Tagged With "Adverse Childhood Experiences"
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ACES in Blackburn with Darwen
A Blackburn with Darwen study found that almost half (47%) of adults across the Borough have suffered at least one ACE, with 12% of adults in Blackburn with Darwen having suffered four or more ACEs. The study has shown that the more ACEs individuals experience in childhood, the greater their risk of a wide range of health-harming behaviours and diseases as an adult. The ACE animation below tells the story of a young boy growing up, and how his experience with ACEs could affect his life...
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Associations of Adverse Childhood Experiences with Educational Attainment and Adolescent Health and the Role of Family Socioeconomic Factors: A Prospective Cohort Study in the UK [journals.plos.org]
By Lotte C. Houtepen, Jon Heron, Matthew J. Suderman, et al., PLOS Medicine, March 2, 2020 Background Experiencing multiple adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is a risk factor for many adverse outcomes. We explore associations of ACEs with educational attainment and adolescent health and the role of family and socioeconomic factors in these associations. Methods and findings Using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a prospective cohort of children born...
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Bruising in Children: Exploring the Attitudes, Knowledge and Training of Child Protection Social Workers and the Interface with Paediatricians regarding Childhood Bruising
Abstract While child protection social workers (CPSWs) make decisions about which children with an injury need a medical examination, we do not know how they make these decisions. We aimed to ascertain the knowledge, attitudes and training of CPSWs in regards to assessing childhood bruising. Paediatricians' views on the bruising knowledge and training of CPSWs were also explored, as well as the relationship and communication between the two professions. Semi‐structured, face‐to‐face...
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Call to protect Scottish youngsters from parents' drinking habits [heraldscotland.com]
CHARITIES have issued a call to “halt the cycle of childhood trauma” by providing increased support for parents dealing with harmful drinking habits. An estimated 30,000-51,000 Scottish children are being raised by problem drinkers, according to a recent report, with many youngsters at risk of imitating the same deleterious behaviour. Experts in harm-reduction and welfare organisations are warning that urgent support is needed to ensure fewer adults are faced with entrenched alcohol problems...
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Children 'failed in first 1,000 days', says MPs [BBC News]
The Health and Social Care Committee said the first 1,000 days were critical, but not enough was done. It warned cuts to children's centres, health visiting and services to support parents had left families vulnerable. Nearly a third of children are not "school ready" by the time they reach five, because they have not developed the necessary skills and behaviours. The cross-party group wants the government to pay for extra contact with health visitors beyond the age of two-and-a-half. The...
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Thousands of police trained to spot childhood trauma (bbc.co.uk)
How do you tackle the problem of young people falling into a life of crime? One of the approaches being adopted across the UK has been more awareness of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). In Wales, more than 5,000 front-line officers and police staff have been trained in responding to crimes involving children to enable them to recognise whether they may be experiencing ACEs. The programme, which has been backed by more than £6.5m of Home Office funding, is being used as a pilot which...
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Towards an ACE-Aware, trauma-responsive Ireland: Firkin Crane event Cork 08 April 2019
https://soundcloud.com/jane-mulcahy/firkin-crane-event-towards-an-ace-aware-trauma-responsive-ireland This event was an open discussion with survivors of childhood trauma and professionals working in the Early Years sector, education, health, addiction and homeless services about the desirability of raising public and political awareness of the prevalence and impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in Ireland and the need for a collaborative cross sector trauma-responsive approach for...
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Virtual Screening of Broken Places on March 21st & Registration for ACEs Connection Members!
Please join us on Thursday, March 21st for a special virtual screening of Broken Places , the latest U.S. documentary on early childhood trauma and resilience. The film will be offered via a private Vimeo link with passcode to all registered members of ACEs Connection, for free, accessible in the United States and internationally. REGISTER TODAY: To register, please visit : https://goo.gl/forms/apdoINwgtQmydEXK2 The viewing portal for the film will open on Vimeo at 6am EST and close at 11pm...
