Tagged With "Emotional First-Aid"
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Parenting Matters: Supporting Parents of Children Ages 0-8 (The National Academies Press 2016)
A study published by The National Academies of Sciences in 2016 resulting in 10 Recommendations to build support for parents... "Over the past several decades, researchers have identified parenting- related knowledge, attitudes, and practices that are associated with improved developmental outcomes for children and around which parenting- related programs, policies, and messaging initiatives can be designed. However, consensus is lacking on the elements of parenting that are most important...
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Parents who had severe trauma, stresses in childhood more likely to have kids with behavioral health problems [ScienceDaily.com]
A new study finds that severe childhood trauma and stresses early in parents' lives are linked to higher rates of behavioral health problems in their own children. The types of childhood hardships included divorce or separation of parents, death of or estrangement from a parent, emotional, physical or sexual abuse, witnessing violence in the home, exposure to substance abuse in the household or parental mental illness. "Previous research has looked at childhood trauma as a risk factor for...
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Past child abuse may influence adult response to antidepressants [Reuters.com]
Antidepressants don’t work for everyone, and having a history of abuse during childhood may signal a low likelihood that the drugs will improve an adult’s symptoms of major depression, a recent study suggests. While there are few reliable predictors of which people will respond to specific antidepressants, lots of previous research links a history of trauma early in life with how well people tend to do on these drugs, researchers note in the journal Translational Psychiatry. "The presence of...
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Pediatric Symposium at National ACEs conference offers lessons learned and the way forward
To set in motion the Pediatric Symposium at the 2018 National ACEs Conference in San Francisco, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, founder and CEO of the Center for Youth Wellness, told the audience of several hundred attendees that the American Academy of Pediatrics has made it very clear to its membership how critical it is that every pediatrician understand how toxic stress impacts the health of their patients. But, she said, when it surveyed its membership it found that only 11 percent knew about...
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Pediatricians can help children through separation and divorce [ChronicleNewspaper.com]
Pediatricians can support children whose parents are going through a divorce or separation by identifying the need for intervention and maintaining positive, neutral relationships with both parents, according to a new clinical report released by the American Academy of Pediatrics. More than 1 million American children annually are affected by their parents’ break-up and may suffer emotional trauma that requires extra support, according to the report, “Helping Children and Families Deal With...
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Pediatricians Knew About Family Separation Long Before the Public Did - And They Were Worried [psmag.com]
In the early months of 2018, a disturbing rumor traveled from the southern border of the United States into the office of Dr. Colleen Kraft: Pediatricians in the Southwest were reporting that they had begun to encounter migrant children whom the government had separated from their parents. The reports began to reach Kraft soon after she began her one-year term as president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, one of the country's foremost professional organizations of doctors dedicated to...
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Pediatricians screen parents for ACEs to improve health of their babies
The Children’s Clinic , tucked in a busy office park five miles outside downtown Portland, OR, and bustling with noisy babies, boisterous kids and energetic pediatricians, seems ordinary enough. But, for the last two years, a quiet...
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Pediatricians screening for ACEs at Loma Linda University
Attached is the Whole Child Assessment which is being used by pediatricians to screen for ACEs at Loma Linda University. For further questions about the development or use of the WCA, please contact Ariane Marie-Mitchell at Loma Linda University, amariemitchell@llu.edu .
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Physician Perspectives: Examining the Intersections of White Privilege and Racism in Medicine [medicalbag.com]
Two powerful articles published in the Annals of Family Medicine examined the issue of white privilege within the medical community. In the first piece, 1 author Max J. Romano, MD, MPH, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, opens with an anecdote of an experience during work at a hospital, when he witnessed other staff members making generalizations about a recently deceased patient based on that patient's race: "One hospital staff member removed a...
