January 2023

People need support. Absolutely. Providing support is a foundational principle to a therapist’s role because, as said beautifully by Brené Brown, “what we don’t need in the midst of struggle is shame for being human.” Trauma-informed therapists, however, need to be more . They need to create a safe space for healing, always, which means being more than just supportive. People come to therapy when their survival strategies are no longer working, right? They are in distress, and looking for...

Change in the most basic form means to become or make something different. Changes happen for everyone, whether they are small or large. They can be detours on the road due to construction, your favorite coffee shop closing, your child going to school, a relationship beginning or ending, or any transition in life . I think we can all agree that change can be hard ! And it’s especially hard for trauma survivors (and since the COVID pandemic, many believe we have all experienced some trauma...

Come join The Riverside Trauma Center, a service of Riverside Community Care, Inc., for its 12 th annual virtual conference on February 2, 2023. We’d love to see you and your community there! The Rise of Resilience: Living Through Trauma and Disruptive Events ,’ will bring together leaders, employers, health and human service workers, educators, and government officials to discuss how trauma intersects topics such as diversity, equity, productivity, growth, and the humanization of work;...

As workforce challenges continue to hinder human services organizations, leaders are searching for concrete action steps to support staff who are emotionally and physically exhausted. Especially given the added stressors faced by direct service staff, organizations need proven approaches to address staff morale and mitigate the threat of high turnover. Join this webinar to hear from Social Current experts on topics including: Advancing a brain-science approach with staff Building...

If you read last week’s blog, you might remember that we touched on social-emotional learning , which is closely tied to emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is a core idea in the trauma-informed model. In fact, it is one of the 7 Commitments identified in Sandra Bloom’s Sanctuary model. If we want to make understanding, healing, and growth possible (and build trauma-informed communities), then we must embrace the importance of emotional intelligence. But how can we pin down what...

As state legislative sessions get underway and new governors are sworn in this month, it is a critical time to communicate the importance of promoting actionable strategies for addressing trauma. Today, Pathways to Resilience released a set of non-partisan talking points that describe the prevalence of trauma and adversity and make the case that preventing and addressing trauma should be a key policy priority for 2023 and beyond. The talking points are intentionally general and fact-based to...

Pathways to Resilience is pleased to announce the release our first major publication, a National Compendium of Trauma-Responsive Policies and Programs . The compendium summarizes a wide range of interventions, policies, programs, and governing bodies that states and communities are leveraging to prevent and address trauma and promote healing across the country. This document is designed to serve as a resource for policymakers and community leaders seeking to advance trauma-responsive...

I'm excited to share a project I recently completed! You can visit https://www.risetoresilience.org/resources to access the guide, Relationship Commitments template with example, and a supporting tool to explore your past, present, and desired future beliefs. Categories on the template include topics such as dealbreakers, core values, relationship values, love languages (giving and receiving), priorities, personal agreements, and more. Who is this for? Anyone, really! Whether you practice...

Trauma-informed care is like an umbrella that encompasses the social determinants of health, social-emotional learning, and actionable solutions to create real change. I think a lot of people don’t understand this yet. Understandably, when people hear “trauma-informed,” they’re confused. If you’re not already informed about the impacts of and solutions to widespread trauma in our society, it’s hard to imagine what type of information relates to trauma. So, let me frame it with language that...

By Sabrina Bodon, Photo: Office of Gov. Josh Green, Hawai'i Public Radio, January 3, 2023 The state Legislature passed a bill to establish an Office of Wellness and Resilience last year, and late last month, Gov. Josh Green nominated Tia Roberts Hartsock to lead it. "The big hope is to really look at taking a deeper dive into why and how to address the disproportionate number, the disproportionate representation, of those who are Native Hawaiian, those who are Micronesian that are...

Adverse childhood experiences understandably can numb feelings, including feelings of joy, happiness, and pleasure. Making time to be joyful rewires the wounded brain. Once healing has progressed, the capacity for joy can usually be expanded through the repeated application of proven joy strategies.