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Whole People Series & Study Guide (www.pbs.org)
There's a fantastic five-part series, Whole People , done by PBS, " spotlighting the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) through personal and community stories. It explores the long-term costs to personal well-being and our society. While much work needs to be done, there are many innovative developments to prevent and treat ACES. We all play a role in becoming a whole people." It's amazing. The five topics covered are as follows: Childhood Trauma Healing Communities A New...
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Why are we waiting for them to fall apart?’ – working towards a trauma-informed West Yorkshire and world [survivorswestyorkshire.org.uk]
Despite the brilliant blue of the Autumn sky and the vibrant atmosphere of the bustling college campus outside, I found myself genuinely excited to settle down for an afternoon in a darkened lecture theatre among over 130 colleagues in Bradford one Tuesday during early October. Organised in part to mark Safeguarding Week – and falling coincidentally just two weeks after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published a report revealing that people abused in childhood are more likely to be...
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Cut off from Justice: The impact of excluding separated and migrant children from legal aid
All children and young people in the UK should be kept safe and have equal access to justice, regardless of where they were born. However, sweeping changes made to legal aid provision for immigration cases have put some of the most vulnerable children in this country at serious risk and unable to get the help they need. This report, written in partnership with Dr Helen Connolly, University of Bedfordshire, highlights the needs of unaccompanied and separated children in a system that often...
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Early childhood intervention approaches to mental health and substance misuse challenges
Early childhood intervention approaches to mental health and substance misuse challenges - sharing a pair of research and evidence briefings to guide practice for ACEs informed early intervention
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Employers need to do more to support adult survivors of childhood trauma
We now need the right climate in the workplace for survivors to talk openly and with full confidence so that their employer can provide appropriate support.
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Four-year-old referred to specialist unit after killing pair of kittens
https://www.scotsman.com/news/four-year-old-referred-to-specialist-unit-after-killing-pair-of-kittens-1-4794346 A four-year-old child has been referred to the newly-launched Scottish Animal Guardians programme after killing two kittens, it has emerged. Details of cruelty by youngsters were revealed at Scotland’s first human-animal interaction conference by the Scottish SPCA and the University of Edinburgh. A total of 25 children from the Edinburgh City Council area have been referred to the...
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Good intentions but the right approach? The case of ACEs
There are of course lots of examples of fine work going on around ACEs, but there are also aspects of the ACE movement that make me feel a little uncomfortable. I worry that what is clearly a well-intentioned desire to just do something might not do good and could cause harm. My concerns are absolutely not meant as a criticism of the motivation and altruism underlying the ACEs movement, but as a cautionary nudge to make sure that, in our enthusiasm to do good, we don’t run before we can walk.
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Greater Manchester plan to give thousands of children and young people the best start in life
A new plan was launched at the Greater Manchester Health and Care Board which will help hundreds of thousands of children and young people in Greater Manchester to get better health and care to improve their development and fulfil their potential. The four-year plan maps out how agencies in the region will work closer together to make sure local services offered from before birth through to adulthood, will give every child across Greater Manchester the best possible start in life. The...
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Highland Council first in UK to adopt ‘ACE’ principles [pressandjournal.co.uk]
Highland councillors yesterday committed to following the principles laid out in a new report on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) by NHS Highland. The council is the first local authority in the UK to commit to becoming ‘ACE Aware’, and working with NHS and third sector to embed the principles into frontline children’s services. The report sets out to change traditional ways of thinking about children and adults who have had a poor start in life due to ‘toxic stress’ in their surroundings...
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How Adverse Childhood Experiences Cost $1.33 Trillion a Year (psychologytoday.com)
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/experimentations/201909/how-adverse-childhood-experiences-cost-133-trillion-year
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How many children experience trauma and PTSD UK 🇬🇧
This article intrigued me, is this purely PTSD or did it included identifying CPTSD or developmental trauma?... MRC-funded research from King’s College London suggests one in 13 young people in the UK have had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) before reaching age 18. The first UK-based study of its kind, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, found 31% of young people had a traumatic experience during childhood, and those who were exposed to trauma were twice as likely as their peers to...
