Tagged With "Child Trauma and Play Therapy"
Blog Post
ACEs and the Unified Science of Human Development - Jane Stevens - Aug. 2, 2016 at California Home Visiting Summit
This is a repost from the Philadelphia ACEs group - attached is a PowerPoint from Jane Stevens, presented at the California Home Visiting Summit on August 2, 2016.
Blog Post
ACEs Connection Info -- How-tos, ACEs 101, welcome, overview
ACEs Connection Welcome Tour What you get What you can do ACEs Connection How-Tos Directory How-To post a blog How-To add a picture How-To change your email settings And more ACEs Connection Network Overview ACEsConnection.com and ACEsTooHigh.com ACEs, trauma-informed, and resilience-building Collective impact community of practice And more ACEs 101 FAQ ACEs, toxic stress, and epigenetics...
Blog Post
ACEs Connection launches Cooperative of Communities
The ACEs Connection Cooperative of Communities launches today. We want to continue to contribute to the ACEs movement for as long as it takes to create a worldwide healing-centered culture based on ACEs science. We want that to take hold in this world in the same way electricity has — we only notice it if it isn’t there.
First, a clarification: Nothing on ACEsConnection.com changes! Membership remains free! Everything our current 300+ communities use stays free, and remains free for new ones.
Blog Post
ACEs Connection's Inclusion Tool makes sure nobody's left out
We developed ACEs Connection's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Tool — called the Inclusion Tool, for short — to ensure that ACEs initiatives across the world focus on being inclusive when forming a steering committee, recruiting leaders, providing education about ACEs science, recruiting members, or providing resources and services within their communities. The more inclusive your ACEs initiative is, the more diverse it will be, giving your initiative a real shot at achieving equity and...
Blog Post
Allentown Headstart program focuses on kids dealing with trauma [whyy.org]
In a space that used to be an abandoned state hospital, Lora Lesak has created an early childhood classroom filled with natural light and comfortable chairs — a room designed to feel like a home. As director of Developmental Health Services for Allentown’s Community Services for Children, she says that’s exactly what children who’ve experienced trauma need. “We have gotten children that have needed to remain in the hospital for two weeks to be weaned of substances — whether it’s cocaine,...
Blog Post
April 4th Policy Forum: A Rising Tide: Understanding Incarceration’s Multigenerational Impact on Women, Girls, and Communities (Philadelphia, PA)
The Stoneleigh Foundation and Maternity Care Coalition are hosting a policy forum on April 4 titled, “A Rising Tide: Understanding Incarceration's Multigenerational Impact on Women, Girls, and Communities.” This day-long event will bring together policymakers, system stakeholders, industry leaders, advocates, and community members to explore how incarceration affects women, girls, and parenting families and to identify solutions promoting their health and well-being. REGISTRATION:...
Blog Post
April Pottstown Trauma Steering Committee Meeting
The next meeting of the Pottstown Trauma Informed Community Initiative Community Steering Committee is scheduled for: Thursday, April 7 from 12:00-3:00 Place: Pottstown Area Health & Wellness F oundation We have a busy agenda for the meeting. Looking forward to seeing everyone! Welcome & Introductions Community Updates Communications Updates and Decision Points Overall language ACEsConnections.com Review of Logic Model and Workgroup Activities Communications Network Training General...
Blog Post
Building Children's Brains [New York Times]
Take a look at today's article from Nick Kristof in the New York Times on the importance of early learning and challenges faced by children in poverty. Building Children's Brains Nicolas Kristof First, a quiz: What’s the most common “vegetable” eaten by American toddlers? Answer: The French fry. The same study that unearthed that nutritional tragedy also found that on any given day, almost half of American toddlers drink soda or similar drinks, possibly putting the children on a trajectory...
Blog Post
Call For Workshop and Poster Submissions: Third Philadelphia Trauma Training Conference
The 3rd Annual Philadelphia Trauma Training Conference: Promoting Equitable Access to High Quality Services for Vulnerable Children and Families , will be held on Thomas Jefferson University's East Falls Philadelphia Campus July 29 th -August 1st, 2019 . This unique training conference will provide an intensive, collaborative, and engaging experience to providers, educators, and leaders across health, education, and social service disciplines, as well as to community members invested in...
