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Brandy Bowlen has transformed her school community by first taking a stand for her own health and well-being. This is not an easy feat for nurses. Eight years ago, when Brandy was a new school nurse, she found herself overwhelmed, overstressed and overweight. She became a warrior for self-care, connecting the importance that her professional persona would be most impactful if she presented herself as an example. Brandy shares her journey to wellness for herself and her school community.

What it is & How it Looks High-Functioning Depression is a form of the illness that is not intense enough to noticeably affect the ability to perform daily responsibilities such as work and domestic duties but can persist for years, leading to more functional impairment over time than acute episodes of major depression. What does it feel like to live with high functioning depression? High functioning depression can hit you at random times. Most of the time you are living your best life,...

Sitting in the lobby area outside a courtroom I felt the tension and anxiety of children and adults who were waiting for their turn to meet with the judge. They were waiting to understand their immigration status in the United States. As I watched the children and adults converse with each other, the door to the courtroom abruptly swung open and a young child crying in front of a police officer walked towards me. The officer asked if the child could sit next to me. I said yes and heard the...

The NPPC team at the Center for Youth Wellness is excited to share details about our second cohort of Pilot Sites, our ACEs webinar series with OptumHealth education and our new podcast series: ‘Voices from the Field’. Read on to find out more. Apply for the National Pediatric Practice Community Pilot Site Cohort 2! The National Pediatric Practice Community(NPPC) is pleased to open the application process for NPPC's second cohort of pilot sites. Participation will not only support your...

There is no statistical data collected on trauma, and adverse childhood experiences anywhere in Australia and the North-West Coast and West Coast of Tasmania is a region that can be a leader in this area. That was the main message presented to a packed out trauma awareness forum at Ulverstone on Tuesday, according to Mersey MLC Mike Gaffney. Mr Gaffney, a supporter of the newly-formed North-West-based grassroots organization Trauma Awareness Network Australia, said the forum welcomed the...

New Mexico may soon join the majority of states in offering “extended foster care” to youth ages 18 to 21, if a proposed bill makes it to the desk of new Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D). Senate Bill 23, sponsored by Senators Michael Padilla (D) and Candace Gould (R), will receive a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. The bill would extend the upper age of foster care to 21, linking older youth to such services as independent living support and continued case management.

Most ballet dancers get started as young children, while their bodies and minds are most pliable for learning the discipline. But Antonio White, 21, didn’t step foot in a dance studio until well into his teenage years. “I saw it on TV a long time ago, and I always wanted to do it,” he said about his aspirations to become a dancer, adding that he discussed it with everybody he knew. But given White’s economic circumstances, paying expensive tuition and buying pricey dance wear wasn’t an...

Part 2: By K. Hecht, A. Hosack, P. Berman I am all alone. I will always be alone. No one cares whether I live or die. Nurse Karin has checked on Claire almost every hour. She agrees with the Head Nurse-Claire is showing all the warning signs of a high-risk pregnancy; Claire had no expected due date, no family obstetrician or prenatal care, she is only 15, and there are no signs of family support. Nurse Karin kept checking at the nursing station, but no one had even placed a call to check in...

Sustaining Futures will strengthen education programs for incarcerated individuals by training California Community College faculty and staff on trauma and resilience.

Those who struggle with ACE’s have a tendency to focus on the negative as a means of self-protection. We fear opening our hearts because of the brutality we experienced in early childhood when our hearts were already open. It takes a tremendous amount of inner work to free our energy from continuing to produce the false barrier of protection, which constitutes our barrier to experiencing all of the love and joy and support that we long for. In this article I offer an alternative view that...

HERE this NOW is thrilled to announce its first annual Trauma-Responsive Schools Conference. The event will take place May 9th-May 11th at The Woodbound Inn in Rindge, NH. The event locale was selected for its central location in New England (2-hours from Boston, 3-hours from Portland, 4-hours from Albany). This conference experience will be unlike other conference formats. Registration is limited to 40 participants to maximize psychological safety, depth of learning, and individualized...

"The Trauma-Sensitive Schools Training Package offers school and district administrators and staff a framework and roadmap for adopting a trauma-sensitive approach school- or districtwide. The Training Package includes a variety of resources for educating school staff about trauma and trauma-sensitive practices and for providing school leaders with a step-by-step process for implementing a universal, trauma-informed approach using package materials..." This is a great training package that...