Blog

By Trudy Lieberman, Center for Health Journalism, March 5, 2020 It’s hardly a secret that health care is a dominant theme this election season. It has been the subject of almost every Democratic debate, fodder for political pundits, and top of mind for voters. Exit polls in the early primary states indicate “Medicare for All” motivated large numbers of voters. Last summer well-known Harvard health policy and polling expert Dr. Robert Blendon prophesized that the election hot topic would be...

By Emily Tate, Public Broadcasting Service, March 10, 2020 In the living room of his mother’s apartment, a threadbare two-story unit next to the train tracks, Ryder pulls out bulky plastic toys from a bin and wonders aloud about how they work, smiling toothily, mumbling along to “Baby Shark” and occasionally popping another fruit-flavored gummy into his mouth. Although he maneuvers from one activity to the next with the energy and ease of a typical tyke, Ryder, at age 4, has been exposed to...

It is no secret that many Americans have gone through past trauma. Many people believe that only certain people have gone through trauma such as only people who have served in a war or those who have gone through mass shooting. These are only two examples of trauma, there are actually a lot more situations in which people experience trauma. Some examples are: childhood sexual abuse (CSA), violent or toxic relationships, childhood abuse like neglect or violence, and any time a person has felt...

Rhiannon is your guide back to yourself. As a bodywork therapist, she focuses on healing chronic pain and the physical after effects of trauma. She helps you to change your relationship with your body so you have a solid, safe foundation to go out and change the world.

State Senator Harriette Chandler: “You are in the trenches, in the weeds and in the field, this is your issue,” emphasizing that all the parties that came to the table in that room had a role in helping Massachusetts become a more trauma informed and responsive state.

By Amanda Merck, Salud America!, February 26, 2020 Communities are increasingly concerned about the rise of poverty, homelessness, trauma, and opioids among children and families. However, few states address these issues by investing money in Head Start programs, which are proven to strengthen families, promote school readiness, and improve child health. The good news is that lawmakers in 14 states are investing over $400 million each budget cycle for local Head Start and Early Head Start...

There is one ACE in particular that can result in a child experiencing 8 additional ACEs measured in the ACE Study. That particular ACE is having a parent who abused alcohol or other drugs or was addicted to alcohol or other drugs. As someone with 40+ years of experience coping with various loved ones who drank too much and 16+ years of work studying the scientific research on brain development, ACEs , alcohol use disorders , and the family member's experience , this fact is especially near...

photo credit: VG Stockstudio/Shutterstock.com by Alice M. Kenny (pseudonym) (The article below is an excerpt from my new book, Crazy Was All I Ever Knew: The Impact of Maternal Mental Illness on Kid s. I have used a pseudonym to protect the privacy of family members.) It’s not as if you wake up one day and say, “I’m going to be anorexic. I’m going to shrink away and dwindle down to nothing.” The disorder takes hold with Svengali power, and it steals the very life out of you. Oddly enough,...

PSSST! Spoiler Alert!!! Educator friends and parents! Please hear me. I’m going to tell you what’s inside the nutshell. Trauma-informed is NOT about changing the kids. It’s about changing US. You see I have a child that had debilitating meltdowns for YEARS. I became a trauma-informed parent and I taught him all the good stuff about his amygdala and cortisol and oxytocin and water and air. And it started clicking and one night he runs into the room shouting and stomping his feet, “I’m...

This 3-Part series was created to support schools and organizations in planning and implementing effective program evaluation for trauma-informed care (TIC) interventions. Enjoy these excerpts from Part 3 . CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ALL OF PART 3 AND THE WHOLE SERIES FOR FREE Part 3: The Basics of Trauma-Informed Care Program Evaluation ________________________________________ The Measuring Trauma-Informed Care Series was created by the Traumatic Stress Institute (TSI) , a global leader in TIC...

By Robert T. Muller, Psychology Today, March 11, 2020 When she was a young girl, Danielle (name changed) was recruited into domestic sex trafficking from her long-term foster home. She was only able to leave this life once her mother regained custody of her. Sex trafficking, a term used to describe the phenomenon of individuals performing commercial sex through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, is an epidemic. It affects about 25 million people globally. The US-based National Human...

By Melissa Valle, Thrive Global, March 10, 2020 The Brain is the only organ that is not fully developed at birth, as a child begins to grow different stages of their development are attached to different parts and functions of the brain. The impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences is dependent on the stage of development at which the trauma occurs which will help to determine the way children shut down or hide their pain. For example, if a child experiences trauma at a stage in which they...