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T ransforming Trauma Episode 043: Using NARM to Decrease the Stigma of Dissociative Identity Disorder with Erin Lewis In this episode of Transforming Trauma, our host Sarah is joined by Clinical Mental Health Counselor Erin Lewis, a trauma therapist from North Carolina who specializes in Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder. Erin herself has been treated for DID and is committed to promoting education and supporting the needs for traumatized...

Now is the time to submit proposals for the workshops at the 5th annual Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools Conference hosted by the Attachment & Trauma Network (ATN)! This year's conference will be an asynchronous hybrid - with an in-person conference Feb 20-22, 2022 in Houston, TX and a virtual component on Feb 24 & 25. We're expecting 2000 educators from across the country and around the world to attend this conference, which will include 4 exciting keynotes, pre-conference "deep...

If you and your partner want to pursue couples therapy, that’s commendable! There is so much hope and help available in therapy. What if you’re dealing with intimate partner abuse or violence (IPV)? Therapy for domestic violence requires a trauma-informed approach. You may be asking: Can therapy for domestic violence really help? Can couples therapy make things worse? If domestic violence (DV) or abuse exists in your relationship – whether through experience or the fear of it — safety must...

Thoughts to share -“Trauma is perhaps the most avoided, ignored, belittled, denied, untreated, and misunderstood cause of human suffering.” - Peter Levine “Once you start spending enough time with enough toxic people, you run the risk of losing some of your own empathy, simply because you aren’t ever being given any.” - Ramani Durvasula “Even when it makes no sense, practice trusting more in what you feel and sense is calling you and take heart to follow it. Your heart is the place of...

New Jersey plans to spend a staggering $445,504 per incarcerated youth in 2022 to house them in facilities that are almost 80% empty. The time is now for New Jersey to close its youth prisons and invest in community-based alternatives. The current system, with its focus wholly on punishment rather than rehabilitation, the current system leaves whole communities — as well as the families of both victims and offenders — with unresolved trauma that continues to reverberate long after the...

Registration is now open for two summer sessions of this professional development course for educators! Designed to bridge the gap from knowing about trauma to being able to fully implement a trauma-informed approach in the classroom, this course will explore the key principles of a trauma-informed approach, and how they can be applied in an school setting to achieve equitable and just outcomes.

While being on the lookout for constant danger is normal for people who have had severe childhood trauma and adverse childhood experiences, we all move through a continuum of determining whether the cues we are receiving from others are cues of danger or cues of safety. Understanding how our bodies react to cues of danger and safety is the science supporting The Polyvagal Theory.

Being a parent comes with sacrifices, but also with challenges. As children grow up, they begin to understand the world. And so, lying can appear as a regular behavior. I have two children, aged 10 and 14. I can say that lying was a big problem in our family during their childhood. For example, they lied they brushed their teeth. And of course, you can easily say if they brushed their teeth or not. Honesty is an important quality that helps build stronger relationships and bonds between...

In collaboration with several partners, we developed a 6-month subscription box for expectant families in our community. The box contains items for the family and educational opportunities for the extra incentives - local gift cards. Part of the purpose behind creating these boxes and this opportunity was to fill a covid-19 caused void, and provide some educational and supportive opportunities for expectant families. Many of the classes and opportunities for families to attend during the...

Our kids (and parents) are not alright with technology. And the problem has spun out of control with the recent pandemic. Up to 50% of kids surveyed feel addicted to social media and go into withdrawal-like symptoms if their devices are removed ranging from aggression to severe anxiety. And many suffer from a new phenomenon called “nature deficit disorder." In turn, the ongoing drama and conflict that ensues between parent and child often result in long-term trauma in the form of...

John Davis is an internationally known Keynote Speaker, Comedian, Fight Director, Stuntman, College Professor, artistic Director, and Action Hero.

HERE this NOW founder, Emily Read Daniels was thrilled when Jane Stevens agreed to have PACES Connection endorse and sponsor HTN's 3rd Annual Trauma-Responsive Schools Conference. The conference will address the application of The Polyvagal Theory (science behind how we process trauma in our bodies) in schools for the safe return to in-person learning. The virtual conference, June 1-4, 2021, will host teachers, school administrators, and school specialists from across the U.S. and...