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Please stop saying parenting is hard for everyone & read Parenting with PTSD instead
Sometimes, we feel anxious, intrusive, or afraid when changing or bathing or own babies. Sometimes, we feel sick to our stomachs and worried while potty training, nurturing, or disciplining our toddlers. Sometimes, we feel shame-filled and ill-equipped when talking about puberty, body parts, or sexuality because of how and where we were compromised by caregivers as children as in our bodies, homes, and families. P arenting is brutally hard for some. If affection, attention and intimacy have...
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Positive Childhood Experiences offset ACEs: Q & A with Dr. Robert Sege about HOPE
Tufts University medical professor Dr. Robert Sege directs the Center for Community-Engaged Medicine and is nationally known for his research on effective health systems approaches that address social determinants of health. He is also the principal investigator for the HOPE framework (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences).The HOPE framework is based on research that shows how positive childhood experiences can mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences. Sege and colleagues...
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Prescribing nature for health draws providers to Oakland, CA, conference
There’s now a growing body of research showing the positive health effects of nature. At a recent conference in Oakland, CA, clinicians who prescribe nature to help buffer ACEs and toxic stress experienced by children and families shared findings from their own research and others.
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Providing Psychosocial Support to Children and Families in the Aftermath of Disasters and Crises
Disasters take a unique toll on children, with the potential to have short- and long-term impact on their physical and emotional health and development. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) clinical report, “Providing Psychosocial Support to...
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Q&A: Immigrant Children and Trauma [today.uconn.edu]
Newcomer immigrant youth – refugees, asylum seekers, and unaccompanied children – face unique challenges when involved with the juvenile justice system, say a team of mental health and legal experts who have published a new book on the topic. Co-authored by UConn Health psychiatrist Julian Ford, the book seeks to raise awareness about those challenges among some of the first people that the youth will meet: juvenile court judges and advocates. In A Trauma-Informed Approach to Judicial...
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Recently released research on ACEs; incarceration; separating families at the border
Behavioral risk factor surveillance system state survey on exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs): Who declines to respond? [Children and Youth Services Review] "A wealth of research has examined the prevalence and impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) via various research methodologies. Some of these studies have also examined the presence of nonresponse bias, showing minimal nonresponse bias effects. More recently, many states and the District of Columbia have used the...
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Report reveals how foster care, juvenile and adult justice systems traumatize youth, calls for policy shifts
YWFC sponsored Sister Warriors meeting When she was 15 years old, Lucero Herrera was put in a rehab program by San Francisco’s Juvenile Court because she was getting drunk regularly. And in doing so, the court failed to explore the root of her drinking. Had they done so, she said, they would have found that anger and trauma were lurking underneath, driven by her ACEs: adverse childhood experiences. Lucero Herrera "Why did they put me in a drug program when I had an anger problem? I went...
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Report reveals how foster care, juvenile and adult justice systems traumatize youth, calls for policy shifts
YWFC sponsored Sister Warriors meeting When she was 15 years old, Lucero Herrera was put in a rehab program by San Francisco’s Juvenile Court because she was getting drunk regularly. And in doing so, the court failed to explore the root of her drinking. Had they done so, she said, they would have found that anger and trauma were lurking underneath, driven by her ACEs: adverse childhood experiences. Lucero Herrera "Why did they put me in a drug program when I had an anger problem? I went...
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[Repost] Trauma-informed Care: It Takes More Than a Clipboard and a Questionnaire
California is about to launch an ambitious campaign to train tens of thousands of Medi-Cal providers to screen children and adults up to age 65 for trauma, starting on January 1, 2020. It is well-established that the early identification of trauma and providing the appropriate treatment are critical tools for reducing long-term health care costs for both children and adults. Research has shown that individuals who experienced a high number of traumatic childhood events are likely to die...
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Research
Gene-Environment Interactions (Rhesus Monkeys) Stephen J. Suomi, Ph.D. How Gene-Environment Interactions Can Influence Emotional Development in Rhesus Monkeys http://www.thefpr.org/private/pdf/BROWNC~1.pdf Genetic and Environmental Determinants of...
