Many of you may be familiar with the “Pair of ACEs” from the George Washington School of Public Health and the natural question that comes from this model – “What’s in your soil?” (If you aren’t familiar, learn more here .) Communities across the State of Kansas are starting conversations around, not only the impact of ACEs, but also the larger issues of Prevention, Health Equity, and Trauma-Informed Systems of Care. In June, the TISC team at WSU CEI had the opportunity to facilitate and...

May 12-18 is National Prevention Week, an observance dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of substance use prevention and positive mental health. An essential strategy in building individual, organizational, and community well-being is self-care. Alive and Well Communities is hosting #AliveandWellfor5 on May 15 at 10:15 a.m. CDT (and throughout the day), encouraging everyone to take a 5 minute pause wherever you are to practice personal self-care. For more information about...

As our communities struggle to do what is needed to keep people safe and families work to find a new a “normal” while caring for and educating children at home full time – it can be a lot to handle. Child psychologist and trauma expert, Dr. Bruce Perry offered 8 tips for helping children stay regulated in this recent article from Psychology Today . Dr. Perry was also a part of this video resource for parents, Staying sane while Parenting with Shelter-in-Place! For service providers who would...

Anyone else feel exhausted lately? Sure, we are in the middle of a global pandemic, waves of civil and social uprisings, and we just survived the dreaded holiday season…but besides that, most of us are just plain TIRED. Our TISC Initiatives team has spent much of the past year talking to folks about things they can do – like adjusting expectations and setting boundaries – to increase their ability to manage all that life has to throw at us. However, the one thing that we all seem to struggle...

This week, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a new advisory on Addressing The Health Care Workforce Burnout . The advisory highlights the urgent need to address the burnout crisis impacting health care workers across the country. Notably, the Biden Administration emphasizes the mental health and wellbeing of health workers as a priority and promotes it as a core objective of the President’s National Mental Health Strategy . Some of the recommendations in the advisory include...

“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.” – Mahatma Gandhi Becoming more trauma-informed and resilience-oriented in our...