Blog Post
Certificate of Advanced Studies in Trauma Counseling- Apply Now!
Philadelphia University Certificate of Advanced Studies in Trauma Counseling Philadelphia University’s Community and Trauma Counseling Program offers a 4-course certificate for master’s-level professionals. The Certificate of Advanced Studies in Trauma Counseling provides an advanced understanding of trauma theory, principles, tools and strategies that support trauma-informed practice with adults and children. A new cohort will begin late August with enrollment in the first course in the...
Blog Post
Childhood Trauma in Pottstown can Lead to Future Health Challenges [The Mercury]
Take a look at this great article from Mica about our Pottstown Trauma Informed Community work. POTTSTOWN >> A local initiative is bringing awareness to research that shows traumatic childhood experiences such as poverty, sexual abuse and drug addiction can lead to lifelong challenges in mental, social and physical health. Representatives of the school district, borough and police department, as well as several other organizations, have come together to form the Pottstown Trauma...
Blog Post
Community Partner's Meeting Raffle Winners
Thank you everyone for a fantastic meeting! We are so proud of Pottstown's commitment to a Trauma-Informed Community. We are pleased to announce the winners of the Planning Assessment Raffle: 1) Brianna Ringwood - Montgomery County DA's Office 2) David Genova - Pottstown School District 3) Katie Anne Mantle - Creative Health We will follow-up individually with you to coordinate bringing you the gift cards. Thank you!
Blog Post
Community Urged to Take Part in Pottstown Childhood Trauma Initiative [Mercury]
Thank you to everyone who attended our Pottstown Trauma Informed Community Connection meeting. It was great to see all of the interest and support of the work in Pottstown. Thank you to Mica Patterson for writing a great article in the Mercury. Please see below and click on link for full story. Community Urged to Take Part in Pottstown Childhood Trauma Initiative POTTSTOWN >> “Do you know anyone who has been divorced? I bet most of us could say yes. That is a person or a family that...
Blog Post
Creating Trauma Informed Schools by Dr. Sandy Bloom
In June 2014, Dr. Sandy Bloom was the keynote speaker for the PEAK Annual Meeting and presented a training for teachers focusing on ACEs and becoming trauma informed schools. Below is a copy of her presentation. Sandra L. Bloom is a Board-Certified psychiatrist, graduate of Temple University School of Medicine and recently was awarded the Temple University School of Medicine Alumni Achievement Award. In addition to her faculty position at the School of Public Health at Drexel, she is...
Blog Post
Department of Counseling and Behavioral Health & Trauma Conference
Thomas Jefferson University's newly formed Department of Counseling and Behavioral Health has generated its first-ever newsletter . If you're interested in trauma-informed training and education , or if you simply want to stay abreast of the work of some great clinicians, researchers, advocates and aspiring professionals, please have a look. The Community and Trauma Counseling program currently has Art Therapy options and is launching two new specializations and certificates this summer: (1)...
Blog Post
Dr. Steve Berkowitz to deliver keynote at Brookside Country Club
The Pottstown Trauma Informed Community Connection group is underway in planning the January 31 Community Connection Connection Matters networking at 8:30 followed by a 9:00 am to 11:00 am meeting at Brookside Country Club where Dr. Steve Berkowitz, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and Director Penn Center For Youth and Family Trauma Response And Recovery will speak on "Childhood Resiliency: Crisis, Early Intervention...
Blog Post
Drexel Studies Show Intergenerational Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Food Insecurity [ASPPH]
ASPPH | Drexel Studies Show Intergenerational Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Food Insecurity New research from Drexel University’s Center for Hunger-Free Communities has added evidence on the relationship between food insecurity and adverse child experiences (ACEs). One study of 1255 female caregivers of young children, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine , found that depressive symptoms and ACEs were independently associated with household and child food...
