Blog

During the COVID-19 crisis - learn about the increased risks to our children of grooming online including via gaming apps, which can lead to sexual exploitation and trafficking. Hear about ways to convey positive and empowering messages to children to keep them safe. Featuring: Lt. John Pizzuro, NJ ICAC Commander, NJSP Internet Crimes Against Children Unit & Jeffrey W. Anthony, Health Educator, Middlesex County Center for Empowerment Presented by the New Jersey Coalition Against Human...

By Bill Schubart, Apr 1 2020 Bill Schubart, a retired businessman, is a regular columnist for VTDigger. Do you know what an ACE is? It’s not your local hardware store, the winning card in your hand, nor your friend who plays professional tennis. It’s an increasingly used acronym for “adverse childhood experience.” Plumb your own childhood, and if you recall a deeply traumatic emotional event that altered who you are today, you’re familiar with ACEs. They include: Sexual, emotional, or...

By Jane Chevous, Sian Oram, and Concetta Perot, Violence Abuse and Mental Health Network, April 16, 2020 A new survivor-led report which was coordinated by Survivors' Voices , with the Violence, Abuse and Mental Health Network and The McPin Foundation has now been released. It contains relevant possible actions to support children who are 'off-radar' (unknown to any statutory services) during and post pandemic 'lockdown' periods. This report documents the results of a survivor-led and rapid...

By Michele Wojciechowski, MedPage Today, April 12, 2020 Nurses often treat victims of domestic violence. During normal times, they may be able to assist them in getting help to escape their cycle of abuse. But what happens during a pandemic? What happens when they are being told to quarantine? How can nurses assist in this case? Valerie Weir, BSN, RN, SAFE Domestic Violence Program Coordinator, discussed how nurses can help victims of domestic violence during this time. [ Please click here...

From Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, April 15, 2020 Introduction As our current reality underscores, we live in a dynamic world—where unforeseen global events; new technologies; scientific discoveries; changes in our climate, economy, demographics; and more—continually shape where and how we live, learn, work and play. These changes will profoundly impact health equity in our society, from our individual health and the health of our families to the health of our communities. What dramatic...

Jodie Skillicorn is an osteopathic physician board certified in Psychiatry and a diplomate of the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine. She integrates conventional medical training with evidence-based holistic methods that include breathwork, meditation, yoga, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), Mind-Body Medicine, energy medicine, nutrition, exercise, nature, and auricular acupuncture at

Community members working in Ottumwa, Iowa, have spread knowledge about ACEs and related topics and built champions for change—all without a formal coalition.

By Linda Jacobson; April 15, 2020 Dive Brief: Being an educator doesn’t mean an individual is naturally less biased toward students of color, but interventions can reduce prejudices, according to a study released Wednesday. In a test of implicit bias — in which respondents match white faces with “good” words and black faces with “bad” words — 77% of teachers demonstrated implicit bias, compared to 77.1% of non-teachers. And to measure explicit bias, the researchers, led by Jordan Starck, a...

by WILLIAM J. KOLE Associated Press, Wednesday, April 15th 2020 BOSTON (AP) — Seven years ago Wednesday, the unthinkable happened to Bobby O'Donnell: He was nearing the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon , where his family was gathered to cheer for him, when terrorist bombs killed three spectators and injured more than 260 others. His family escaped unscathed. Not O'Donnell, whose wounds were invisible and scarred his soul. “My injury,” he says, “was in my head.” It took years for...

Transforming Trauma: Soul Death and the Reclamation of the Soul – Healing Complex Trauma in Africa with Wangui Wanjiru The Transforming Trauma podcast welcomes special guest Wangui Wanjiru, a Kenyan clinical psychologist and first NARM Therapist on the African continent, who describes Soul Death, the Reclamation of the Soul, and the challenges of complex trauma care in Africa. Wangui describes the cultural orientation that’s very present in Kenyan culture, a key ingredient being the strong...

Reaching beyond the daily grind: Free, Easy, and Cheap options to achieve balance and a sense of control You like free and cheap strategies – read on! You already know the reality at this point - disrupted routine, boredom, kids home that demand attention, yearning for personal connection, trying to be productive and engage in meaningful activities. How do you reach beyond your current circumstances and bring color to your day, have structure, meaning, and texture in your life? Sinking into...

Human brains are hardwired to react viscerally to traumatic events. They then store those emotions in our central nervous, so that when we feel and experience similar future events, we will be alerted to new potential dangers. Emotional flashbacks, experienced by those living with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, are sudden and horrific, often prolonged, attacks from past highly traumatic events. Although these flashbacks are somewhat different than those experienced in post-traumatic...