Tagged With "Warming My Heart in New Hampshire"
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1st Annual Trauma-Responsive Schools Conference
HERE this NOW is thrilled to announce its first annual Trauma-Responsive Schools Conference. The event will take place May 9th-May 11th at The Woodbound Inn in Rindge, NH. The event locale was selected for its central location in New England (2-hours from Boston, 3-hours from Portland, 4-hours from Albany). This conference experience will be unlike other conference formats. Registration is limited to 40 participants to maximize psychological safety, depth of learning, and individualized...
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A GOFUNDME Campaign for Resilience is Warming My Heart in New Hampshire
ORIGINAL POST 1/20/18 Right after the New Year, Jocelyn Goldblatt, Cissy White, and I discussed Jocelyn's capstone project for her Master's Thesis. The screening and panel discussion of the documentary Resilience was her brain child and the cornerstone of her project. But it would also doubly duty as the launch event for the new ACES Connection chapter in Keene, NH (Monadnock Thrives). During the discussion, I boldly announced that we would be lucky to get 30 people in the audience. And I...
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A GOFUNDME Campaign for RESILIENCE is Warming My Heart in New Hampshire
ORIGINAL POST 1/20/18 Right after the New Year, Jocelyn Goldblatt, Cissy White, and I discussed Jocelyn's capstone project for her Master's Thesis. The screening and panel discussion of the documentary Resilience was her brain child and the cornerstone of her project. But it would also doubly duty as the launch event for the new ACES Connection chapter in Keene, NH (Monadnock Thrives). During the discussion, I boldly announced that we would be lucky to get 30 people in the audience. And I...
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ACE-Aha Moments & Parenting: Meet Aprel Phelps Downey
Aprel Phelps Downey What was your ACEs Aha moment? When did you first hear about ACEs and what impact did/does it have on you? How do ACEs impact you as a parent? How is your parenting impacted by past trauma? What’s been most helpful to you as a parent parenting with ACEs? What’s been most challenging for you as a parent parenting with ACEs? What has parenting taught you? What have you learned? How do you manage complex family relationships? What inspires/encourages and helps you? I know...
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An Introduction to NMT (Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics)
Do you feel like the “traditional ways” of helping traumatized children just aren’t working? You’re not alone and you no longer need to be frustrated. Recent discoveries in brain science has opened doors to new understanding and therefore, new approaches to helping traumatized children. HERE this NOW is thrilled to offer a 2-day affordable training workshop to introduce Dr. Bruce Perry's approach to assessing and treating trauma. An Introduction to NMT (Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics)...
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Be the Spark: Igniting trauma-informed change within our communities
Authors note: This piece is co-authored by @Lara Kain and @Christine Cissy White. Though we had never worked together or met, we were asked to co-present on creating t rauma-informed changes in communities by the Attachment Trauma Network for the first national (now annual) Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools Summit in Washington, DC. This article is an expanded essay version of that presentation). Be the Spark Oprah Winfrey helped mainstream discussion about...
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Beyond the Stigma: Team goes door to door to help child victims of extreme trauma [unionleader.com]
On a late-summer evening, a trio sets out from the Manchester police station, armed with case folders, bulletproof vests - and colorful toys. This is ACERT, the Adverse Childhood Experiences Response Team, and there's nothing quite like it in the nation. A partnership among Manchester police, YWCA New Hampshire and the Manchester Community Health Center, ACERT responds after incidents in which children have been exposed to traumatic events such as drug overdoses, domestic violence and other...
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Bud Carlson Academy: NH's First 'Trauma-Skilled' School [fosters.com]
By Hadley Barndollar, Fosters, November 30, 2019 “How many of you have been homeless?” was the question. Half of the group raised their hands, not a one older than 18. “My father was a drug addict and my mom was associated with bad people and was never really home,” said one student, who has attended eight different schools. “And then my parents were scattered all over the news. Kids picked on me. I was known for that at school, so I just started fighting people.” [ Please click here to read...
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Champion in Action: At UpReach, There are 'Miracles Every Day' [unionleader.com]
By Shawne K. Wickham, New Hampshire Union Leader, December 8, 2019 Veterans, individuals with physical or developmental disabilities, families who have experienced trauma, and youngsters with autism have all found healing and acceptance in the gentle, good horses of UpReach Therapeutic Equestrian Center. The center’s motto is: “Improving lives with the power of the horse.” “It’s more than just a pony ride,” says Karen Kersting, who left a successful career in banking 21 years ago to become...
