Blog

Thursday, July 28th, 2022 at 10:30 am - 12:00 pm PST, ValorUS is hosting a web conference on Financial Security and Violence Prevention. This web conference is designed for staff who have basic knowledge of sexual violence and intimate partner violence and are interested in learning about the connections between interpersonal violence and financial security. This training will support an exploration of participants' relationship with money, how this shows up in life and work, and ways to...

By Phoebe Weston, Image: Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images , The Guardian, July 11, 2022 Taking into account all the benefits nature provides to humans and redefining what it means to have a “good quality of life” is key to living sustainably on Earth, a four-year assessment by 82 leading scientists has found. A market-based focus on short-term profits and economic growth means the wider benefits of nature have been ignored, which has led to bad decisions that have reduced people’s wellbeing...

Many of us are familiar with Elizabeth Kübler-Ross’ five stages of grief : denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance—a call to move forward in life while welcoming the different waves of grief that come and go. In today’s world, these waves have grown stronger because of the rise of losses and reasons behind them, which reside outside the confines of inevitable mortality and natural death. We are up against a relentless recurrence and severity of death in the context of violence,...

By Danielle Friedman, Photo: Vanessa Leroy/The New York Times, The New York Times, July 7, 2022 When Cheng Xu was serving in the Canadian Armed Forces as a paratrooper and infantry officer, he experienced a series of traumatic events in rapid succession — his best friend and fellow officer took his own life, a soldier under his command was injured during a live fire exercise and a close friend’s father was kidnapped. He felt like the world was collapsing around him everywhere except at the...

Deeply rooted shame from childhood adversities can lurk beneath conscious awareness, even after early memories are reworked. New understanding of the brain provides hope for breaking the painful grip of shame that’s imprinted in childhood. Traditional therapeutic strategies might not be the best starting point. This blog introduces the first of several healing strategies.

The University of Louisville, Center for Family and Community Wellbeing study found that Mind Matters: Overcoming Adversity and Increasing Resilience significantly reduced Post Traumatic Stress Symptoms and increased trauma coping skills. What makes Mind Matters so effective? In this webinar author Carolyn Curtis reviews the research behind Mind Matters’ effectiveness. She discusses the program’s theory of change as well as the individual lessons that bring results. Objectives: Participants...

By Elle Hunt, Image: Getty Images, The Guardian, June 29, 2022 Everyone knows the benefits of exercise: stronger muscles, more energy, weight management, better sleep. A mood boost is often tacked on as a bonus. But there is stronger evidence than ever before that movement not only improves your mental health, but also protects it. Depression is the fourth most serious disease worldwide , yet the psychological benefits of exercise have been overlooked, says Jack Raglin, a professor of...

Author: Ashwini Murali, click here, How Tears Help Us Overcome Barriers to Empathy Recent data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees shows that the number of refugees seeking asylum has more than doubled in the past 10 years, with an estimated 84 million people displaced from their homes. Many of these refugees have immigrated to new countries where they may struggle to assimilate and learn the language. In some places, refugees and immigrants become the target of hate...

New understanding of the brain provides hope for breaking the painful grip of shame that’s imprinted in childhood and continues to affect adults. Rewiring shame calls for more than the traditional left brain approaches.

Irene recently came to therapy because her anxiety had been revving up, resulting in sleepless nights, difficulty concentrating, and isolating. “I can’t tolerate all of the meanness in the world,” she said. For years, she had been markedly distressed by the political climate, and the recent war in Ukraine has made that worse. Further probing revealed that Irene (not her real name) had survived a personal war. Growing up, she had been emotionally abused by her mother. “She called me stupid...

The Peace and Justice Institute at Valencia College is dedicated to furthering community healing and resilience - a goal that continues to be realized through its convening of the Creating a Resilient Community (CRC) Network . This movement has grown to include over 400 local community members. After the group's most recent annual conference in April, PJI has intentionally continued furthering this work both in the community and at its home institution, Valencia College. PJI believes that...

COVID and Hybrids and Change, oh my! It’s no news that learning how to navigate in our current world is challenging. It can be mind-numbing at times. And our workplaces are no exception. We no longer have “silver bullets” that are used to help lead and navigate our way through this chaos. There is no direct cause and effect correlations between action and results – if we do this, then that will occur. The VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complexity and ambiguous) world doesn’t allow it. But we...