Blog

When a family is hit with trauma, it can be difficult to know how the youngest and most vulnerable members may be affected. Young children often do not have the words to express how they are feeling, or may act out in ways that are unexpected. Fortunately, many resources are available to help families experiencing a crisis, and help young children work through negative emotions. The book “Once I Was Very, Very, Scared” By Chandra Ghosh Ippen, can help children see the different ways one...

"New Approaches and Global Developments Addressing Violence and Abuse across the Lifespan" November 29-30, 2018 in Tallahassee, FL Featured plenary speaker: Dr. Vincent Felitti https://avahealthorg.presencehost.net/events/calendar.html/event/2018/11/30/2018-ava-global-health-summit-tallahassee-fl/194106

In June, M., a 28-year-old woman jumped from the second floor of her home in Madurai, India — 20 feet above a rocky, tar road — after a bitter argument with her husband. He had accused her of having an affair. This was M.'s second attempt to kill herself. She survived the fall. M. had been prescribed antidepressants after her first suicide attempt seven years before but had stopped taking them. She was admitted to Madurai's Government Rajaji hospital shortly after her second suicide attempt.

Part of what amazes me about foster youth is our ability to survive and love despite the never-ending hardships that follow us. What amazes me even more is our ability to know and believe love exists, even though most foster youth — including myself — never received enough love growing up. It is this resilience that sets us apart from all other communities — far from a negligible quality, it amounts to one of our greatest strengths. If you had asked me what love was when I was 13 years old...

The number of murders and other violent crimes dipped slightly in the United States last year, according to crime statistics released Monday by the FBI that suggest the rise of violent crimes in recent years may be ending. Rapes rose 3 percent in 2017, according to the data, while cases of manslaughter and murder decreased 0.7 percent compared with the previous year. Aggravated assault cases increased 1 percent, while overall violent crimes dropped ­0.2 percent. The figures suggest that a...

Why we should be concerned about ACEs Stephanie Guthman Published Sep 26, 2018 at 8:0 0 am (Updated Sep 26, 2018 at 7:47 am) This is a story about Jordan, a seven-year-old boy who lives in a two-bedroom apartment in a neighbourhood close to town, along with his mother, grandmother and three siblings. They all have to share one tiny bathroom. When Jordan was 5, he watched as his father was arrested by the police and taken away in handcuffs in the middle of the night. Jordan hasn’t seen him...

From veterans returning from Iraq, to survivors of mass shootings, to those putting together the pieces after a hurricane--we know that the emotional and psychological scars of violence and tragedies sometimes last even longer than physical wounds. But what is the psychological toll on those who help victims of traumatic experiences? We talk with Dr. Megan Berthold, professor of social work at UConn, about the often-unrecognized "secondary" trauma that first responders, journalists, and aid...

On a muggy Saturday morning in August, 18-year-old Dajourn Anuku stood outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City, wearing cutoff jean shorts and a baseball cap sporting the phrase “Be Humble.” A large, meaty kid, Dajourn was sweating beneath the weight of his massive backpack and a plastic shopping bag stuffed with laundry detergent, paper towels, and dryer sheets. Earlier that morning, he’d lugged all of this from a Georgetown University dorm room to his bus, where the driver...

Ten years ago, the subprime-mortgage crisis stripped millions of Americans of their homes. Many haven’t gotten those homes back and now face skyrocketing rents. Ask an economist, or any recent graduate trying to afford rent, and they’ll tell you: America is still in a housing crisis. On Tuesday, Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced a bill tackling the issue head on, trying to lower the cost of homes in neighborhoods with greater economic opportunity. The legislation, titled the American...

Researcher Keith Payne has found something surprising: When people flying coach are forced to walk past the pampered first-class flyers in the front of the plane, the likelihood of some sort of air rage incident rises sharply. In his 2017 book The Broken Ladder , Payne, a social psychologist at the University of North Carolina, argues that humans are hardwired to notice relative differences. When we’re reminded that we’re poorer or less powerful than others, we become less healthy, more...

(HealthDay)—American teens whose behavior, appearance or lifestyle do not conform to widely held views on what it is to be a "normal" male or female face a high risk for mental distress and drug abuse, new research warns. The findings were culled from a national survey exploring the psychological risk profiles of teens who described themselves as " gender nonconforming." The poll enlisted more than 6,000 students enrolled in high schools in three large urban school districts across...

The Department of Homeland Security announced a proposed rule on Friday that would penalize immigrants seeking permanent status who use public benefit programs such as food assistance and housing vouchers. Under the new policy, those who seek financial help could risk losing their chance at a green card. Already, the federal government can deny permanent resident status or admission to the United States to immigrants deemed a " public charge "—dependent on cash benefits such as Temporary...