Blog

Twenty years of research have established the connection between adverse childhood experiences and long-term health. Now researchers are looking for ways to measure the biology behind the correlation and try to reverse it.

Topics include: Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy; Early Attachment Injuries; Adult Children of Alcoholics; Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP); Journey through Trauma; Hope; Emotional Abuse; Addiction Recovery; Impact of Psychological Trauma; and Healing Depression

Across the United States, communities are coming together to understand the impact that childhood trauma can have in adulthood and to create environments where children are free from harm. The Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC) podcast series features leaders from cross-sector networks that are moving this approach forward on a broad scale. “Networks are so effective at addressing trauma in communities because they harness the power of organized people, resources, and ideas.

Many people with #ACE’s (Adverse Childhood Experiences) are finding that the early #trauma and sense of unsafety they endured growing up are being re-triggered during these fear-laden times, amidst the #Covid #pandemic, political upheaval, and feeling isolated. Stress and uncertainty can trigger old, sticky feelings of fear, anxiety, or loss from long ago and bring up new, painful negative thoughts and physical symptoms. This can be true even when we’ve worked really hard to resolve our...

WHYY photo credit[/caption] My school district announced that four more schools will be closed at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year. This devastating news prompted me to write this letter that will be combined with other school staff, families, and students to ask our state and national leaders to SAVE OUR SCHOOLS. This is my twentieth year as a school nurse serving the students, families, and staff of the Camden City School District. My first twelve years were spent at Cooper’s...

By Jessica Dym Bartlett and Brandon Stratford, Child Trends, January 28, 2021 The social, emotional, and behavioral well-being of children and youth is a critical aspect of human development that lays the foundation for lifelong health and well-being. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, as many as one in five children had a diagnosed mental health disorder . While research on the pandemic’s effects on mental health is still in the early stages, current evidence shows a surge in anxiety and...

By Sarah Fowler, The Lily, January 29, 2021 Two weeks to the day before newly sworn in Vice President Harris walked through the halls of the U.S. Capitol — robed in bright purple, making history as the first woman, the first Black American and the first Indian American in the role — another female lawmaker of color hid in the dark, barricaded against a violent pro-Trump mob that had breached the building. They were mere feet from her door. On Jan. 6, after the last of the rioters trickled...

By Adam Grant, The New York Times, January 31, 2021 A few years ago, I made the mistake of having an argument with the most stubborn person I know. R., whose initial I’m using to protect his privacy, is a longtime friend, and when his family came to visit, he mentioned that his children had never been vaccinated — and never would be. I’m no proponent of blindly giving every vaccination to every newborn, but I was concerned for his children’s safety, so I started debunking some common vaccine...

By Michael Fitzgerald, The Imprint, January 26, 2021 The leader of a prominent foster care reform group – who spent time as a child in foster care herself, a searing experience that she’s said shaped her work as a congressional policy adviser – has been appointed to a senior role in President Joe Biden’s administration, according to tweets and website updates today from her organization, Foster America. Sherry Lachman will become associate director for education, income maintenance and labor...

In this installment of A Better Normal community discussion, ACEs Connection's Race & Equity workgroup reconvenes and discusses ACEs Connection’s internal processes to address racism, racial trauma and civil unrest. In this discussion, we will highlight the five ways ACEs initiatives, including our own, get DEI wrong. Discussions will include racial trauma, historical trauma, healing centered practices and effective DEI strategies. In addition to our internal processes, ACEs Connection...

By Richard A. Bryant, Clinical Psychology Review, January 24, 2021 Abstract Although many attempts have been made to limit development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by early intervention after trauma exposure, these attempts have achieved only modest success. This review critiques the biological and cognitive strategies used for early intervention and outlines the extent to which they have prevented PTSD. The major predictors of PTSD are reviewed, with an emphasis on potential...

The New River Valley (NRV) Resiliency Network is a fantastic example of the importance of a trauma-informed response to your network itself. When the pandemic hit in March, many of us were forced to halt business-as-usual and imagine different approaches to our work and our daily lives. Andi Golusky, executive director of NRV CARES, is the NRV Resiliency Network Co-Coordinator with James Pritchett, Executive Director of New River Valley Community Services (NRVCS). Andi describes the time the...