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By Devika Bhushan, Illustration: Jim Cooke/Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, August 26, 2022 In 2011 I was a third-year medical student at Harvard Medical School. I was on my psychiatry rotation — and I had a secret. My attending doctors remarked on how well I supported our patients. I was grateful but felt as though my familiarity with and deep empathy for their symptoms and medication side effects were like a neon sign that at any moment could out me. Using the words “bipolar disorder”...

Hi folks, Welcome to the August Edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter. Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health is out - It can be read online via this & you can also subscribe - http://ml.survivingspirit.com/dada/mail.cgi/archive/newsletter/20220825143551/ or this - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2022-08-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_August_2022.pdf Newsletter Contents : I created these two music videos for the International Human Trafficking...

PACEs Connection is looking for a graduate level intern! Are you looking to gain some experience in the field of PACEs science? We are seeking a graduate level intern for this fall, through May of 2023. This internship would be best suited for a graduate student in a Masters of Public Health program or similar program. We are happy to work with your university to help you receive any relevant credit for your time and work here. Details: 5 - 10 hours per week, fit into your schedule Focus on...

There is growth through trauma. Hard as it is, there IS growth through trauma. Very often, we do not see it at the time. It is not until we reflect on what happened and find possible reasons why we faced a flashback or responded so badly to a trigger. I have been forcing myself to attend the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care hearings because I wanted to discover WHY professionals working in our State institutions would cause harm to children and youth. I wanted to discover WHY they...

Fathers, children, and families alike benefit from fathers having healthy coparenting and romantic relationships. Child Trends’ new brief for the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation provides fatherhood programs with strategies, policy suggestions, and additional considerations for working with American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) fathers. The brief’s authors outline strategies within three distinct areas of program development and implementation that fatherhood programs can use...

In my last post, I highlighted a book Vincent Felitti mentioned at the CAMFT conference in Orange County. In the same talk, Dr. Felitti also recommended a form of therapeutic writing developed by James Pennebaker to help individuals uncover painful emotions and heal trauma. Pennebaker's book Opening Up by Writing It Down: How Expressive Writing Improves Health and Eases Emotional Pain details the why and how. The Pennebaker method has been referenced elsewhere on ACEs Connection; I thought...

Welcome to Rx Virtual Healing Circle s! This session serves as an opportunity for building the beloved community and fostering healing through a shared humanity perspective. We invite you to join us in sharing a connective space for people to offer compassion and experience unity. Join us Wednesday, August 31, 2022 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Please register here: https://bit.ly/RxHealingCircle8-31

By Kira M Newman, Greater Good Magazine, August 8, 2022 In the space between strangers and friends, there are acquaintances. They represent the gray zone of relationships: Does she want to get to know me better? Would I even enjoy spending more time with them? Without any effort, they can easily slide back into “people we used to know.” Or with a little effort, they could become real friends. Can you know if an acquaintance is worth that effort? Two new studies suggest that when we think...

Freedom from Chronic Pain Get a sneak peek of exclusive course content from the beloved teacher and creator of Somatic Experiencing®, Peter A. Levine, PhD Engage in proven strategies to heal various chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) Resolve these issues by getting to the root cause of the difficult conditions so you may experience lasting relief from symptoms Heal Your Body & Transform Your Life Explore a one-of-a-kind experiential learning...

Iya Affo & Heal Historical Trauma Presents New!! 48-HOUR HISTORICAL TRAUMA SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION in collaboration with THE INTERNATIONAL HISTORICAL TRAUMA ASSOCIATION We are the only entity offering a comprehensive, 48-hour Historical Trauma Specialist Certification Program. The Program is broken into 6 levels and is built on a foundation of BIPOC cultures and neurobiology. It is taught from a multicultural perspective, injecting traditions and ideology from various cultures from...

By Nkoula Badila / Mindful.org / August 5, 2022 Image: Adobe Stock/wavebreak 3 I teach gardening to young people and I have learned that growth is an act of love, resistance, and community. Each day I witness the magic in their eyes when they see the seeds they planted transform into juicy fruit they can enjoy. They begin to see that miracles are possible and that love can produce glorious expressions. They are more tender with this fruit they grow, with each other, and with themselves. The...

Note: I've not posted in a while. I can't believe it's been almost three years since I was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer. I miss this community and I miss work. But I am doing well at the moment and I'm SO grateful to still be here (meaning alive and on the planet). It's been A LOT of treatment and quite a roller coaster of medical and other experiences, but that's not why I'm here and posting today. Today, I'm writing today is to reflect on how healing from trauma feels and is...