Tagged With "Change Your Thoughts Change Your Life"
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1000 TELLINGS!
I just had to cradle a bundle of books when my publisher showed me the first 1000 copies that arrived from the printer. A thousand copies! At this very moment the most important thing is they exist. Not if or when they’ll be purchased. Not who will get a copy or what they’ll think of it as they read it. What’s happening is I am telling. A thousand times over, I am telling. A lot of people already know that after every rape my father said, “You tell anyone and I’ll kill you.” And I’ve worked...
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A New Documentary About Breaking the Cycle of Trauma is Launching This Fall!
We are thrilled to announce the premiere of Wrestling Ghosts , a documentary about breaking the cycle of trauma, at the LA Film festival on Sept. 27th. “Incredible. Haunting and strange and beautiful and incredibly moving.” -Dan Cogan, Founder Impact Partners Wrestling Ghosts follows the epic inner journey of Kim, a young mother who, over two heartbreaking and inspiring years, battles the traumas from her past in order to create a new present and future for her and her family. In this...
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A New Word to Help Children and Adults with High ACEs: Lasticity
We can talk about grit, resilience and mindsets all we want. These approaches, while useful in a limited way, operate off a deficit model. There is something wrong in individuals that needs to be fixed -- repaired. And, there is a built in assumption that those who have high ACEs can return to the status quo ante -- they can bounce back. But, these are flawed arguments and here's why. Those with high ACEs are forever changed; they cannot bounce back. (There are neurological reasons among...
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A New Year's Thoughts
Wishing you a Happy New Year of Peace, Joy, Love, Hope & Healing. Take care, Michael. "JOY" - a song of thanks to all of those in my life - performed at the NYAPRS Conference 9/13 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by4tWjowZVo “JOY”© Michael Skinner Music There’s joy in knowing what I have found There’s joy in knowing that I’m still around There’s joy in knowing that I still care Joy in knowing you’re still there Joy in knowing you’re still there I’m so glad you’re still around Thanks for...
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A song of acceptance
Hello my musical friends. A cover tune to share, a favorite of mine, a song of acceptance, for me, it asks the question, will you take me for who I am? For those who have encountered rough times in life, acceptance is not always part of the landscape. Take care, Michael. Live Performance of "If I Were A Carpenter" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLJzSKBvb2U
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A Yoga Practice for Healing Emotional Trauma (dvd) 1 hour 6 minutes (with instructions)
This follow-along chakra-based yoga practice is designed for healing, both mental and physical, from the aftermath of emotional trauma. This one-hour practice can easily be divided into two separate, shorter practices. The first half is more physical and the second half is more meditative. Beginning with an introduction that provides a healing perspective, the video then moves into a yoga practice where you join a class that includes poses, affirmations and breathing practices. Section 1: "I...
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Adversity Needn’t Thwart or Define You. Here’s How to Cope. [nytimes.com]
The author had a chipped tooth. It ruined her looks, she thought. She had to interview someone for her book, and she really wanted to cancel. The interview subject was Mariatu Kamara, the young woman from Sierra Leone who wrote “The Bite of the Mango,” a memoir about surviving a civil war, rape, losing the baby that resulted from the rape, having her hands chopped off, making it to safety and finally leaving everyone she knew to seek refuge in Canada. The author thought about this, about why...
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Alice Miller's For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Child-Rearing and the Roots of Violence
In Alice Miller’s classic book For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Child-Rearing and the Roots of Violence, Miller hammers home her provocative stance that the root causes of ALL violence are a consequence of childhood trauma.
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An Indestructible Book that Can Be Wiped Down -- for younger kids
So we are all worried about the virus and germs and transmission. Families confined to their homes are struggling. I have a bilingual children's book (ages 2 -- 4) that is on indestructible paper that can be wiped down -- cleaned off with a wipe. Seriously, this is a book for our transmission worried times. And, it deals with object constancy --- something critical in our crazy world. It is fun and clever and has multiracial characters. Older kids can find use for the book if they are trying...
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Anna, Age Eight: The data-driven prevention of childhood trauma and maltreatment
ENDING AN EPIDEMIC OF CHILDHOOD TRAUMA REQUIRES COURAGE, COMPASSION AND A PLAN. ANNA, AGE EIGHT PROVIDES THE SOLUTION. NEW BOOK ANNA AGE EIGHT: THE DATA-DRIVEN PREVENTION OF CHILDHOOD TRAUMA AND MALTREATMENT By Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD and Dominic Cappello If one in eight children suffered from an unknown but debilitating virus, outrage would boil, editorials would harangue public officials, and agencies would mobilize to counter the threat. The CDC would scramble resources to develop...
