Blog

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.

“ Hope is being able to see the light despite all the darkness.” - Desmond Tutu “ Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you - all of the expectations, all of the beliefs - and becoming who you are.” - Rachel Naomi Remen The latest Surviving Spirit Newsletter - Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health is out - It can be read online via this & you can also subscribe -...

Hi Everyone! The good news is after seven years, with a five year break (AKA stall-out), I have finally finished my new book and have titled it: It's Not About Food, Drugs, or Alcohol: It's About Healing Complex PTSD Although my book won't be available to the general public until its launch date on Feb 21 st , 2023, I am offering FREE advance reader copies to a limited amount of people this week. Below is a summary of what my book's about and how to qualify to get a free copy this week.

What do you call it? The PACEs movement (PACEs = positive and adverse childhood experiences)? The NEAR movement (NEAR = neurobiology, epigenetics, ACEs and resilience)? The resilience movement? The trauma-informed movement? No matter what you call it, this movement emerged from two mind-bending, culture-changing developments that grew and evolved over the last 25 to 30 years. One is a groundbreaking epidemiological study, the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study , first...

Last week I posted “ The trouble with trauma (-informed), the aggravation of ACEs (screening): We're trying to fit both into traditional frameworks and it isn't working .” This post goes one step farther to describe the first easy steps that all organizations can use, no matter what the sector, to wrap their minds around integrating healing practices and policies based on PACEs science. In the comments section, Rebecca Bryan asked, “What is a reliable tool to assess organizational ACEs? Does...

Greek philosopher and physician Hippocrates of Kos is considered the father of modern medicine. An influential physician and scholar, Hippocrates was adamant about effective healthcare practices. During his career, Hippocrates implemented an essential policy for future physicians to follow. To establish consent to heal, doctors should ask patients if they are willing to give up the things that cause them to be sick (Hippocrates & Asulanus, 1526). Hippocrates believed physicians needed...