Blog Post
Educators learn the ABCs of school wellness at Pottstown institute [PhoenixvilleNews.com]
Right before students are due to return for the fall session, tri-county area educators learned how to incorporate play into the school day during a wellness seminar at the Pottstown Middle School. About 160 people representing 13 area school districts attended the 2016 “Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds Institute” last week. The two-day event shows educators and school administrators how to incorporate physical fitness as well as other healthy activities into the school to create a better...
Blog Post
Elizabeth Prewitt article on Trauma Informed Care Bill
A comprehensive Trauma-Informed Care bill quietly introduced in the final days of the 114th Congress Elizabeth Prewitt 2 hours ago In the final weeks of the 114 th Congress, Senators Heitkamp, Durbin, and Franken introduced The Trauma-Informed Care for Children and Families Act (S. 3519)—a wide ranging bill that proposes new strategies to expand trauma-informed best practices and models, train clinicians, law enforcement officials, teachers and health care providers in trauma-informed...
Blog Post
Focus on Reducing Childhood Trauma in Pottstown [Reading Eagle]
Pottstown officials are taking steps to reduce instances of childhood trauma among students in the school district. The topic was discussed during a roundtable at the Pottstown Early Action for Kindergarten Readiness, or PEAK, program's annual meeting at Montgomery County Community College. A program of the school district, PEAK partners with private child care locations to provide prekindergarten education to local students. The trauma that officials hope to reduce is related to adverse...
Blog Post
Follow PTICC on Social Media
Did you know that you can follow Pottstown Trauma Informed Community Connection not only here on ACEs Connection, but also on Facebook , Twitter , YouTube , and Instagram ? On those platforms, you will find photos and videos from community events, information about upcoming programming, and news related to ACEs and trauma. Follow and join in on the conversation about trauma and #BreakingTheCycle in Pottstown because community matters, connection matters, and your story matters.
Blog Post
Helping Young Children Who Have Experienced Trauma: Policies and Strategies for Early Care and Education [ChildTrends.org] [Re-posting from ACES in Child Care]
This report from Child Trends and the National Center for Children in Poverty includes a review of the prevalence of early childhood trauma and its effects. The report offers promising strategies for child care and preschool programs looking to help young children who have endured trauma, and presents recommendations for policymakers to support trauma-informed early care. [For more of this story go to https://www.childtrends.org/publications/ecetrauma/ ]
Blog Post
How Trauma is Changing Children’s Brains [NEA Today]
Read more about the traumatized brain from NEA Today. For several years, John Snelgrove began his workweek with a lengthy fax from the local police, listing the home addresses where officers had answered domestic violence calls over the weekend. Snelgrove, head of guidance services for Brockton (Mass.) Public Schools, would check those addresses against the district’s student database. When a match came up, he’d alert the counselor at that child’s school, who, in turn, would take a red...
Blog Post
Join Feb. 18th webinar on addressing ACEs in public policy
Please join this ACEs Connection co-sponsored webinar "Making Meaningful Change: Addressing ACEs through Public Policy" on Feb. 18 (11:30 am-1:00 pm ET) presented by the Health Federation of Philadelphia and MARC (Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities). In this webinar, three nationally recognized experts will discuss policy and advocacy strategies on a local, state, and national level using evidence from studies they have conducted with legislators and the general public. Speakers...
Blog Post
Marissa is Breaking the Cycle of her ACEs [Pottstown Trauma Informed Community Connection]
Marissa shares her story of resilience of how she overcame being addicted to drugs which started at the age of 14. To learn more about the Pottstown Trauma Informed Community Connection, go to http://www.pottstownmatters.org, or stay right here!
Blog Post
New Study Shows Communities Can Reduce the Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences [Mathematica Policy Research]
A new study commissioned by the Adverse Childhood Experiences Public-Private Initiative (APPI) of Washington State finds that communities can create effective, local strategies that reduce the long-term social, emotional and physical problems related to abuse, neglect, and other Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Research shows that the prevalence of 10 specific ACEs—such as witnessing domestic violence or experiencing physical abuse—trigger a stress response that can harm a child’s...
