Blog

Self-care is not easy. Self-care during a crisis can be impossible. I am the "rock" in my family. Which means I am the one who ensures toilet paper is well stocked, healthy foods are stocked (especially before big tests), everyone gets transported safely where they need to go, and I am the one who consciously works to empower and support. I often picture myself as a giant pitcher of water, filling everyone's cup, even before they are thirsty. However, eventually my pitcher empties, and it is...

As research shows an increasingly powerful correlation between childhood trauma and addiction, incarceration and even early death, a new legislative panel is trying to improve the state’s response to the issue. It’s been nearly 20 years since a landmark study quantified the long-term impact of childhood traumas, but not everybody thinks the social science has gotten the spotlight it deserves. “Bottom line, what we’re trying to do is help spread the word so more people know about this, and we...

They're the faces of children: The 17-year-old sniper with the delicate features and sad, boyish look who took part in a deadly shooting spree that terrorized the nation's capital. The chubby-faced 14-year-old with tears streaming down his cheeks after he was sentenced to life in prison for stomping to death a 6-year-old girl when he was only 12. As their crimes and their youth shocked the country, the cases of Lee Malvo and Lionel Tate also renewed a debate that for many years has been...

Like many high school graduates in Brazil, Caroline was eager to find a job. She desperately needed money to continue her studies and pursue her dream of becoming an engineer. But two years after graduating, she was still unemployed. Caroline eventually managed to improve her job prospects in an unlikely way—through drawing, dance and breath work. Intent on breaking free from a family history of women who weren’t able to get good jobs or finish high school, Caroline discovered a job training...

September opens with both an annual observation of National Childhood Obesity Month, as well as an urgent call by healthcare professionals across the nation to reduce the increase of overweight and obese Black children – which are at critically high numbers. Some data, including that offered by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust of America’s Health, cite both an overall increase in overweight and obesity rates among Black children and faster and earlier rates of severe weight...

"We had a parent go by and check on the chickens. They were fine and Wilson the cat was ok too! I know many people are concerned. What a wonderful community we have." For the staff of Wilson Montessori, a public pre-K-8 school in Houston, the days after Harvey meant tracking down members of the community via text, collecting donations for those in need — and reassuring students about the fate of the school's pets. Belva Parrish, the counselor at Wilson and a 25-year veteran of Houston's...

“I did not raise you to cry,” my father would say when I fell off my bike, as he poured rubbing alcohol on my bloody 6-year-old knees. Not hydrogen peroxide — alcohol. Whenever I cried, which was usually when I did not get an A on a math test or saw a lost-dog poster or read about Anne Frank, my parents, immigrants from Ecuador, handed me a mirror to observe myself. They wanted to desensitize me to my own tears, to line my small heart with bulletproof glass, even if doing so meant making me...

The children upended by Hurricane Katrina have no psychological playbook for the youngsters displaced by Harvey, or those in the path of Irma, the hurricane spinning toward Florida. In the aftermath of Harvey, more than 160 public school districts and 30 charter schools have closed in the sprawling Houston metropolitan area. Families have scrambled to higher ground, some to other cities like Dallas or San Antonio, others into shelters. Thousands of children will have to adjust on the fly,...

This webinar is offered from PESI, Inc. You need to register through an email to watch this free webinar. Free CE available. Good overview for those of you that haven't seen the controversial series (or for those like me that watched it and had a lot of mixed feelings about it and want to know more) . The psychologist focuses on how trauma permeates throughout the series for most characters. She identities important gaps in the show and talks about risk factors for teens, and new scary...

The devastation caused by hurricanes can be overwhelming to anyone, but poses unique challenges for children. Compared to adults, children suffer more from exposure to disasters --including psychological, behavioral, and physical problems, as well as difficulties learning in school. While a nationally representative study found that 14 percent of children in the United States (ages 2-17 years) have experienced a disaster , most will never have direct experience. However, even those who hear...

A new study from the University of Iowa may have discovered one reason for child neglect in drug-addicted mothers. Lane Strathearn, a UI professor of pediatrics, and Assistant Professor Sohye Kim of the Baylor College of Medicine recently collaborated on a study that produced data on the correlation between drug use and the disassociation that drug-addicted mothers may feel about their children. The data, recently published online in the journal Human Brain Mapping, is on the second phase of...

How do you use 20 pieces of spaghetti, some tape, and a piece of string to build the biggest tower you can that will support a single marshmallow? Designer Peter Skillman has given this challenge to everyone from Stanford students to Taiwanese engineers, and one group is the clear winner: kindergarteners. It turns out this Marshmallow Challenge is a good metaphor for life: The path to success isn’t all that straightforward (at least for adults). We often find ourselves getting stuck before...