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DCYF Director Says N.H. More Focused on Keeping Families Together [nhpr.org]
By Rick Ganley and Mary McIntyre, New Hampshire Public Radio, October 17, 2019 Reports of child abuse and neglect reached a record high in New Hampshire during the last fiscal year. That's according to data released last week by the Division for Children, Youth and Families, the state's child welfare system. NHPR's Morning Edition Host Rick Ganley spoke with the DCYF director Joe Ribsam about what this data mean for measuring the agency's progress and how DCYF plans to do better. [ Please...
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Foster Care, Opioids, and ACEs
https://www.revealnews.org/article/as-opioid-crisis-strains-foster-care-states-arent-tracking-the-damage/ As a CASA volunteer, one of the first things I learned in training is that cases are rising due to the opioid epidemic. ACEs were mentioned and there seems to be a general understanding that they are connected. This article suggests that it is important to specify opioids versus any other addiction. I’m not sure. When we say that sometimes the problem is the solution, we are indicating...
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Keene event focuses on childhood trauma (www.sentinelsource.com)
Excerpts from article in today's Keene Sentine l by Jessica Ricard.
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Keene program focuses on how to identify, alleviate, stress among kids and parents (www.sentinelsource.com) NH
While stress in children and parents can be difficult to identify until it’s too late, a relatively new test seeks to change that. The ACE test, which can reveal the level of emotional duress and what can be done to stabilize it, was the subject of a discussion drawing scores of people to The Colonial Theatre on Main Street in Keene Thursday night. ACE is an acronym for Adverse Childhood Experiences. Audience members first watched a movie, “Resilience: The Biology of Stress & the Science...
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Let's #LeadTheEvolution Together!
I see you leading the evolution with your hard work & your heart work! You might wonder what I mean by leading the evolution... If you join the film screening and community conversation on Feb 15 , you’ll learn that most of us have experienced some kind of trauma or adversity. The science shows us how trauma impacts our brain and future health and well-being, but more profoundly, how it changes our DNA and gets passed through the generations. We are really beginning to see how evolution...
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New Hampshire 2018 State Profile
Hi, Everyone: Here’s the state profile for New Hampshire. To review the entire profile, open the PDF that is attached to this post. If you have corrections or additions, please leave them in the comments section of this post. We’ll be reviewing the comments regularly and doing fact-checks. The information you give us will also help us determine how to organize and expand the information in the state profiles. We will be turning this post into a living profile that, with your help and input,...
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New Hampshire in the New York Times
“Addiction is ultimately a symptom of disconnection; such symptoms cannot be treated by casting people out from society. We should indeed recognize that medication is as valid as any treatment, but we should also think about changing our own mind-set, if only to help people recover.” https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/27/opinion/opioid-addiction.html
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New Hampshire Mothers Struggling With Opioid Addiction Fight To Keep Their Children [npr.org]
Jillian Broomstein starts to cry when she talks about the day her newborn son Jeremy was taken from her by New Hampshire's child welfare agency. He was 2 weeks old. "They came into the house and said they would have to place him in foster care and I would get a call and we would set up visits," she says. "It was scary." Broomstein, who was 26 at the time, had not used heroin for months and was on methadone treatment. The clinic social worker told her that since Jeremy would test positive for...
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NH Voices: Ardis Olson -- Dealing with ACEs an urgent need in NH [unionleader.com]
IF I TOLD you that one in four New Hampshire children would experience serious, negative health outcomes later in life unless we put in place a proven system of prevention today, would you support investing in that prevention? This is actually an urgent question for New Hampshire, as a state, to respond to, as a recent survey of New Hampshire adults found that those who had experienced early adversity are in poorer physical and mental health than their peers who did not experience adversity.
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Now What?… EMDR Part I (Building a Safe Space, Sound, and Creativity)
I mentioned in my Introductory Post and my Now What?... Mindfulness post – I just started EMDR therapy and I plan to share the experience and my thoughts as I progress. I thought I would be starting sooner, but as it turns out you still have to do a little talking about things before you start. But, this week I finally had my first actual session. My therapist confessed that she doesn’t entirely understand how or why this works, but that she’s done it enough times to know that it does work...
