Dr. Bruce Perry: How Childhood Trauma Shapes Your Entire Life

**Bruce Perry** (0:00)
You get a number of experiences where you're sort of the balance of good starts to overcome the experiences where people didn't, weren't there, and they did let you down, and they kind of disappointed you. It's a lucky person that has that relational catalog that allows them to then take advantage of the people that want to help you in the future.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:40)
If someone has a problem with substance use disorder, please call 1-CALL-PLACEMENT. That's 888-831-1581.
And if we can't help you, we'll make a referral to someone who can. 1-CALL-PLACEMENT is affiliated with Carrera Treatment Wellness and Spa and One Method Treatment Centers.

**Richard Taite** (0:58)
We have someone very special here today. Dr. Bruce Perry is one of the world's leading experts on childhood trauma, brain development, and resilience. A psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and clinician with over 40 years of experience. His work has transformed how we understand the lasting impact of abuse, neglect, and adversity, and how healing actually happens. He is the principal of the neuro-sequential network and the creator of the neuro-sequential model, a brain-based approach to therapy, education, and caregiving now used in over 26 countries, impacting millions of children and families worldwide. Dr. Perry is the co-author of The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog with Maya Salavitz, a best-selling book built on real clinical cases that reveal how trauma shapes development and how connection helps repair it.
A newly updated 2026 edition of the book is being released, bringing fresh insights and relevance to a new generation. He is also the co-author of the number one New York Times bestseller, What Happened to You?, with Oprah Winfrey, which has spent over 100 weeks on the bestseller list and helped bring trauma-informed thinking into the mainstream.
Dr. Perry has consulted on some of the most high-profile, traumatic events in modern history, including the Waco siege, Oklahoma City bombing, 9-11, Sandy Hook, and major global disasters. Bruce, it's an honor to have you with us today. We just had Maya Salavitz on the show last week. You and Maya have an updated 2026 edition of The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog coming out. What feels most important or newly relevant in this edition for today's world?

**Bruce Perry** (3:06)
You know, it's...
I think as Maya probably talked, the book has kind of long legs. It's got a long shelf life. We wrote this 20 years ago. And the real focus of the book and in all of the iterations since has been the importance of relationships. And I think in this modern era where we're all so screened up, so to speak, that the importance of being with somebody in relational interaction is as important or probably more important than when we wrote this 20 years ago.
And I think that that's something that we... I think a lot of people are becoming aware of this, and we're struggling with how do we act on this at the same time that we take advantage of some of the new technologies that also have some benefits. And the key, of course, to a lot of this stuff is moderation and balance. And I think that that's the important thing about the book is that it reemphasizes the power of real connection and the importance of integrating quality relational time and space into all of our systems and everything that we do, parenting, education, mental health, and so forth.

**Richard Taite** (4:35)
You know, what's funny is it does have legs.
This is tried and true, and it's almost embarrassing because it should be common sense, right? I mean, I mean, I'm the guy who talked. I'm the blame the parent guy, but only to the extent. No, no, no, no. Only to the extent that, and I think we're aligned in this. First of all, we're the most aligned thinking of anybody I've ever been around.
Okay. But I want to know where I get it wrong.
Okay. Because I'm the blame, the parent guide, but only to the extent that you didn't get your basic needs as met as a child. Right. And then, so I'm all about that. I mean, I've been doing this forever. Right. Treating addicts and alcoholics. I don't treat people with substance use disorder. Okay. But that's another story.
But what you deal with, with the major abuse of these kids, I mean, just unthinkable. I mean, you think about it too long, start to well up, right?

**Bruce Perry** (5:47)
Yeah, it's brutal.

**Richard Taite** (5:48)
It's brutal. To not expect these people to move on into addiction is unreasonable. And what I loved about your process is, it's like, and I think I read this, I don't think I'm smart enough to come up with it on my own, but I think it was like a three level house, right? And it was survival, and then it was emotional connection, and then it was critical thought.