Blog

There is a shift afoot in the field, from critiquing white supremacist culture and calling out anti-Blackness to designing for pro-Blackness. So, we followed up with some of the writers who lent their expertise to this edition, and also interviewed Shanelle Matthews, the communications director for the Movement for Black Lives, in order to go more deeply into defining what we mean by pro-Blackness. We asked them the following questions: The conversations that ensued can be found in full in...

In recent years, researchers have been exploring the nature and benefits of “intellectual humility”—defined, most simply, as “the degree to which people recognize that their beliefs might be wrong” ( Leary et al, 2017 )—like never before: More than 10 times as many empirical studies of intellectual humility have been published since 2014 than were published over the previous two decades. This research is timely: Today we are arguably facing a crisis of intellectual humility. Recent surveys...

“ Pirates” - A song I wrote about facing adversity - the 'pirates' in our lives & the journey[s] we embark upon - we are resilient & resourceful. Please do click the Subscribe & Bell button to my You Tube channel - more songs and ' lessons learned ' about healing from Trauma, Abuse and Mental Health to be shared very soon. Thank you, Michael Pirates - Live at the River Ledge - YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us6ucfwRAtA “ PIRATES” © Michael Skinner Walking down to the...

ncreasingly, workplaces and those in education are trying to familiarize themselves with the term “neurodiversity.” So, what exactly is it -- and why is it becoming a hot topic for many? Below are five key questions in regards to neurodiversity, with insight from Dr. Susanne Bruyere, professor of disability studies in the Industrial Labor Relations School at Cornell University. What is neurodiversity? Neurodiversity is a concept all about differences in the brain, that cause people to...

Remembering past trauma begins the “re-membering” process of taking our fragmented pieces and putting them back together. This applies to individuals with trauma, as well as the collective traumas we experience in societies and our world. Remembering trauma is a growth process because the memories open the door to putting all the pieces together which leads to our healing. We know that our physiological reactions to trauma are held in our bodies and DNA. As individuals, before we can begin...

In response to the current war in Ukraine, the Trauma-informed Design Society and Cowart Trauma Informed Partnership are pleased to announce a new resource for responding to collective trauma. Grounded in the knowledge that we can interrupt the possible negative effects of trauma, the pamphlet is available in three languages and provides an overview of resilience and how we can help develop a sense of safety that will lower the stress levels of survivors.

The Great Resignation is really a Great Re-Evaluation of how we live, how we work and what we need to truly thrive. What people are resigning from is a culture of burnout and a broken definition of success. More and more people have come to see that chasing an idea of success based solely on the metrics of money and status isn’t sustainable. It’s like sitting on a two-legged stool — sooner or later we’re going to fall off. What we’re seeing is a shift to a way of living and working based on...

At many temples in Asia, one encounters statues and paintings of Avalokitesvara , the bodhisattva of compassion. Avalokitesvara is sometimes portrayed as female, sometimes male, so we could say they are transgender—and also transcending gender. In some depictions, Avalokitesvara has a thousand arms, symbolizing all the skillful means they have of responding to suffering, and on each of these arms is an eye in the palm of the hand, the eye of wisdom. We need the eye of wisdom in our palms. If...

Healing the Mind, Body & Spirit Through the Creative Arts, Education & Advocacy Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health “ Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars”. Kahlil Gibran The Surviving Spirit Newsletter April 2022 Hi Folks, The latest edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter - sharing Hope and Healing Resources for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health is posted online -...

Adolescents, Attachment & ACEs Science In this webinar the new PACES Connection CEO, Ingrid Cockhren, will explore the connection between advise childhood experiences, trauma, attachment styles and various types of abuse in dating and romantic relationships. She will examine the systemic nature of trauma and adversity and how early adversity is a root cause of poor relationship outcomes in adolescence and early adulthood. This webinar will also outline systemic solutions for populations...

The social sector aims to empower communities with tools and knowledge to effect change for themselves, because community-driven change is more likely to drive sustained impact than attempts to force change from the outside. This commitment should include data, which is increasingly essential for generating social impact. Today the effective implementation and continuous improvement of social programs all but requires the collection and analysis of data. But all too often, social sector...

Hey folks, A little blast from the past, but still relevant today - Honored to be part of the Survivor Stories event hosted by Michael Broussard of Ask a Survivor. Performing two songs of mine and sharing the back story to their creation - "Songs For The Keys To Your Life" and "When Your Heart Follows A Lie" The songs encapsulate some of the many feelings, thoughts and lessons learned about the impact of trauma, abuse and mental health injuries which I get to talk about in the Q & A. @...