniel.
In a world so full
of sadness and pain, it is a travesty to persecute those who are trying to ease
that pain. Thank you for keeping Connell and the others in your thoughts and
prayers, and thank you for any act of kindness you can offer.
Nancy
Thomas
Therapeutic Parenting Specialist