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I have worked since 1981 with teenagers who are homeless, runaways, addicted to drugs and alcohol, in the criminal justice system, former gang members and victims of abuse and neglect. I am now the director of Spectrum Youth and Family Services , the largest program in Vermont for this population. I’ve written columns for Youth Today, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Huffington Post and Forbes. I wrote a book that was published by Paulist Press in 2004. Then I started telling...

Among the many adverse childhood experiences, one must consider are the effects of maternal depression and of mothers being the victim of physical or sexual violence. What is the toll of these on children? Neamah et al. ( 10.1542/peds.2017-3457 ) decided to evaluate this by looking at the strength of such an association on the cognitive development as well as physical growth of over a thousand toddlers between 18 to 36 months living in Tanzania. These children underwent developmental testing...

One morning this past September, Kiarra Boulware boarded the 26 bus to Baltimore’s Bon Secours Hospital, where she would seek help for the most urgent problem in her life: the 200-some excess pounds she carried on her 5-foot-2-inch frame. To Kiarra, the weight sometimes felt like a great burden, and at other times like just another fact of life. She had survived a childhood marred by death, drugs, and violence. She had recently gained control over her addiction to alcohol, which, last...

The tragedy of suicide has struck again, here in Northern Virginia. I am heartbroken to learn of four student deaths in three days, in nearby Prince William County. Each one was ruled a suicide. As we grieve more dreadful losses to mental illness, I must ask, how can we stop this from happening again? “Tell your children you love and support them,” urges a message from the school superintendent. I wholeheartedly agree. Further, I ask you to do something more to help prevent another suicide,...

Join co-author Scott Sells and your colleagues for a monthly discussion of family trauma tools and techniques from Treating the Traumatized Child By Scott P. Sells, PhD and Ellen Souder, MA LPCC-S. • Each month, the group will discuss 2-3 Chapters of the book with Dr. Sells. • Book Club is free, however, participants will need to purchase a copy of the book . • Participants will need to prepare for the meeting by reading the chapters in advance. • Chapters to be read will be announced at the...

A special issue of Counselling and Psychotherapy Research examines the role social inequality plays in the success of psychotherapy and on the mental wellbeing of individuals. The issue, edited by Jaime Delgadillo, a clinical psychologist at the University of Sheffield, aims to bring attention to this pressing issue in the field of psychology. Findings suggest that people living in poverty are more likely to develop mental health issues and less likely to make progress in psychotherapy, as...

Yale, Brown, Harvard, Georgetown, Princeton — they’ve all found that they directly benefited from slavery. But all those places were founded in the 16-and 1700s. MIT didn’t exist until two days before the Civil War. So you might not expect connections to slavery in its past... Unless you redefine what you mean by 'slavery.' [To listen to this podcast by Otherhoodm, go to https://www.pri.org/programs/otherhood/mit-looked-slavery-its-past-and-undergrads-found-it-present ]

A tremendous amount of courage is required to share about my childhood forced psychiatric treatment experience. It has necessitated decades of actively addressing the trauma caused by the coercion and oppression, in order to be able to tolerate the fear that comes with publicly expressing personal involvement with the psychiatric system as a mental health professional. In America, there is a taboo about mental health professionals seeking treatment in the same system they work in, with fears...

Judy’s first pregnancy was planned, and she was looking forward to having a baby. Yet, halfway through the pregnancy, something changed. She began to feel down and bad about herself. She had less energy and struggled to concentrate. Thinking this was a normal part of pregnancy, she ignored it. After she delivered her son, it all got worse. She felt as if she was in a black hole of sadness. She often gave her son to her mother, thinking he was better off without her. It wasn’t until a year...

Loneliness is bad for the heart and a strong predictor of premature death, according to a study presented today at EuroHeartCare 2018, the European Society of Cardiology's annual nursing congress. The study found that feeling lonely was a stronger predictor of poor outcomes than living alone, in both men and women. "Loneliness is more common today than ever before, and more people live alone," said Anne Vinggaard Christensen, study author and Ph.D. student, The Heart Centre, Copenhagen...

As I do my community talks and agency trainings I always have to remember that for many people the phrase, “adverse childhood experiences” requires an explanation. Like many of you, I go down the list of the ten ACEs in a group setting and I find people nodding in recognition. Some start crying. This leads to a discussion about how each of these ten adverse experiences might be prevented. This is a much longer and more complex discussion. I explain that ACEs prevention may mean increasing...

ACEs, Adversity's Impact A psychologist explains how mental and emotional health changes your body (No matter how much you work out) 50,000 child sex abuse school-age children and young offenders to take part in largest cross-cultural psychology survey to date The conflicting education of Sam Schimmel When ACEs are held by more than one generation, the outcomes are concerning The truth about the sex trade: Vulnerabilities leading to "the life" Healing the United States of Trauma America's...