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On February 22, Dr. Josh Gettinger (Family Medicine doctor & Faculty with MAHEC Family Medicine Residency) along with Melissa Baker (Director of Community Population Health at MAHEC) gave a presentation to a group of retired individuals about the science of ACEs. This was part of Hermann Gucinski's class at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville campus. "The Best Science Changes the Way We See the World" ... this was the title of the first slide, over an image of the...

As someone with post-traumatic stress, I've experienced a good deal of anxiety, wound tightness and being easily startled. But with age, I see anxiety less as a threat and more as a thermometer telling me my temperature has changed. It would be a total lie to say I welcome or enjoy anxiety. Because. No. I do not. But I am grateful to what anxiety is attempting. I wrote about my own changing relationship with anxiety for Psych Central. Here's an excerpt: "I refuse to hate you. Im not going to...

As a research topic, Intimate Relationships are not well understood in Indian Country. This article, [ LINK HERE ] soon to be published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, is a first small step in addressing this gap. Decades ago, I spoke about the difficulties of parenting when you had no examples to emulate. As a boy, I changed diapers, fed babies, soothed fussiness and performed scores of other child care tasks. During one of our early morning talks, my Mother told me that she was...

A Thrive Summit was held this week in Ketchikan, Alaska. Childhood Trauma was the topic. It's great to see communities coming together in an effort to understand the impact of childhood trauma in their collective lives. AGENDA LINK HERE

When Rosa Ana Lozada trains probation officers in San Diego County, she asks, How many of you have heard the term trauma-informed care? Then she says, The good news is that youre already doing it. This is how we hope youll be more mindful about how to do it. The four-hour training, which covers early childhood trauma and its reach across the lifespan, behavioral symptoms of trauma and effective strategies to avoid re-traumatizing youth, has reached more than 700 of the countys 1100 sworn...

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has been been tasked by President Obama with tackling heroin and opioid abuse in rural America. It turns out he has some personal experience with that problem in his family. Secretary Vilsack talks with Here & Nows Robin Young about the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agenda for 2016. Note: This is the first part of a two-part conversation. Part two will air tomorrow in the 1 p.m./3 p.m. Eastern hour of the show. Interview Highlights: Sec. Tom...

State governments are at the front lines of the countrys epidemic of drug overdose deaths. Thats why it is important that the National Governors Association says it will come up with protocols for dispensing prescription painkillers that are among the biggest sources of addiction and abuse in the country. The protocols, or guidelines, would restrict how and under what circumstances doctors could prescribe a category of pain drugs known as opioids. They might, for example, impose limits on...

Across the U.S., more than 20 million people abuse drugs or alcohol or both. Only about 1 in 10 is getting treatment . People seeking treatment often have to wait weeks or months for help. The delays can jeopardize the chances they'll be able to recover from their addiction. In Baltimore, Health Commissioner Leana Wen has been pushing for treatment on demand, so that the moment people decide they're ready for help, it's available. It's something other health officials have sought to achieve,...

WARNING: This is part of a series of stories to be published over the next few weeks that contain potentially trauma-triggering material. Mary G., whose story as a sex trafficking survivor in Duluth was told by ICTMN in 2012 (Native Girls Are Being Exploited and Destroyed at an Alarming Rate), had terrible problems convincing the administrators of her Section 8 housing to allow her daughter Hope to live with her. Hope, also a trafficking survivor, has convictions for prostitution as well as...

The Trauma Response Team that pairs Milwaukee police officers and county mental health professionals has helped between 35 and 40 families since its creation seven months ago, officials said Wednesday. The team operates in Milwaukee Police District 7, on the city's northwest side. First-responding officers who can see if children witnessed shootings, car crashes or other traumatic events refer families to the team, which then follows up with those who choose to participate and offers...

In recent years, college campuses have been rocked by black students protesting racial bigotry, and womens groups denouncing sexual harassment. But in the age of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trumps class-based politics, were beginning to see something new: the rise of low-income and working-class students protesting longstanding inequalities on campus that in the previous decades were mostly ignored. The new movement took center stage this past weekend as the Harvard College First-Generation...

In 1846, Dred Scott began his infamous legal battle in what is now called the Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis. Scott had traveled with his master from Missouri to Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory, neither of which recognized slavery. Having lived for an extended period in free territory, Scott argued that state law supported his claim to freedom. But the Missouri Supreme Court disagreed. The courts message to Scott was clear: Perhaps you can live freely elsewhere, but not here. More...