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The Demographics of Childhood Trauma (article published in Pacific Standard)
A new study assesses the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences in America by state, race or ethnicity, and income level. https://psmag.com/social-justice/the-demographics-of-childhood-trauma
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The Regulated Classroom: Camp for Educators
When educators learn about the devastating impact of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences), childhood trauma, and toxic stress on a child’s developing body, brain, and behavior, they often remark, “Well..what do I do now?” The Regulated Classroom answers that question. In this three-day intensive camp experience (July 30-August 1), educators will deepen self-awareness and capacity for self-regulation through a new approach to trauma-informed teaching. The Regulated Classroom: Bottom-Up...
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Trauma-Informed CONVOS during COVID
Thanks to Lara Kain of ACES Connection, I discovered the brilliant Joe Truss of Culturally Responsive Leadership . Joe is a principal, a blogger, a father, and soon to be my second guest in a new free conversation series I am hosting - Trauma-Informed CONVOS during COVID. Joe authored a provocative, hilarious, raw blog that went viral on social media less than three weeks ago. If you haven't read it, it's a must: A School Principal's Pondering During a Pandemic. Join us for what will be a...
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Two studies shed light on state legislators’ views on ACEs science and trauma policy
New and returning lawmakers take the oath of office on day one of Washington state's 2017 legislative session. — Jeanie Lindsay/Northwest News Network As advocates prepare to see how ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) science, trauma, and resilience play out in the 2020 state legislative sessions — many beginning in January — they are undoubtedly asking: “What does a legislator want?" It may be a stretch to play on Freud’s question: “What does a women want?", but the query captures how...
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We Need the WHOLE to Create Trauma-Informed Systems
Sometimes I think I have PTSD from failed change efforts. I am not kidding. I have developed symptoms from living through nearly twenty years of failed education reform efforts. When I reflect on the many change efforts I participated in, I shudder. I try to block it out. I avoid discussing it. There is an "activating" body memory (SE™ talk) for me that is associated with prescriptive change efforts. When I encounter a stimulus or trigger, like someone talking about a new protocol intended...
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What Happens When a "Behaviorist" Has Dinner With a "Trauma-Informist"
Let me tell you, dinner with a behaviorist is an experience, a somatic experience. Lily (name changed to protect her ;-)) and I shared Indian food two nights ago in Keene, NH. As I shuffled into the restaurant ten minutes late (typical for me), I rounded the corner and saw her sitting at a table for two. I beamed; I knew I was in for some rich discussion and a total "nerding out" session. Lily and I are former colleagues. We worked together for only a year, but it was my first year in a new...
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What's Right with US!
Thoughts on the shift from, "What's wrong with you?" to "What happened to you?" Dear Monadnock Thrives & ACEs Connection: I have to admit, it has taken me some time to understand the value of shifting from, “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?” As a person with high ACEs, I realize I have been absolutely conditioned by our culture to resist the victim label (I resist thinking about what happened to me) and to ‘own’ my response to whatever has happened to me (I must pursue...
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Re: Now What?… EMDR Part I (Building a Safe Space, Sound, and Creativity)
Jocelyn: Thank you for sharing, demystifying EMDR and sharing about things i never knew like emdr can be done with sound. Wahoo. Also, i love how you educated your new "friend" on ACEs and csn do that without going into details. I love that as well. So healing and much more empowering. Cissy
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Lifelines: How Yoga is Helping Women at N.H. State Prison Manage Trauma During COVID-19 [nhpr.org]
By ALEX MCOWEN & PETER BIELLO • MAY 7, 2020, NHPR.org Because of COVID-19, the New Hampshire Department of Corrections suspended all visits and volunteer services at the state’s prisons on March 16, more than 7 weeks ago. Nicole Belonga has been serving time at the New Hampshire State Prison for women in Concord for 11 years. She says these efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus have cut off almost all contact with the outside world, making stressful prison life even more so.
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Greater Richmond Trauma Informed Community Network, first to join ACEs Cooperative of Communities, shows what it means to ROCK!
In 2012, Greater Richmond SCAN and five other community partners hatched a one-year plan to educate the Richmond, Virginia, community about ACEs science and to embed trauma-informed practices. Eight years later, the original group has evolved into the Greater Richmond Trauma-Informed Community Network (GRTICN) with 495 people and 170 organizations. And they're just scratching the surface.
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The Surviving Spirit Newsletter January 2021
Healing the Heart 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 January 2021 “ May 2021 bring everyone Joy - Peace - Hope - Love - Good Health - Renewed Faith - Inclusiveness - Empathy - Understanding - Kindness - Acceptance - in a Safer World. May we spend more time &...