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Resource List -- Articles on ACEs in Pediatric Practices
Do the Roots of Mental Health Issues Lie in Early Childhood? [WAMU.org] -- Short article about Dr. Rahil Briggs at Montefiore Comprehensive Healthcare Center in the Bronx. May 27, 2016 Boston's architect of Community Well-Being: Reneé Boynton-Jarrett [ACEsTooHigh.com] -- How Dr. Boynton-Jarrett integrates ACEs science into her practice and community. Feb. 22, 2016 Stemming the cycle of toxic stress -- for the kids' sake [Kaiser Health News] -- How Drs. RJ Gillespie and Teri Pettersen...
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Resource List -- Guides & Toolkits
AAP Trauma Toolbox for Primary Care -- This 6-part series was designed with the primary care practice in mind – those who may or may not be familiar with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the process of asking families about exposure to ACEs or other traumatic events. The series includes: Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Lifelong Consequences of Trauma (in Spanish ) Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences and Other Types of Trauma in the Primary Care Setting (in Spanish ) The...
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Resource list -- Handouts & tools
ACEs and Toxic Stress in Spanish -- A Spanish-language overview from AAP of "toxic stress, how it affects the body's systems, and how we can promote resiliency in children to help protect against toxic stress." ACE Surveys (different types of) -- A list of the original ACE study, adapted surveys, and expanded surveys. Circle of Parents -- " Circle of Parents ® provides a friendly, supportive environment led by parents and other caregivers. It’s a place where anyone in a parenting role can...
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Resource list -- Practices/ Frameworks
Benchmarks NC -- " Benchmarks is an alliance of nationally accredited agencies committed to providing quality care, leadership, and accountability in services to children, adults and families in North Carolina. Member agencies of Benchmarks deliver a broad continuum of behavioral health, child welfare, education, development disabilities and residential support services." Center on the Developing Child , Harvard University -- "We are a multidisciplinary team committed to driving...
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Resource: Screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in pediatric practices
Now that we know that trauma early in life can have a significant impact on an individual’s health and wellness throughout their life, health care organizations are beginning to focus on providing more trauma-informed care. Screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in pediatric, clinical settings promotes early intervention and can be a tangible entry point for organizations interested in providing trauma-informed care. The Center for Community Health and Evaluation is a nonprofit...
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Responding to the Mental Health Crisis among America’s Children
This is from the official blog of the American Board of Pediatrics: Thanks to all of you who responded to my last post about the mental health crisis among American children. Your comments confirm the impression I’ve...
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Review of ACE studies confirms supporting parent-child relationship is key
When health care providers screen their pediatric patients for ACEs, what interventions might help improve outcomes for children? Dr. Ariane Marie-Mitchell, a pediatrician in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Loma Linda University, and a colleague sought an answer to that question in a systematic review of studies that was published recently in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. As part of their inquiry, Marie-Mitchell and her co-investigator, Rashel Kostolansky , who was a...
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Review of Tools for Measuring Exposure to Adversity in Children and Adolescents [Journal of Pediatric Health Care]
photo/ Creative Commons " Exposure to childhood adversity can result in negative behavioral and physical health outcomes due to potential long-term embedding into regulatory biological processes. Screening for exposure to adversity is a critical first step in identifying children at risk for developing a toxic stress response. We searched PubMed, PsycArticles, and CINAHL for studies published between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2016, as well as other sources, to identify potential...
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Rural Pregnant Women with Opioid Addiction Find a Doctor, Not a Judge (chcf.org)
With her husband and two young children, (Dr. Candy) Stockton packed up and moved hundreds of miles north to rural Shasta County. Today, Stockton, 42, practices family medicine at the Shingletown Medical Center in a tiny town in the shadow of Mt. Lassen, 30 miles east of Redding. The majority of Stockton’s patients live in poverty. “The economy is terrible,” she said, adding that the lack of educational opportunities for kids creates a cycle of despair that can afflict families for...
