Dr. Dana Philossaint, CEO of MindCare - Childhood Trauma Therapy. She is an author, speaker, and founder of Mental Health University, an online training course devoted to helping people accomplish mental health.
Earlier this week, the LA County Department of Mental Health informed us that our program Mind Matters: Overcoming Adversity and Building Resilience had been approved as a Prevention and Early Intervention Model for community outreach services. Some ACEs Aware grantees are interesting in using it in their community networks of care. Mind Matters’ lessons teach people aged 12 and up to heal from Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and other negative experiences with innovative methods based...
Amanda Winn, 5/5/21, positiveexperience.org/blog A growing wave of individuals are joining the HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences) movement, uplifting the important role positive childhood experiences play in healthy development. Now, the HOPE National Resource Center is excited to announce new resources in English and Spanish ! These materials supplement HOPE trainings and technical assistance, geared toward parents, medical providers, educators, home visitors, and more. [...
Transforming Trauma Episode 041: The Brain and Body Budget with Neuroscientist Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett In this episode of Transforming Trauma, our host Sarah is joined by neuroscientist Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett. Initially working as a clinical psychologist, Lisa went on to study emotions and how our brains work, asking questions about the neuro-biological basis for mental and physical health. Lisa has written two books: The Secret Life of the Brain, about how emotions are made, and her...
“The minds who spend hours worshiping God in prayer and meditation are different yet more blessed than others.” – Barbara Bradley Hagerty The power of prayer and meditation cannot be overlooked. In today’s busy life, the importance of meditation and prayer has increased multifold. Not only do they bring much-needed peace to the increasingly materialistic mind, but they also enhance character traits that are essential for success in life. Prayer and meditation are the ways to know the meaning...
Good morning, PACEs Connection. On Monday 10th May, there will be a full-day symposium (9am to 3pm) on "Early Life Stress and Mental Health" by the Picower Institute at MIT. Speakers include Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris and the amazing, Bryan Stevenson, founder of Equal Justice Initiative. Here's an extract from the promo: "In what ways are health and other outcomes affected by early life difficulty? What can individuals and institutions do to enhance opportunity? The Picower Institute for...
Dear Friends: Hope you all have been doing well! I’m writing to share a two-minute video we’ve created to highlight the work of Heal SF, Healing City Baltimore, and St. Louis ReCAST. These groups are doing incredible work: transforming systems to support frontline workers, building community connections, and funding projects that matter to the community. Amidst the pandemic, adverse climate events, and ongoing racial injustices that have strained our mental wellbeing, community-led efforts...
On April 29, 2021, the California Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative held a webinar entitled, “Family Experiences During COVID-19 Pandemic Data.” The purpose of this webinar was to share findings from wave 1 of the Family Experiences During COVID-19 Pandemic Questionnaire that was administered in November 2020. Drs. Robert Sege from the HOPE Project at Tufts Medical Center and Lori Turk-Bicakci from the KidsData program at PRB provided an overview of the questionnaire, summarized...
We face both a generational opportunity and a challenging conversation, as the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) initiative moves forward with the important step of DHCS seeking federal approval of the 1115 demonstration amendment and 1915(b) waiver . The welcome improvements realized by the CalAIM process appear to have been eroded in DHCS’ current 1915(b) waiver proposal by a set of contradictory requirements, new screening obligations, lack of clarity, and a...
Although mental health and wellness is our primary focus EVERY DAY at Western Youth Services (WYS). May is Mental Health Awareness month
A recent video , shared on the national news, shows a 16-year-old Florida student being slammed to the ground by a police officer working at her school. It’s one of many such incidents of school-based police violence against students captured in videos around the country. Some of the victims are as young as five years old. About 47% of U.S. schools employ armed police officers , known as school resource officers, who are there to keep students safe. But students who attend these schools...
By David Finkelhor and Lucy Berliner, JAMA Internal Medicine, May 3, 2021 The heartfelt essay by Dr Austin captures well the experience of many survivors of childhood sexual abuse and other traumatic and adverse experiences. Faced with medical history questionnaires, they may feel ambivalent about disclosing and disappointed with the follow-up when they do. As she points out, screening for the variety of adverse experiences has been rapidly increasing, in wake of the recognition of their...
By Nader Issa, Chicago Sun Times, April 22, 2021 Attention faded in recent months on the movement to remove uniformed police officers from Chicago Public Schools, particularly while high schools remained closed because of COVID-19. But when high schoolers returned to classrooms this week for the first time in 13 months, they also had to deal with fresh trauma from police violence. The city’s latest death at the hands of Chicago police, that of 13-year-old Adam Toledo last month in Little...
Brandon Jones describes himself this way: “I’m a down-to-earth psychotherapist, professor, and family man dedicated to helping those who want to heal.” Jones grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, which has been averaging a police-involved death every year over the past five years . Gun violence in African American, Somali, Latin x and indigenous gangs “have all found a home here in the Twin Cities . ” “George Floyd was the tip of the iceberg,” says the PACEs advocate, psychotherapist, consultant...
During this year’s Resilience Week VA , the Greater Richmond Trauma-Informed Community Network (GR-TICN) is focusing on seven different themes that allow for a holistic understanding of resilience. One of my favorite themes of the week is Happiness & Play. As adults, it can be easy to forget the importance of playfulness, creativity, and our imagination. Our lives quickly become filled with numerous responsibilities and tasks, and it can feel nearly impossible to find a moment to...