Blog

The attached PowerPoint presentation refers to how ACEs interact with previous community development practices. It should be noted that the community action and community activism of Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay, and Saul Alinsky had their roots in the Chicago School of Sociology particularly the work of professors Park and Burgess (all three where graduate students there). Community Development was taught as a Sociology specialty at the department that Richard Poston created at Southern...

Keeping students and staff safe from harm in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic is the number one goal of all schools and districts as they plan for the 2020-21 school year. The next most important goal is to return as many staff and students to the school building as possible. The CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics have developed detailed guidelines so schools can make that happen. If for some reason schools are not able to meet these standards, they are choosing to move instruction to...

Recent research findings from Harvard reveal how certain traumatic experiences in childhood impact aging. Katie McLaughlin, associate professor of psychology and senior author of “Biological Aging in Childhood and Adolescence Following Experiences of Threat and Deprivation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis ,” explains how she and three colleagues investigated two different forms of childhood adversity and the effects on pubertal development, brain development, and cellular aging. The...

Loss is something each person experiences differently, often with unhealthy coping mechanisms as a result. Substance abuse is just one, but addiction can cause further harm to a family already suffering. Are you struggling with loss and addiction or love someone who is? We can help. Understanding the Relationship Between Grief and Addiction The powerful emotions that come with loss are often too much to bear. Alcohol and drugs can temporarily provide a welcome escape, however, it's easy to...

Do you know the unique needs of your law enforcement clients? Good mental health is just as essential as good physical health for law enforcement to be effective in keeping our country and our communities safe from crime and violence. Officers face a constant need to be vigilant, long hours and shift work, exposure to the daily tragedies of life, and regular interaction with people who are in crisis or hostile toward them.

I'm excited to announce that I just launched the Heart Rate Variability Podcast! In the first episode Jeff and I start exploring my new book Heart Rate Variability: Using Biometrics to Improve Outcomes in Trauma-Informed Organizations. You can find the podcast and get your free copy of the book at optimalhrv.com. Love to hear your thoughts and feedback.

By Brentin Mock, Bloomberg CityLab, July 31, 2020 Jeanette Kowalik, a Black woman, is the health commissioner for Milwaukee, a city that regularly ranks as one of the worst cities for livability for Black women . She now presides over the health future of a city that at one point was the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S., particularly for African Americans. The discovery that the majority of people with the virus in Milwaukee were middle-aged Black men was one of the first...

By Emma Williams, The Imprint, July 28, 2020 In a recent webinar about racism and policing hosted by the Northwestern Prison Education Program , abolitionist scholar and educator Erica Meiners noted that “avoiding the state’s language is a key tool for practitioners of reform and abolition.” Perhaps an area where this point is most salient is the debate over how to talk about the child welfare system. Parents, attorneys, advocates, abolitionists, and reformers of all stripes agree: The child...

Change is everywhere. How can mental health professionals guide traumatized families through these times of uncertainty? Family Systems Trauma | FST provides concrete tools and case examples that you can use immediately to help families prepare for school reentry, slow down family anxiety, and identify the root underlying cause of their trauma through what are called undercurrents. Join Dr. Scott Sells, founder of the Family Trauma Institute, to see how to quickly incorporate these tools...

8/5/20, positiveexperience.org/blog With public health measures surrounding Covid-19, many are feeling isolated from friends and family. The social isolation of the pandemic, as well as the recent resurgence in calls to dismantle all forms of racism, has emphasized the importance of civic and social engagement. Engagement, developing a sense of connectedness and “mattering,” is one of the 4 Building Blocks of HOPE . Illustrating the importance of engaging youth and empowering them to make...

By Nadine Burke Harris, STAT, August 4, 2020 The world is learning more about the uncommon but puzzling ways Covid-19 can show up in kids, keeping worried parents on the lookout for symptoms of the disease. We should also be concerned about how toxic stress brought on by the pandemic, or made worse by it, will affect children’s developing brains and bodies and their future health. In millions of households, kids are experiencing an incredible amount of stress and anxiety. They’ve lost the...

Masks are a necessity right now in high-risk situations. While most people can wear a mask with no problem, many children, teens, and even adults who suffer from trauma, anxiety, panic disorder, or sensory processing issues find mask-wearing to be an extremely distressful experience. Of course, everyone understands that the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected the lives of virtually every person in the nation, but as the pressure (and necessity) to wear masks continues to increase, more...