My first exposure to the ACE Study came in the fall of 2002, when I attended the annual conference for the group now known as The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. One of the plenary speakers was Dr. Robert Anda, whose presentation I found more compelling than any I'd ever heard. And I'd heard quite a few; our family business began producing programs on child abuse and related issues in 1975, and I'd attended many conferences and seminars in the course of that work.
It's not that there was anything revolutionary or even surprising in what Dr. Anda had to say. Rather, it was the very strong, detailed evidence he provided for what I (and, I'm sure, very many others involved in these issues) had long believed to be true. Returning from the conference, I found myself filled with a sort of missionary zeal, telling anyone who would listen about the ACE Study and its implications
.
Eventually, I realized that I needed to stop talking and start doing. I attended a seminar by Dr. Vincent Felitti, arriving early in hopes of broaching the subject of a video project to him. He was interested, and the resulting DVD series was released in early 2005. In addition to interviews with researchers and clinicians, we included interviews with eight adult survivors of childhood trauma, who described how those experiences had impacted their lives, and what had helped them heal. Information about the professional training series on the ACE Study can be found here. There is also a low-cost, condensed version of the material, titled Wounds That Won't Heal; details here.
Over the years, our company has produced a large number of programs dealing with psychological trauma--more than sixty all told. Looking back, I'm convinced that the ACE Study project is the most important work we've ever done.
Bruce McCulley, President
Cavalcade Productions, Inc.
PO Box 2480
Nevada City, CA 95959
Phone/fax: 800-345-5530
Comments (0)