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[Announcement] 3 Part-Series on ACEs from "Terrible, Thanks for Asking" (Podcast) [ttfa.org]
Hosted By Nora McInerny, Terrible, Thanks for Asking, October 28 2019 'Terrible, Thanks for Asking' the award winning podcast hosted by Nora McInerny and produced by American Public Media (AMP), challenges real people to candidly discuss their feelings. Beginning November 5, 2019 'Terrible, Thanks for Asking' will be asking guests to share the experiences and challenges they encountered while growing up with ACEs. With the knowledge that adversity and trauma has harmful implications later in...
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Announcing FREE Trauma-Informed Schools Book Club.
Announcing FREE Trauma-Informed Schools Book Club. Please join me in a community book club using the Facebook page Trauma-Informed Schools Book Club . https://www.facebook.com/groups/1938017869661667/ We will be starting with two chapters (16 & 17) from Supporting and Educating Traumatized Students: Second Edition that were made FREE online thanks to Oxford Psychology - one on Secondary Traumatic Stress, and another on Crises & Natural Disasters with chapter author Ben Fernandez .
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Babies and Toddlers Risk Emotional Damage and Post-Trauma Stress in Toxic Homes
Saving your children, family and loved ones from inter-generational post-traumatic stress... Following is an excerpt from my latest book, My Journey of Healing in Life After Trauma, Part 2. "Extensive research has shown babies will pick up on toxic circumstances and behaviors and demonstrate post trauma stress symptoms as they become older. The goal of My Journey of Healing, Part 2 is to specifically help parents with stress triggers to save their kids from becoming emotionally damaged...
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Baylor College of Medicine students introduced to ACEs science
“I was one of those statistics that ACEs scientists and researchers talk about,” Dr. Gregory Williams, an administrator in the Baylor College of Medicine, told the school’s first-year class. Williams’ presentation about the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and his own experience as a trauma survivor, was organized by Dr. Reena Isaac of Texas Children’s Hospital for her class, "Hiding in Plain Sight: Understanding and Identifying Victims of Violence.” Williams regularly speaks...
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“BECOMING MS. BURTON: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women” by Susan Burton and Cari Lynn
I met Susan Burton in 2010, but I had learned her name years before. I was doing research about the challenges of re-entry for people incarcerated due to our nation's cruel and biased drug war. At the time, I was in the process of writing The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness - a book that aimed to expose the ways the War on Drugs had not only decimated impoverished communities of color but had also helped to birth a new system of racial and social control eerily...
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Best Selling Memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” tells an inspiring story of overcoming ACEs
In search of insight into the country’s stark cultural divides in preparation for a week of potentially difficult conversations in Kentucky where I’d be attending family reunion and 50-year high school reunion, I dove into “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis” by J.D. Vance . Throughout this mesmerizing, painful, and hilarious memoir, I kept wondering if the author might know about the ACE study. The answer was found on page 226 when “ACEs” jumps out at me and...
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Beyond the Crack Generation, Author K-Rahn Vallatine
Beyond The Crack Generation takes readers on an autobiographical journey to explain how dysfunctional, counterproductive behavior became a cultural norm in the quest for prosperity and survival among youth. Addressing the pervasive and lingering impact that the crack cocaine epidemic had on mainstream Hip Hop culture and Urban America as a whole, it answers the echoing question: How did our young people lose their way? It offers a glimpse in the psychology of a young man in search of...
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BLACK QUEENS Colouring Book by Danielle Murrell Cox
The BLACK QUEENS colouring book is filled with images of powerful women/girls and great quotes, that will help uplift your spirit any day. This book is great for people of all ages. It's got affirmations, encouraging quotations, and of course, ample room to color and draw. To read more and purchase Black Queens, visit: http://dmcmtl.com/product/black-queens-colouring-book/
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Books by Category
The following books have been recommended by ACEs Connection members. Categories (see below) Brain and Neurology Child Abuse Child and Human Development Children’s Books Depression Domestic Violence Foster Care Grief Law Enforcement and...
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Book Review: Juvie Talk: Unlocking the Language of Juvenile Justice [JJIE.org]
Juvie Talk: Unlocking the Language of Juvenile Justice Richard Ross Richard Ross Photography 2016 271 pages “Juvie Talk” is a visual diary of juvenile justice, taking the reader on a journey to meet young people across the country who share their stories with a startling and refreshing open and honest dialogue. They speak of their parents, their siblings, their foster homes, their struggles and experiences, often with violence, abuse and drugs. They speak of their ambitions, their schooling,...
