A Compassionate Heart

About Us

About Us


ACompassionateHeart.com is a resource for adoptive parents or parents seeking inspiration or information about children's behavior stemming from trauma, mental illness or transition. Founder Suzanne Harrison is a foster and adoptive parent herself, and a certified instructor for Advanced Parenting for Challenging Children (APCC).

This Web site contains a collection of articles, useful links, workshop schedules, and a directory of national resource centers.

Also check out our on-line store - you can acquire informative books, tapes, and additional materials geared towards helping you cope with the challenges that are sometimes associated with adoption, foster parenting, or parenting a challenging child.

The information presented herein is for informational purposes. Please read our full statement of use before using this site, and please contact us if we can be of further assistance.

Suzanne Harrison

Suzanne Harrison, a foster and adoptive parent, has been training since 1986. While she started out by training business owners how to use computers and software, she is now a certified and professional presenter of workshops on parenting, adoption, mental health issues and faith-based initiatives.

Her insatiable need for understanding is only surpassed by her determination to help educate parents, professionals and anyone who can benefit from her experience and knowledge. In the end it's all about the children and providing them with the most opportunities to overcome their individual challenges.

Suzanne wanted to adopt since she was a child. When she married her husband, Clay, they decided to do just that. It has been quite a journey since their son came to live with them 5 years ago. Children bring their pasts with them and if parents are not given the tools of understanding, the children suffer. Suzanne and Clay were not prepared for the challenges their son presented them. Determination quickly replaced the starry eyed "Oh, I'm going to be a mom".

Suzanne dug quickly into the documentation and all of the psychiatric and medical history to learn what she could of this child who was so angry and sad. She has not stopped learning. She continues learning new therapies, resources and searching for services to help families.

In addition to being a a certified instructor for Advanced Parenting for Challenging Children, Suzanne is also President and Founder of Harrison Consulting, Chair of the New Hampshire Community and Faith Based Initiative Advisory Board (NH CFBI) and a Board Member of ODS Adoption Community of New England (ACONE). (APCC).

She was the Assistant Executive Director for the Attachment Disorder Network, and has attended training by Dan Hughes, Nancy Thomas and others. Suzanne also volunteers at her church, participates in Faith Based Action Network of New Hampshire (FBANET-NH), has attended several ATTACh, North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) and other foster and adoption related conferences.