When six-year-old Beth Thomas appeared in a 1990 HBO documentary titled ‘Child of Rage:

When six-year-old Beth Thomas appeared in a 1990 HBO documentary titled ‘Child of Rage: A Story of Abuse’ she did so calmly, brutally and with no visible emotion.  Beth had been adopted into a loving home after surviving severe sexual abuse and neglect but she displayed violent behavior so extreme that she talked about wanting to kill her adoptive parents, repeatedly hurt her younger brother, and harmed pets. 

One disturbing moment captured on film Beth recounting how she smashed her brother's head against concrete while calmly stating, “I killed him!”  A clinical psychologist diagnosed Beth with reactive attachment disorder, a rare but devastating condition stemming from early trauma and the inability to form emotional bonds with caregivers.

Conventional therapy failed until an experimental approach led by therapist Connell Watkins was introduced. Beth was placed in a highly structured environment where she lost nearly all freedom. 

She was locked in her room at night and required to ask permission for every action. This controversial attachment therapy, also known as “rage reduction therapy,” aimed to rewire her emotional responses. Remarkably, within less than a year Beth began to show empathy, stop self-harming, and genuinely regret past actions.

Beth has since healed and rebuilt her life. She graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in nursing and has worked since 2005 as a neonatal ICU nurse at Flagstaff Medical Center in Arizona. She co‑authored two books with her adoptive mother Nancy, detailing her journey and offering guidance to families facing RAD, and now speaks publicly to raise awareness.