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Book Review: Juvie Talk: Unlocking the Language of Juvenile Justice [JJIE.org]
Juvie Talk: Unlocking the Language of Juvenile Justice Richard Ross Richard Ross Photography 2016 271 pages “Juvie Talk” is a visual diary of juvenile justice, taking the reader on a journey to meet young people across the country who share their stories with a startling and refreshing open and honest dialogue. They speak of their parents, their siblings, their foster homes, their struggles and experiences, often with violence, abuse and drugs. They speak of their ambitions, their schooling,...
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Books Inspiring Us: Being the Change [yesmagazine.org]
It can be hard to find hope in climate change mitigation. But that’s exactly what NASA climate scientist Peter Kalmus does in Being the Change. While he’s not your typical government scientist—he commutes by bicycle, meditates, grows and exchanges food—he does approach his life and global warming with the solution-driven focus of one. To Kalmus, individual actions matter: His family cut their climate impact to one-tenth the national average. He finds hope in the data—cutting out some things,...
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"Breaking the Silence" Warriors of HOPE Series Concludes This Sunday with a 2-Hour LIVE Worldwide Webcast Event!
The “Breaking the Silence with Dr. Gregory Williams” radio program will be featuring a SPECIAL LIVE 2-HOUR WORLDWIDE WEBCAST this Sunday evening, May 10 th from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM Central Time. This event will be a special conclusion to their WARRIORS OF HOPE series featuring all the guest from the entire series together for one life-changing webcast. The guests are some of the most sought after authors, experts and speakers on the various topics of trauma, abuse, and resilience in the...
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Broken Places after Screening Summary & Resources
Almost 2,500 ACEs Connection members signed up to watch the Broken Places documentary online on March 21st, which was made available for Vimeo streaming all day. We are grateful to KPJR Films for sharing this documentary and helping make this event happen (special thanks for the hard work of @lynn waymer, Keely Badger, @Gail Kennedy, and @Carey Sipp. Following the event, we had a one hour chat with featured guests and many of you have asked...
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Building a Collection of Books for Children, Teens and Adults
The Drug Endangered Children’s Initiative is grateful to our community partners who shared their favorite book titles with us, especially Joanne Peterson from Learn to Cope and Gina Williams from East Bridgewater Public Schools for these suggestions. We look forward to discovering and sharing more resources in the new year, please comment with your favorites.
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Building Resilience to Trauma: The Trauma and Community Resiliency Models by Elaine Miller-Karas
From the book's page on Amazon : Description After a traumatic experience, survivors often experience a cascade of physical, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and spiritual responses that leave them feeling unbalanced and threatened. Building Resilience to Trauma explains these common responses from a biological perspective, reframing the human experience from one of shame and pathology to one of hope and biology. It also presents alternative approaches, the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM) and...
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Can Upstream Prevention Make the US Safe from Violent Crime?
New book on Science and Secrets of Ending Violent crime uses the best evidence available to conclude that the US has the knowledge to dramatically reduce violent crime. It shows to how to persuade the public and politicians to make a major shift from mass incarceration to smart investments in proven ¨upstream¨ solutions before crime happens. Action would save thousands of lives, avoid unnecessary trauma and protect women and children.
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Garbage Bag Suitcase-Available Now!
Plagued and embarrassed by my name, made worse by a nomadic childhood that made it impossible to build lasting relationships, I developed tough skin at an early age. Along the way I learned to deal with disappointment, push through discomfort,...
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Check out 11-yr-old Aslan Tudor’s Standing Rock book: 'Young Water Protectors' (Indian Country Today)
Aslan Tudor, who first traveled with his mom Kelly Tudor to Standing Rock when he was just eight-years-old, has written a book about his experience in a book titled “Young Water Protectors: A Story about Standing Rock.” “I thought it would be a good book to hear about kids in Standing Rock,” said Aslan, who traveled to Standing Rock when he was eight in August of 2016, and had turned 9 by the time he returned in October. Aslan’s mother Kelly Tudor, who helped Aslan write the book, and who...
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Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology, and How You Can Heal
What is soon to become one of the go-to resources for ACEs related books by Donna Jackson Nakazawa. July 7th, that the date the book Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology, and How You Can Heal by Donna Jackson Nakazawa is on...