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RYSE gathering: To promote healing from trauma, institutions need to stop seeing youth as the problem
A young man told clinical therapist Marissa Snoddy recently that when she calls him a leader, she got it all wrong. “He said, ‘I just came from Juvenile Hall,’ I’m not a leader.” But, she said, “We just kept giving him love. And we said, ‘You’re courageous for showing up and being here,’” The very fact that he was there, she explained, showed he was a leader. Snoddy related the anecdote recently for 80 people attending the Trauma and Learning Series launch led by Rising Youth for Social...
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Safe Spaces. Safe Places: Creating Welcoming and Inclusive Environments for Traumatized LGBTQ Youth (2015 Video from the NCTSN)
This video from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network introduces the viewer to the needs of LGBTQ youth who have experienced trauma. For educators, juvenile justice professionals/law enforcement/first responders, mental...
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SAVE THE DATE! ACEs Aware Initiative Webinar [acesaware.org]
Wednesday, February 26, 2020 Noon – 1 p.m. Join a live webinar with: Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, MD, MPH – California Surgeon General Dr. Karen Mark, MD, PhD – Medical Director, Department of Health Care Services Dr. Melissa Merrick, PhD – President & CEO, Prevent Child Abuse America Dr. Brigid McCaw, MD, MPH, MS, FACP – Clinical Advisor, ACEs Aware The webinar will provide an overview of the ACEs Aware initiative; why providers should screen for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs); the...
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Birth and Attachment Book Review
A review of Myrna Martin's short and direct pamphlet about the importance and approach to "co-creating secure attachment". The book is available in four languages and can be found at www.myrnamartin.net/books
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Book review: "Once I was very, very scared," a book on childhood trauma
The past few years have brought a wealth of evidence for the impact of childhood trauma on lifelong health. The AAP has recognized the importance of childhood trauma with conferences (2015 Violence, Abuse and Toxic Stress: An Update on Trauma-informed Care in Children and Youth) and resources ( AAP Trauma Toolbox for Primary Care .) Like many pediatricians, I have been grateful for the attention to and evidence base for an area of pediatrics I see on a daily basis but for which I have felt...
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Book review: "Once I was very, very scared," a book on childhood trauma
The past few years have brought a wealth of evidence for the impact of childhood trauma on lifelong health. The AAP has recognized the importance of childhood trauma with conferences (2015 Violence, Abuse and Toxic Stress: An Update on Trauma-informed Care in Children and Youth) and resources ( AAP Trauma Toolbox for Primary Care .) Like many pediatricians, I have been grateful for the attention to and evidence base for an area of pediatrics I see on a daily basis but for which I have felt...
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Boston’s architect of community well-being: Pediatrician Renée Boynton-Jarrett
She talks with parents about the relationship between childhood adversities they have experienced and how that may have an impact on parenting.
“I frame things a bit more broadly than ACEs,” she said, “because I think it’s very important to reflect on a broader number of exposures than were covered in the original study, such as poverty or structural violence and racism.”
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Building a Movement to Birth a More Just and Loving World [Groundswell March 2018]
The National Perinatal Task Force: Building a Movement to Birth a More Just and Loving World - In my 20 years as a public health nurse, I've never seen race called out so clearly in a report like this. Data has shown disparities, however the data was presented in a tidy way — very apolitical, purposely written to not ruffle any feathers or point fingers - " persistent racial gap ". This report written by The National Perinatal Task Force is refreshingly honest and this is important. We need...
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Building a Trauma-Informed Approach with Pediatric Physical Therapists
In the profession of physical therapy (PT), the word "trauma" typically leads one to think of the physical manifestations of a catastrophic injury, subsequent emergency medical care, and lengthy rehabilitation services. However, the psychological aspects of trauma are not always as visible. Throughout an individual’s lifespan, PTs will provide services to restore function, manage pain, and increase physical activity. We provide education, hands-on care, and therapeutic exercise to improve...
