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The inputs a brain experiences during its developmental stages have a profound impact on whether that person will develop a substance use disorder (if they choose to drink or use other drugs). In turn, developing a substance use disorder (SUD) as a tween, teen, or young adult dramatically influences that person's brain development. And why is understanding this causality important? The risk factors for developing a substance use disorder are the result of inputs the brain experiences (or...

UCSF News Services: California Selects UCSFTrauma Screening Tool for Statewide Initiative to Combat Adverse Childhood Experiences.http://ucsf.edu/news/2019/12/416111/california-selects-ucsf-trauma-screening-tool-statewide-initiative-combat

Kevin A. Johnson Adler Graduate School Minnetonka, MN I was first introduced to ACE study while I was working on my undergraduate degree in psychology. I was working as an intern at an outpatient, gender-responsive, trauma-informed MICD facility. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn the nuances of providing a special level of care to a very resilient population. The curriculum that was being used was written by Dr. Stephanie Covington and Richard Dauer. During my time at this site, I had...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified child maltreatment as a major public health concern, and adult survivors of child maltreatment are at significant risk of chronic disease and premature mortality. This constant exposure to child maltreatment makes these health care practitioners uniquely vulnerable to stressors associated with burnout.

Dr. Kristina Brinkerhoff, a consultant, keynote speaker, presenter and trainer, leverages over 20 years of experience as a teacher, principal, superintendent and adoptive mom of five foster children, to help educators gain an understanding of the effects Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and the importance of trauma informed practice in schools.

https://digest.bps.org.uk/2019/12/03/the-psychological-impacts-of-poverty-digested/

After practicing psychotherapy for several years, disgust emerged as an important emotion for trauma healing.

By G. William Hogland, MedPage Today, December 4, 2019 Fifty years ago this week (Dec. 2-4, 1969), President Nixon called to order the first and only White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health. The conference grew out of the public's shock from Congressional testimony that there were malnourished children in the U.S. who were "hungry, weak, apathetic ... exactly what 'starvation' means." It was largely because of this testimony that I began my public career seeking solutions to...

By Janine Zeitlin, The New York Times, December 2, 2019 Damariya Carlisle, age 9, jumped as an instructor hauled a crab pot onto the steel deck of the barge docked on the Elizabeth River, a Chesapeake tributary in Norfolk, Va. She marveled at the Atlantic blue crabs’ claws but worried they might pinch her. The visit was part of a fourth-grade class trip in October. “They get to see and feel real crabs,” said Janet Goldbach Ehmer, an educator with the Elizabeth River Project who pulled the...

Many people use the phrase CPTSD to stand for PTSD from complex trauma. To me, C-PTSD means cancer and PTSD. I have cancer and I’m a trauma survivor. I’m a survivor with cancer but not yet a cancer survivor. Will I be a survivor squared?

Okay! So, after getting YOUR answers to my crowdsourcing question (thank you for the 100 responses on Facebook and Instagram !): "What do you want to see from me on social media?" the overwhelming #1 response was more nuggets of science, offered with the shared sense that I understand YOUR struggles, I see your suffering. And I do. Oh, you have no idea how much I do. So, with that in mind, here's a nugget of science about How Genes Respond to Trauma and Stress . Some genes, like the ones...

Here is the link from this week's LIVE "Hope for the Holidays" video event! https://youtu.be/_5Gy2BXCzPk