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Children, Race, and Power: The Book That Continues to Read
I recently read Markowitz and Rosner’s Children, Race, and Power . This book is a recount of Dr.’s Kenneth and Mamie Clark Northside Center in Harlem in the late 1940’s. Their journey while valiant was met with much heartbreak. Fast forward 70 years and it doesn’t appear that much has changed. Dollars continue to be wasted, and the contentment with the status quo and lack of outcomes seems a close resemblance to today. We can say we have the best intentions and well-meaning hearts, but...
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Crime and Punishment in America, by Elliott Currie
This book--a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize--is for readers interested in the criminal justice system and how poverty, abuse, and neglect early in life shape our future citizens and can predict, in part, whether or not they will become the perpetrators of violent crime. According to author Elliott Currie, to prevent violent crime and create a more peaceful society, the first priority is to address the roots of violence and invest resources in the prevention of child abuse and neglect. He...
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Cultivate a Mindful Attitude with These New Books and Podcasts (mindful.org)
The work-life balance narrative gets turned on its head in this selection of new books hand-picked by the Mindful Editors. THE MIND OF THE LEADER How to Lead Yourself, Your People, and Your Organization for Extraordinary Results Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter (Harvard Business Review Press) ATTITUDES OF GRATITUDE How to Give and Receive Joy Every Day of Your Life M.J. Ryan and Mark Nepo (Conari Press) TRANSFORMING JUSTICE, LAWYERS, AND THE PRACTICE OF LAW Marjorie A. Silver (Carolina...
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Daily Meditations for Calming Your Angry Mind [PsychCentral.com]
This is, put simply, one of the best books on mindfulness that I have read. In Daily Meditations for Calming Your Angry Mind: Mindfulness Practices to Free Yourself from Anger, Jeffrey Brantley and Wendy Millstine provide about forty mindfulness exercises to help people focus on their special need or challenge regarding anger. They help us use various meditations to move past anger and instead respond to things that upset us with calm and kindness. Brantley and...
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Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead (brainpickings.org)
Researcher and thought leader Dr. Brené Brown offers a powerful new vision that encourages us to dare greatly: to embrace vulnerability and imperfection, to live wholeheartedly, and to courageously engage in our lives. In Daring Greatly , Dr. Brown challenges everything we think we know about vulnerability. Based on twelve years of research, she argues that vulnerability is not weakness, but rather our clearest path to courage, engagement, and meaningful connection. The book that Dr. Brown’s...
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David Treuer’s Rebellious New History of Native American Life [NewYorker.com]
A book attempts to counter a narrative of tragedy by examining the past. In the 2006 book “ Native American Fiction: A User’s Manual ,” by David Treuer, the novelist and academic describes an assignment that he gave to students in a Native American-fiction class. They read a short story by Sherman Alexie, in which a character is described shedding “Indian tears.” What, he asked his students, might “Indian tears” signify? The students responded with confidence, “as if unearthing whole...
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Director's Note about tonight's PBS broadcast of Broken Places (4//6)
The film trailer is available here. Learn more about Broken Places via this review written by @Laurie Udesky (ACEs Connection Staff) entitled, Documentary Broken Places uses archival footage to tell stories of ACEs and resilience over time . Tonight's Airing: Check your local listing time here. Film clips and more viewer information can be found on the PBS website .
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"Don't Try This Alone" on Amazon
Don't Try This Alone: The Silent Epidemic of Attachment Disorder" on Amazon 2-28-18; Kindle out soon... http://www.amazon.com/dp/1976120128 Thank you to my ACEsConnection community for all your support for the last five years during the daunting experience of documenting this story... Kathy was an overachiever—an economist, technical writer, and classical singer married 27 years to her college sweetheart. It looked like Kathy was fine. But deep within her hid a pain from infancy so severe...
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Dorothy and Steven Halley will this week's Special Guests on "Breaking the Silence" Radio Show
This Sunday evening's "Breaking the Silence with Dr. Gregory Williams" special guests will be Dorothy and Steven Halley from 8:00 to 9:00 PM CST. Their over 25 years of professional life together will be discussed including the River of Cruelty model explaining how cruelty is passed from person to person and generation to generation. This model helps expand the Adverse Childhood Experiences conversation. Many other topics including their work with domestic violence and helping bring...
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Dr. Anthony Biglan- The Nurture Effect and recent post
Hi there everyone- please check out Dr. Biglan's book The Nurture Effect: How the Science of Human Behavior Can Improve Our Lives and Our World. Very practical! As well Dr. Biglan offered the following blog post recently that regardless of your political orientation I hope that you will be able to find value in the core message. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/an-evidence-based-strategy-for-bringing-everyone-together_us_587bad19e4b03e071c14fdf7 Additionally if you haven't had the...