Blog Post
One Neighborhood at a Time [New York Times]
A good article from David Brooks with the New York Times that relates to our work in Pottstown. I like this quote toward the end of the article, '"What’s the right level to pursue social repair? The nation may be too large. The individual is too small. The community is the right level..." LOST HILLS, Calif. — What is the central challenge facing our era? My answer would be: social isolation. Gaps have opened up among partisan tribes, economic classes and races. There has been a loss of...
Blog Post
Organizations develop a Funders Guide to Trauma-Informed Practice
Pottstown Trauma Informed Community Connection is one of the featured stories in this resource. "Responding to the overwhelming demand of funders in the Delaware Valley to better understand the impacts of trauma on our region and how they can apply trauma informed practices to their own work, Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia, the Thomas Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation, and United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey partnered to produce this hands-on resource...
Blog Post
PEAK Parents and Staff Featured in Center for American Progress Report
Last fall, I was contacted by a policy writer for the Center for American Progress. She was writing a paper on the challenges that families face in accessing affordable child care and other services for their young children. She found PEAK online and wanted to talk about the way we support families. We arranged a focus group of some parents and Judy Warner, a senior policy writer, spent several hours talking with the parents and visiting the YWCA Tri-County Area. Bethany and Ada are both...
Blog Post
PTICC Featured in Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation Fall 2016 Well-Informed Community Benefit Report
Our work with ACEs and trauma in Pottstown was featured in the Fall 2016 Community Benefit Report issued by the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation (PAHAWF). Within the feature, you can read about how we are becoming a trauma informed community, some scientific information about the effects of ACEs on the developing brain, a note from the President of the PAHAWF, and information from PEAK Coordinator and Chair of the Communications and Messaging for PTICC, Mary Rieck. There are...
Blog Post
PTICC Launch Presentation
We had a great launch to our Pottstown Trauma Informed Community Connection with 126 participants. We will post more information about the meeting a little later but below is the presentation that was used. Thank you for being involved in this important work in Pottstown.
Blog Post
Real Resilience is now a PODCAST
Women who support an incarcerated loved one finally has a place to share their stories on the Real Resilience P.W.L. Podcast.
Blog Post
Rep. Sappey's trauma-informed education signed into law [dailylocal.com]
By Daily Local News, July 5, 2019. Legislation to implement trauma-informed education in Pennsylvania schools has been signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf, largely thanks to a bill authored by state Rep. Christina Sappey, D-158th Dist. Earlier this year H.B. 1415 and S.B. 200, which would implement approaches to student learning that recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma and integrates that knowledge into education-based policies, learning, procedures and practices, was introduced by...
Blog Post
[Repost from ACES in Child Care] Developing Healthy Minds: It’s Never Too Early to Start! [Blog.SAMHSA.gov]
Developing Healthy Minds: It’s Never Too Early to Start! [Blog.SAMHSA.gov] | ACEs in Child Care | ACEsConnection The human mind is one of the most complex structures in the universe. Even in early infancy, it is capable of taking in a wide variety of inputs. Still, in our early years, we’ve only unlocked a small portion of its potential. Our brains actually continue to develop into our twenties . Accordingly, the U.S. Government embraces a definition of youth that continues until we turn 25.
Blog Post
Retiring Pottstown Superintendent Leaves Legacy [Reading Eagle]
This is an article in this past Sunday's Reading Eagle about the retirement of Dr. Jeff Sparagana. Thanks to him for his leadership for all these years and for his continued involvement. Joan Daly, former executive director of the Pottstown YMCA, recalled a meeting 11 years ago with Pottstown School District Superintendent Jeffrey Sparagana, then assistant superintendent, in which the seeds were planted for what would become one of Pottstown's most successful educational programs. "At the...
Blog Post
Spring Healing in Action Film Festival
Please see this announcement from Dan Rhoden with the Healing10 in Camden, New Jersey. Healing in Action Film Festival May 9, 2016 - 3:30 PM to 6:30 PM The Healing10, a “Community of Communities” planned as a cross sector approach to bring a trauma informed paradigm to Camden, NJ. is pleased to announce the Spring Healing in Action Film Festival! This film festival will feature powerful films about how adversity, trauma and toxic stress impacts individuals, professional caregivers and...
