Blog

Wellness at the workplace during this time of change Can Workplace Wellness practices be done virtually in the midst of the continuing pandemic and social distancing? How do you start a Workplace Wellness practice? How does it make a difference? How do staff respond? Join us for this conversation on staff wellness and resiliency programming with Troy L. Brindle , Senior Vice President and COO of Access Services and National Vice President of Behavioral Health Integration for Refresh Mental...

1/20/21, positiveexperience.org/blog “For those who are telling me to keep my mouth shut, I can’t do that…I’m not going to segregate my moral concerns. And we must know on some positions, cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’ But conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there’re times when you must take a stand that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but you must do it because it is...

We all know that burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary/vicarious trauma are problems in the helping and healing professions. The Job Demands and Resources Model provides trauma-informed leaders a simple way to evaluate and mitigate the impact of stress and trauma on their workforce. In this three-episode series, the Trauma-Informed Lens Podcast explores this model with the added bonus of examing how biometrics can help quantify organizational stress. ...

Looking for a supportive, low key place to be with others who work with young children, families, and communities? Consider joining our Community of Practice (fee free). The top priority for this C of P is thrive through soft, clear connection. Weekly Ask = 35 Minutes Ways to show up: ≤ 5 minutes = read blog post(it) (ships on Tuesday mornings EST) - It's a 3x3 inch note! 30 minutes = either Zoom OR chat via keyboard on C of P site Zoom >>> Thursdays, 7:30 - 8pm EST or 8 - 8:30pm...

Save A Warrior (SAW) CURRICULUM OVERVIEW The Save A Warrior (SAW) program helps save military and first responders dealing with crushing diagnosis, complex post-traumatic stress. Save A Warrior (SAW) is committed to addressing the staggering suicide rate plaguing our Military and First Responder communities. http://www.saveawarrior.org/home Key Authors Informing the SAW Curriculum: 1. Man and His Symbols (Jung) 2. The Road Less Traveled (Peck) 3. The Body Keeps the Score (van der Kolk) 4.

By Keri Blakinger, The Marshall Project, January 19, 2021 When his father died last year of an overdose* , * Rodney Watson thought he would miss the funeral and his last chance to say goodbye—not because of the pandemic, but because he was in jail. Watson, 36, was awaiting trial in Houston after shooting and wounding his brother during a fight, an act he swears was unintentional. In the past, Watson’s incarceration could have forced him to miss the elegant church funeral with the white roses...

By Wendy Ellis, Tia Sheree Gaynor, and Laura Huerta Migus, The Columbus Dispatch, January 18, 2021 Six days into the new year, a mob of thousands of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and attempted a coup, surrounded by symbols of white supremacy. For centuries, narratives in the United States have projected an image of a democracy built on the promises of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In reality, this narrative fails to acknowledge the incongruous truths of the...

By Lauren D. Nephew, EClinical Medicine, January 18, 2021 On December 19, 2020 I received my first dose of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine. I had decided only about 10 days before to take the vaccine in the first round, if given the opportunity. My hesitation may come as a surprise to some. As a physician, scientist, and epidemiologist, many may have thought that I would be ready, with my sleeve up, as soon as the Phase 3 clinical trials began. However, long before I was a physician...

By Megan Conn, The Imprint, January 13, 2021 Ten months into a deadly pandemic that continues to wreak havoc on society and the economy, a federal relief package bundled extra child welfare money to states with a new rule: You can’t let foster youth age out into adulthood during the ongoing coronavirus emergency. The news was welcomed by New York child welfare advocates, who had spent much of the past year appealing to Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) for a statewide moratorium on aging out of foster...

By Beata Mostafavi, Michigan Health, January 18, 2021 An estimated one in five teenagers has symptoms of a mental health disorder such as depression or anxiety, and suicide is the second leading cause of death among teens. But the first person a teen confides in may not always be an adult – they may prefer to talk to another teen. And three-quarters of parents in a new national poll think peers better understand teen challenges, compared to teachers or counselors in the school. The majority...

While enduring this unprecedented pandemic with high infection and death rates for close to a year, we FINALLY have a COVID-19 vaccine. Whoo hoo right? Well, not so fast. While some people are jubilant over this scientific breakthrough, others are terrified and for good reason. There are those especially in under-served, under-privileged communities who are just plain scared in becoming vaccinated against the virus. Many of us are aware of the cruel Tuskeegee Study. The Tuskegee Study is...

Join Racial Truth & Reconciliation Virginia today, January 18, 3:00-4:45pm, as we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who embodied racial resilience, peacemaking, reconciliation, and justice. This event will authentically address Virginia’s reckoning of the past and reconciling of the present and examine the role that educational entities play in shedding light on historical trauma and the retelling of history. Participants will engage communities in pursuing their own journey of truth and...