http://blitzweekly.com/lawrenc...lips-the-broken-kid/
http://www.thenation.com/artic...d-lawrence-phillips/
Today NFL athlete Lawrence Phillips' death while in Administrative Segregation in a California prison was ruled a suicide by the coroner. His ACEs score (Adverse Childhood Experiences) was by all accounts extremely high. By all accounts, he did not receive treatment for this unrelenting childhood trauma and attachment disruption. Abandoned by his father, abused by his stepfather, removed from his mother, placed in group homes, and a notorious juvenile detention center where he experienced more abuse all before the age of 18, he was then exploited financially for his athletic ability as an adult at the expense of his physical and mental health, to sustain brain injuries and medical neglect of his mental health needs. This points to the need for routine screening for ACEs by primary care physicians, by athletic departments, child welfare agencies, school systems, colleges, courts and prisons. At any point, any of these service providers could have identified Mr. Phillips' high ACEs score and need for trauma and attachment treatment, and intervened in this cycle of abuse by referring him to trauma-informed mental health treatment. Intervention in the form of a routine ACEs screening at any point in Mr. Phillips' life may have made the difference and linked him to the care he needed. With trauma-informed mental health care, there is the opportunity of lowering his risk of violent behavior, potentially preventing victims from suffering at his hands (e.g. his domestic partners, his hit and run assault victims, and the cellmate he allegedly murdered) and possibly preventing his suicide while in CDCR ad seg custody. All potential benefits from a simple, ten question screening tool.
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