Blog Post
Steering Committee Meeting Notes - May 24, 2016
See attached for the meeting notes from the May 24, 2017 meeting of the Pottstown Trauma Informed Community Connection Steering Committee
Blog Post
Stress and Urban Poverty by Dr. Roy Wade, Jr.
Here is a presentation that was made by Dr. Roy Wade, Jr. in June 2015 at the PEAK Annual Meeting. Dr. Wade focused on the impact of stress and urban poverty on families and children and the expanded ACEs study. Dr. Roy Wade, Jr. is currently an Instructor of Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in the Department of General Pediatrics. He recently completed a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Fellowship at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of...
Blog Post
Studying How Poverty Keeps Hurting Young Minds, and What to Do About It [New York Times]
Take a look at this article from the New York Times concerning the impact of trauma on the developing brain. The human brain begins as a neural tube that develops five weeks after conception. Years later, it is fully formed. On Tuesday, experts in neuroscience, genetics and social work met in Manhattan to talk about what can happen to it along the way, and what emerging research tells us about how children who seem broken can be made whole. Officially, the meeting was called Poverty, the...
Blog Post
Supporting Older Trauma Survivors as They Heal Their Pasts, Grow Their Futures
Marie-Monique Marthol handed out the cards to older adults at meetings of her local civic association. With the pastor’s permission, she left some at a neighborhood church. She stacked them in restaurants, community centers and even at the laundromat. On the front, the cards read, “Time never runs out for change. Let go of fear and guilt. Focus on healing and growth from ACEs.” The flip side said, “Healing from your past; giving to your future.” They were slogans fine-tuned through months of...
Blog Post
Trauma 101 Training Results
Results from our Trauma 101 Trainings, presented at a recent PTICC Steering Committee Meeting, are available as photo attachments below.
Blog Post
Trauma Informed Care Initiative [Urban Innovation Exchange]
Read how arts, youth development and sanctuary are connecting in Philadelphia.. Sanctuary is a place of refuge or safety. In urban neighborhoods all throughout America, sanctuary is a luxury almost beyond attainment. But Michael O'Bryan is working to bring that sense of sanctuary to the North Philadelphia community of Strawberry Mansion. The Sanctuary Model originated in Philadelphia in the early 1980s. It promotes safety and recovery from adversity through the active creation of a...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
Using Play to Build the Brain [Gooeybrains]
This is a great read on play and its role in a child's brain development. "Did you know that more than just about any other activity, play is what promotes the healthy development of your child! The most important thing to remember about play is that it should be pleasurable. That means that if your child is having fun, then you are doing it right! Play can use the mind, body or even props. It engages the imagination and exercises the muscles, and it also allows our children to practice new...
Blog Post
Walkabout: FOCUS Pittsburgh trauma recovery model drawing national attention [post-gazette.com]
FOCUS Pittsburgh knew it was onto something when it piloted its model for strengthening communities — starting with the knowledge that social service help will not stick unless trauma is confronted. In 2015, FOCUS chose the 2900 block of Webster Avenue in the Hill District to start a block-by-block approach of bringing people together toward healing. The group is only into its second area — the 900 block of Bryn Mawr — but people around the country are validating that it is onto something. A...
Blog Post
Webinar - Becoming Trauma-Informed: What Does this Mean for Non-Clinical Staff?
Take a look at this info about upcoming webinar: "Addressing trauma is now the expectation, not the exception, in behavioral health and community organizations. There is an urgency to spread the understanding of trauma far beyond the scope of the clinical and peer workforce to ensure everyone in an organization is becoming trauma-informed. But, what does “becoming trauma-informed” mean for direct care behavioral health and community providers? Join this upcoming webinar to learn the basics...
Blog Post
With new proposal, trauma-informed care could become standard in Pa. schools [WHYY.org]
If a pair of powerful Pennsylvania state senators get their way, a burgeoning approach to managing student behavior could become a mandate. State Sens. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, and Vincent Hughes, D-Philadelphia, announced a proposal last week to create a “trauma-informed system of education.” The central plank of their proposal is a requirement that all teachers, school board members, and school employees “with direct contact with students” receive trauma-informed training. The details don’t...