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International Congress in Paris: The Transition to School
For many children, the transition to a traditional elementary school setting, whether it be from home or a pre-school environment, represents a radical discontinuity - not just in terms of their physical environment, but on multiple levels, including values, behavioral and learning expectations, teacher attitudes, emotional support, etc. What if, in line with the latest neuroscientific discoveries about brain maturation, we were to re-envision early childhood education as commencing at birth...
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Law and Justice interview with Kevin Neary, founder of Aid & Abet
In this extended Law and Justice interview with Scotsman, Kevin Neary, founder of Aid & Abet, we discuss the challenges of safely transitioning from prison back into society, childhood trauma, addiction, offending behaviour, recovery, the need for comprehensive, relationship-based community supports where basic needs are met, the utility of the Adverse Childhood Experience evidence, neuroscience developments and the ACE Aware Nation movement in Scotland, the fact that his family were...
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Local group want Cumbria to be an ACEs aware and trauma-informed region by 2020 [CumbriaCrack.com]
A local group of parents, teachers and childcare professionals are aiming to revolutionise the way Cumbria thinks about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and mental health in an ambitious bid to become one of the UK’s first “ACEs aware- trauma-informed communities”. The CUMBRIA RESILIENCE PROJECT have already received interest and support for their plans from a wide range of local services, including schools, health centres, disability groups and youth services. Their social media forum...
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Major conference to tackle childhood trauma [thirdforcenews.org.uk]
Experts from the world of child mental health are coming to Scotland to find solutions to help overcome the impact of childhood trauma. Children’s charity Kibble is hosting the European Federation of Conflict Management in Education and Care (EFeCT) conference in May in Glasgow. The event focuses on research and best practise in trauma informed care for young people. [For more on this story by Susan Smith, go to http://thirdforcenews.org.uk/tfn-news/major-conference-to-tackle-childhood-trauma ]
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Making Scotland the First ACEs Aware Nation
Come and join us for this major national event! Scotland is in the midst of a cultural revolution. More and more of us are coming to understand what science is telling us about the impact of childhood stress on adult health and happiness. This one-day conference will bring together some of the most inspirational speakers in the country, to help us consider how we get this information on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) to every citizen of our nation. There are only 5 million of us in...
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MRC-funded research reveals extent of trauma and PTSD in young people [cambridgenetwork.co.uk]
The first UK-based study of its kind, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, found 31% of young people had a traumatic experience during childhood, and those who were exposed to trauma were twice as likely as their peers to have a range of mental health disorders. Relatively little is known about the extent of trauma and its effects on mental health in young people. The researchers looked at participants in the E-Risk Study , funded by the MRC, which includes 2,232 children born in England and...
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NHS Highland (Scotland) report on ACEs science (including resilience) and practice
In the new report, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Resilience, and Trauma-Informed Care: A Public Health Approach to Understanding and Responding to Adversity , Professor Hugo van Warden, t he director of public health for NHS Highland (Scotland), writes: "This report deals with ‘Adverse Childhood Experiences’ and chronic exposure to ‘toxic stress’. A key message in this report is that such experiences increase the risk of later development of poor mental health, adverse behavioural...
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Oakgrove Hosts Trauma Informed Compassionate Schools Programme [derryjournal.com]
By Derry Journal, September 8, 2019 Oakgrove Integrated College last week became the first school in Northern Ireland to take part in the innovative ‘Trauma Informed Compassionate Schools Initiative’ – a programme designed to help educators better understand how and why Adverse Childhood Experiences can impact a child’s development. Held in the school’s assembly hall on Wednesday last, the event saw over 100 members of staff take part in the programme delivered by a team from Ulster...
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Police Need ACE Training to Better Understand Impact of Childhood Violence, Study Says [cypnow.co.uk]
Written by Nina Jacobs, Friday, May 1 2020 - Police officers should be trained in understanding the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on young people in order to tackle an increase in child to parent violence, new research suggests. The study was commissioned by Northumbria Police. A report commissioned by Northumbria Police, Policing Childhood Challenging Violent or Aggressive Behaviour: responding to vulnerable families , makes the recommendation as part of a wider strategy to...