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The Disconnect of Trauma and the Lies We Follow
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" “ Go to where the silence is and say something.” - Amy Goodman Survivor Stories- Michael Skinner - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehkz2kkkIa4&t=40s Take care and share as you wish...Michael Skinner A diagnosis is not a destiny “ Our lives begin to...
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The Surviving Spirit Newsletter March 2021
Healing the Heart 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 latest edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter is posted at the website - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php or here's the PDF -...
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The Surviving Spirit Newsletter June 2021
Healing the Heart 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 June 2021 http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2021-06-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_June_2021.pdf Hi folks, June is NATIONAL PTSD AWARENESS MONTH I thought I would share a few of the resources that have...
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40 Acres and a School - Fundraising for Black Liberation in New England States
I am a member of Done for DiDi: White Labor Collective - an international direct giving collective instructed by Black women and non-men organizers and executed by a network of white labor. We are redistributing white wealth - money, land, time, skills, and resources - to Black women and non-men. I’m sharing with your group the opportunity to participate and amplify an incredible campaign called 40 Acres and a School. The project is led by DiDi Delgado and Black Marginalized Genders (MaGes).
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The Surviving Spirit Newsletter August 2021
Healing the Heart 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 August 2021 Hi Folks, Welcome to the month of August...from my part of the country here in New Hampshire-land it is a time of summer and heat...but the whole month of July and coming into August has been more...
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A Gathering of the Tribes, 9/11 & The Surviving Spirit Newsletter September 2021
The Surviving Spirit Newsletter September 2021 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 Hi Folks, Twenty years ago today at this time of the morning I was getting ready to leave for Ellenville, New York to perform and speak at the Annual New York Association of...
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Me & My Emotions: A New, Free Resource for Teens
The pandemic has had a lasting effect on youth mental health. Moved by a desire to reduce youth’s toxic stress and increase their resilience, The Dibble Institute, in partnership with a team of students and alumni from ArtCenter College of Design and author Carolyn Curtis, PhD, is releasing Me & My Emotions —a new, free adaptation of our beloved Mind Matters Curriculum. The mobile-friendly Me & My Emotions website features engaging graphics and bite-sized lessons teens can access and...
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The Surviving Spirit Newsletter October 2021
Healing the Heart 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 October 2021 “Don't Quit” by John Whittier When things go wrong as they sometimes will, When the road you're trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low and the debts are high And you want to smile, but you...
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The Surviving Spirit Newsletter January 2022
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 Hi Folks, The latest edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter - sharing Hope and Healing Resources for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health is posted at the website -...
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The Surviving Spirit Newsletter February 2022
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 Hi Folks, The latest edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter - sharing Hope and Healing Resources for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health is posted at the website - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php or here's...
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Survivor Stories with Michael Skinner – Music & Sharing
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.
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The Surviving Spirit Newsletter April 2022
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 -...
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“Pirates” - Live at the River Ledge
“ 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...
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The Brave and Unbroken Podcast & Mental Health and National Trauma Awareness Month
The month of May recognizes Mental Health Awareness and National Trauma Awareness. On that note, I'd like to share a few resources that I had the honor of participating with that address trauma, abuse and mental health. The Brave and Unbroken Podcast is brand new – recorded in March and aired in April. The other two resources are video clips shared at my You Tube Channel. Please note, I am currently working on my You Tube Channel to share more resources, music and conversation – I have...
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The Surviving Spirit Newsletter May 2022
Hi Folks, The month of May recognizes Mental Health Awareness and National Trauma Awareness The May Surviving Spirit Newsletter - sharing Hope and Healing Resources for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health is posted at the website - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php It can be read online via - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2022-05-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_May_2022.pdf or this - http://ml.survivingspirit.com/dada/mail.cgi/archive/newsletter/20220501202915/ To...
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The Incredible Healing Power of Music - Healing Childhood Trauma in Adulthood
Hi Folks, I have found music to be a soothing balm for the wounded soul. Trauma disconnects us from ourselves - Music and the Creative Arts are Healing - they can help us reconnect us to ourselves - so please follow your passion & your muse. You deserve it!! “Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart.” – Pablo Casals The Incredible Healing Power of Music - Healing Childhood Trauma in Adulthood - YouTube 9:21 minutes -...