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Dr. Claudia Gold: Empathy & Listening as ACE-Informed Practice
"You are absolutely not doomed from having ACEs."
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Dr. Dan Siegel: What Hearing “Yes” Does to Your Child’s Brain (mindful.org)
Yes is more than a word. It’s a state of being, of relating, and a gateway to curiosity, growth, and resilience, according to internationally recognized educator, neuropsychiatrist, and bestselling author Dr. Dan Siegel. He and co-author Tina Payne Bryson have written a new book that offers parents everywhere a roadmap for developing and growing their child’s inner spark and internal compass to guide them throughout their lives. It’s called, “ YES Brain: How to Cultivate Courage, Curiosity,...
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Dr. Felitti Describes Future of ACE on TV Show with Dr. Alman
Scared? Since childhood, S. T. has been anxious & scared of dying. He learned helplessness from his mother. He learned self-punishment from his father. From the outside, he lived a successful life; good job, married & kids. Inside he was divided between constant self-doubt & an ongoing secret life of escaping into porn. He spent decades like this. One day he decided to get help. He started by talking to someone he trusted at church. He got referred to me. Not surprisingly, it can...
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Dr. Felitti Teaching New ACE Information on National TV with Dr Brian Alman
Everybody benefits from the ACE Study and here is a very recent discussion on TV with Dr. Vincent J. Felitti and Dr. Brian Alman. Past, Present and Future generations are impacted by family members ACE scores and their lack of successful resolutions. Traumas can be healed after they are identified, understood and treated with a variety of proactive strategies. Listen to the fascinating lessons from Dr. Felitti and learn more about yourself, your family, stress, habits and addictions, as well...
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Emotional Agility as a Tool to Help Teens Manage Their Feelings (ww2.kqed.org)
“Emotions are absolutely fundamental to our long-term success – our grit, our ability to self-regulate, to negotiate conflict and to solve problems. They influence our relationships and our ability to be effective in our jobs,” said David, author of the book “ Emotional Agility ” and an instructor at Harvard Medical School. “Children who grow up into adults who are not able to navigate emotions effectively will be at a major disadvantage. ” Research out of Stanford University found that...
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Empathy, Stress, Neural Science – the Movie! (socialjusticesolutions.org)
Here is the short, half day course on Empathy, Stress (Reduction) and Neural Science delivered at the Joe Palombo Center for Neuroscience at the Institute for Clinical Social Work on December 03, 2016. The session engages each of the following modules in the discussion segment, including suggested readings. Except for the first two topics, we can take them in any order and the participants will get to select: This is your mind on neuroscience – mirror neurons: do they exist, and if not, so...
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Eyes Are Never Quiet
From our recent book: Eyes are Never Discipline is not something we do to children. It is something we help them to build from within. Far too often school district discipline policies and procedures equate discipline with forms of punishment. For many schools, the code of conduct is made of long lists of possible behavioral infractions and the associated consequences (i.e., punishments). To properly engage with this debate, an overview of terminology is needed. “Discipline,” on the one...
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Fathers’ Day in America [Message by The Rev. Patricia Templeton]
I recently finished a haunting novel, Before We Were Yours , in which Lisa Wingate tells a fictionalized account of the true story of one of this country’s great scandals, the Tennessee Children’s Home Society and its director, Georgia Tann. From the 1920s through 1950, Tann and her organization facilitated the adoption of thousands of children across the country. Tann was a prominent member of society, held up as the “Mother of Modern Adoption,” and consulted by Eleanor Roosevelt on issues...
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Finding My Way Back
Have you ever felt you have painted yourself into a corner? Better stated perhaps, find yourself standing in the crosshairs of your own truth. Well, that’s me and here we are. In the last year, I have been going through a rebranding process, still the same heart, still the same mission, but a tweak to messaging and language so it was clear what the work was ultimately about. Simultaneously, I have been stewarding the completion of my book, my own story. Now, here I sit ready to pull the...
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Focusing, by Eugene T. Gendlin, PH.D.
I first heard about Eugene Gendlin while reading Peter Levine's Waking the Tiger . Gendlin, a psychologist, originated the term "felt sense," which refers to the awareness of our internal, bodily experiences. Like Levine, Bessel van der Kolk, and other somatic pioneers, Gendlin promotes emotional self healing by learning to listen to your body in an accepting way. As Gendlin writes: "You have a bodily orienting sense. You know who you are and how you came to be in this room, reading this...