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As the federal commission on school safety headed by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos ramps up its schedule of public forums, an unusually broad array of individuals and organizations has sent a letter imploring DeVos and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to retain federal guidelines issued by the Obama administration to combat racial disparities in school discipline. The letter is significant both for its strong defense of students’ civil rights and because the more than 80 signatories...

The top Massachusetts court unanimously ruled on Monday that a judge can require defendants with substance use disorders to remain drug-free as a condition of probation and send them to jail if they relapse. The case, which challenged a requirement routinely imposed by judges across the country, had been closely watched by prosecutors, drug courts and addiction medicine specialists. For many, it represented a debate over the nature of addiction itself. The defense argued that addiction is a...

The Driftwood Motel on Oak Island, North Carolina, has seen better days. All around it, pastel-colored vacation homes with kitschy names like After Dune Delight reel in tourists with promises of beachfront sunsets and shaded hammocks by the pier. Though the Driftwood Motel is also painted in cheerful pastels, the paint is flaking off in dry strips and littering the ground next to cigarette butts and busted beer bottles. Rhonda C. lives on the bottom floor of the Driftwood with her bed, couch...

In the United States , the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) collects demographic and other types of information on all youth who enter the foster care system. This practice allows the government and the public to track how well the system is meeting its ultimate goal — to place all children into stable and loving homes. In 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) made a final rule that would...

As anti-immigrant sentiment erupts in Western democracies from Germany to the United States , some cities are still finding ways to make immigrants feel at home. I conducted hundreds of interviews with immigrants in New York, Paris, and Barcelona intermittently for over a decade to understand how each city integrates—or excludes—its migrants. My new book, A Place to Call Home , explains why some cities and their residents do better at incorporating foreign-born newcomers in the local...

Most health professionals understand postpartum depression (PPD) and other mood disorders are a serious mental health concern. Raising awareness of postpartum mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) is so important for two reasons. First, professionals need to be more proactive with evaluation and diagnosis. Women very often hide their struggle with overwhelming anxiety, worry and depression. Just because a new mom arrives for a checkup, nicely dressed and with her makeup on, it’s not safe to...

Victims of human trafficking are subjected to ongoing trauma and they have such a hard time embracing their survival because they get stuck focusing only on the traumas. They carry a much heavier load of shame that no one person can carry alone. So they try to forget it and bury it. They keep it all tucked away in the past and try to pretend it never happened. Revisiting the past for the purpose of examining it and healing from it is too painful for them. So the traumas keep haunting them,...

Unhealed trauma can lead children to act out their wounds and create trauma for the whole family. Parents feel hopeless and lost as their entire family experiences the effects of trauma. One father shared: “As the dad, I am supposed to protect my child from hurt and pain. When my daughter started cutting on her arms with our kitchen knives, I was a deer in headlights. I didn’t know what to do.” Feedback loops are a technique used by therapists to rethink child trauma through a family systems...

So, sit back and enjoy our "conversation between friends" with trauma therapist, Paulette Tomasson, as she discusses her vast therapy modalities from experiential to equine therapy and so much more. We discuss trauma, resilience/drive to survive, the blossoming of self-reflective men overcoming their sex addictions, internet pornography, critical need for parental controls on all devices, and embracing/celebrating our "note in the symphony"!

Committee reports for the fiscal year 2019 funding bills for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (Labor/HHS) call for the Office of the Surgeon General to report on the connection between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and negative long-term health outcomes, including future substance misuse. The House Appropriations Committee report contains stronger and more specific language than the Senate report—it directs the Office of the Surgeon General to submit a...

Efforts to pass paid family leave are gaining momentum across the country. Just last month, Massachusetts became the sixth state , along with the District of Columbia, to pass legislation mandating it in some form. As attention to the importance of paid family leave, intensifies, however, it is vital that the needs of all families be considered—including parents with disabilities. On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate held a hearing to discuss potential federal family policies, featuring two...

Apple has introduced new software designed to help users restrict the time they spend on their phones — just change your settings and your favorite app will lock you out after a certain number of hours. It’s been especially welcomed by parents who fret about the habits of their “screenagers” — young people who seem permanently attached to their mobile devices. Even Silicon Valley insiders demanded that Apple make its devices “ less addictive .” Some researchers have gone so far as to declare...