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Building trust is now a critical part of health care
In a video clip , a hospital patient turns away in protest as a physician enters the room. “Why do you all keep coming in my room!” she asks in frustration. The physician moves a chair out of the way and sits down at eye level with the patient. “You’ve had to see so many people,” he acknowledges. “And I’m tired of it!” she yells. “I already know I have to get both of my legs cut off. That’s what they keep saying. I don’t have a choice!” “You don’t feel like you have a choice,” he repeats...
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‘Bureaucratic Ninjas’ Slice Red-Tape To Battle Health Disparities [KHN.org]
When a receptionist hands out a form to fill out at a doctor’s office, the questions are usually about medical issues: What’s the visit for? Are you allergic to anything? Up to date on vaccines? But some health organizations are now asking much more general questions: Do you have trouble paying your bills? Do you feel safe at home? Do you have enough to eat? Research shows these factors can be as important to health as exercise habits or whether you get enough sleep. Research has begun to...
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CA announces robust perinatal depression prevention for Medi-Cal recipients
Melinda Coates experienced a tumultuous pregnancy. “I was really mentally upset literally from day one (of the pregnancy),” she says. (Melinda Coates is a pseudonym. To protect her and her children’s privacy and safety, we are not using her real name.) Coates had hoped to get counseling last October, when she was seven months pregnant. That’s when she enrolled in the state’s Medi-Cal program, shortly after she and her abusive husband moved to California, “but nobody was able to get me in...
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CA announces robust perinatal depression prevention for Medi-Cal recipients
Melinda Coates experienced a tumultuous pregnancy. “I was really mentally upset literally from day one (of the pregnancy),” she says. (Melinda Coates is a pseudonym. To protect her and her children’s privacy and safety, we are not using her real name.) Coates had hoped to get counseling last October, when she was seven months pregnant. That’s when she enrolled in the state’s Medi-Cal program, shortly after she and her abusive husband moved to California, “but nobody was able to get me in...
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CA pediatrician develops, tests, gets state OK for whole-child assessment tool that includes ACEs
Over the last dozen years or so, many pediatricians, astounded by the ramifications of the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on the children they care for, began integrating this science into their practices. The most common approach has been to ask parents about ACEs using a questionnaire, and to use this information to counsel parents and identify resources for the family. Different practices have been using different questionnaires: Some ask parents for their ACE scores...
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CA pediatrician develops, tests, gets state OK for whole-child assessment tool that includes ACEs
[Editor's note: This blog was first posted in April 2017. Dr. Marie-Mitchell updated the assessment by modifying a few of the questions, so we are republishing with the new assessment, one in Spanish and one in English.] Over the last dozen years or so, many pediatricians, astounded by the ramifications of the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on the children they care for, began integrating this science into their practices. The most common approach has been to ask parents...
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CA Surgeon General and DHCS Launch ACEs Aware Initiative and Website
Join a live webinar with California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris and Dr. Karen Mark Medical Director, Department of Health Care Services for a Medi-Cal provider introduction to the new ACEs Aware Initiative and the www.ACEsAware.org website. The Office of the California Surgeon General and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), in the first public unveiling of the initiative, will host a live webinar to share details of the new ACEs Aware Initiative for Medi-Cal providers...
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CA to reimburse for only one of three ACEs screeners
California health care providers will soon begin to learn how many of the 13.2 million California children and adults in the state’s MediCal program have been exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). But the state’s proposed decision to reimburse only one of three recommended options for screening children has drawn mixed reactions from pediatricians. “If we have mandated legislation that only looks at one screening tool, it really limits the opportunity to improve that screening...
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California considers investing $100 million in-home visits for new moms and their babies [SCPR.org]
A bill working its way through the state legislature would create a state-funded program to help new mothers in the first few months and years after the birth of their children. The CalWORKs Baby Wellness and Family Support Home Visiting Program would spend $100 million to offer home visits from nurses or social workers to new mothers who are living in poverty. Support for home visiting programs is grounded in research that has found regular postpartum home visits can improve the health of...