Blog

I am now looking to book more podcast guests into summer and fall 2020. My platform is one of hope and healing, therefore, I am looking to cover a variety of topics.

By Erin Brantley, Drishti Pillai, and Leighton Ku, JAMA Network Open, June 26, 2020 Key Points Español 中文 (Chinese) Question What are the associations between work requirements and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation for the overall target population and subpopulations? Findings In this pooled cross-sectional study of 866 000 low-income US adults, work requirements were associated with a 4.0 percentage point decrease in participation for the target population of childless...

By Lauren Barry, The Milford Daily News, June 27, 2020 When most people think of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) they likely picture an adult who has been in combat, a serious accident or experienced violence. Children can also have PTSD either from experiencing trauma directly or witnessing it. Childhood trauma can be from a specific event like a car accident or dog bite, but it can also include witnessing domestic violence or enduring neglect or abuse. Children diagnosed with PTSD...

By Emily Deruy, The Mercury News, June 26, 2020 Kaiser Permanente said Friday it plans to put $100 million toward addressing the systemic racism and lack of economic opportunity that have hurt the health of Blacks and other people of color in the U.S. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has hit Black and, in California, Latino people especially hard and there is growing acknowledgement among health care experts that racism is at the root of the disparity. Black people, for instance, are more...

By Julia Preston, The Marshall Project, June 18, 2020 Before her husband was deported, Seleste Hernandez was paying taxes and credit card bills. She was earning her way and liking it. But after her husband, Pedro, was forced to return to Mexico, her family lost his income from a job at a commercial greenhouse. Seleste had to quit her nursing aide position, staying home to care for her severely disabled son. Now she is trapped, grieving for a faraway spouse and relying on public assistance...

By Rachel R. Hardeman, Eduardo M. Medina, and Rhea W. Boyd, New England Journal of Medicine, June 10, 2020 In Minnesota, where black Americans account for 6% of the population but 14% of Covid-19 cases and 33% of Covid-19 deaths, George Floyd died at the hands of police. “Please — I can’t breathe.” He was a black man detained on suspicion of forgery, an alleged offense that was never litigated or even charged, but for which he received an extrajudicial death sentence. “Please — I can’t...

Becoming Trauma Informed is about changing ourselves and the environment to foster trauma resilience in those we come in contact with. If schools are using Social Emotional Learning curriculum (SEL) only as an add-on program to implement, then it isn’t about the teachers and environment changing, it is merely about changing the behavior of students. If we are solely trying to change others to make them conform to pre-set standards, it is continuing the oppressive cycle. Command and control...

Helen Fisher, King's College London, Aaron Reuben, Duke University, June 26, 2020, The Conversation. Numerous studies have shown that children who grow up in more deprived neighbourhoods tend to have worse physical health as adults compared to those raised in more affluent areas. This is the case even when researchers take into account family income and education, and whether or not parents have major illnesses. In order to address this health disparity, researchers need to understand how...

By Caleb Perhne, June 27, 2020, WCWB ETSU and Ballad Health are teaming up to start a new institute focused on adverse childhood experiences. The Strong BRAIN Institute will study ways to prevent and lessen the effects of those experiences. Adverse childhood experiences like abuse, trauma, or drug addiction in the home can cause lifelong health problems. ETSU and Ballad hope to make this region a national leader in fighting the problem. "It's a cycle that just keeps continuing,” Ballad...

"I think that all of us, regardless of our racial or ethnic background, feel relieved that we no longer have to deal with the racism and the sexism associated with the system of slavery. But we treat the history of enslavement like we treat the genocidal colonization of indigenous people in North America, as if it was not that important, or worse, as if it never happened." —Angela Davis, "The Meaning of Freedom" Please join us for the ongoing community discussion of A Better Normal, our...

Returning to my childhood hometown is always surreal. The memories flood my soul. Some good. Many sad. They all have meaning in the life I live.

Jenna Riemersma is the founder and clinical director of the Atlanta Center for Relational Healing, and teaching faculty for the International Institute of Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP). Jenna holds a Masters Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University, and a Masters Degree in Professional Counseling from Richmont Graduate University. She is a licensed professional counselor and a certified sex addiction therapist supervisor.