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Registration Deadline for Virtual Screening of Cracked Up is Friday, June 7th
The exclusive virtual screening to all ACEs Connection members of the new, acclaimed film, CRACKED UP is fast approaching. The registration deadline is Friday, June 7th at 5pm PST / 8pm EST To register , please complete this form . This documentary film is about the long term effects of childhood trauma, told through Saturday Night Live veteran Darrell Hammond’s journey in discovering adverse childhood experiences at the root of his lifelong battle with self-harm, addiction, and...
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Religious Engagement Effects on Outcomes of Early Childhood Maltreatment
this is one of the few (and perhaps the first) examination of the possible effects of religious involvement on academic performance and mental health outcomes of maltreated children in the United Kingdom.
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Research report March 2018 International comparisons of health and wellbeing in early childhood
About the report This report presents data on health and wellbeing for early childhood in the UK and 14 comparable countries, recognising the particular influence that a child’s development in this period can have on his or her future health and quality of life. We consider the benefits and challenges of comparing child health indicators between countries, to inform local and national policy and practice that improves the health of children and families in this country. The findings show...
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Responding to adverse childhood experiences: An evidence review of interventions to prevent and address adversity across the life course [Public Health Wales]
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are stressful events during childhood that can have a profound impact on an individual’s present and future health. Growing up in the face of such adversities is recognised as an important public health concern in Wales and internationally. Actions to prevent and mitigate ACEs and their associated harms are essential to improve population health for present and future generations.
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Schools' role in tackling bad childhood experiences [BBC.com]
As a teenager he was sleeping in a park and trying to wash his clothes in a river so he would be clean for school. Matthew Cox was one of too many children who did not get adequate help soon enough, Future Generations Commissioner Sophie Howe has said. She wants the education system and agencies working closer on adverse childhood experiences (ACE). Mr Cox, now 22, works in a call centre and dreams of starting his own landscape gardening company. It is an amazing turnaround for a man who...
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Schools trained to help children facing trauma at home [bbc.com]
Training to help children who face early childhood trauma is to be offered to all schools in Wales. Teachers will be taught how to support pupils who have adverse experiences such as family breakdown, bereavement or physical, sexual or substance abuse. It follows a pilot project at three primary schools in Bridgend county. [For more on this story, go to http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-43345927 ]
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Scots officers being trained to understand impact of ‘toxic’ childhoods [scotsman.com]
Police officers are being trained to understand the impact of “toxic stress” caused by childhood trauma amid evidence it can dramatically increase a person’s likelihood of offending. Officers and staff from Police Scotland’s Ayrshire division are among the first in the country to become “trauma informed” by learning about the effect of so-called Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). According to the Scottish Government, someone who has experienced four or more ACEs is 14 times more likely to...
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State of Child Health England – One Year On (Jan 2018)
State of Child Health: One Year On The State of Child Health 2017, uncovered alarming inequalities in the health and wellbeing of children across the UK and a clear disparity with the rest of Western Europe. One year on, our scorecard reveals that although progress has been made in some areas, in general, the picture for infants, children and young people remains largely unchanged across England. Government has taken some steps in the right direction. The successful passage of the soft...
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Stephen Porges: “Survivors are blamed because they don’t fight” [theguardian.com]
By Andrew Anthony, The Guardian, June 2, 2019. Stephen Porges is professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina and “Distinguished University Scientist” at Indiana University, where he has created the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium. He is best known for developing polyvagal theory, which describes how visceral experiences affect the nervous system and our resulting behaviour. On Monday 10 June, he will be giving a talk at Love vs Trauma , the Body & Soul charity’s...
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‘Teachers must look for physical signs of trauma’ [tes.com]
Teachers should look out for physical health problems among quieter, well-behaved children, as these could be the only signs that they have suffered trauma, a major conference in Scotland has heard. US paediatrician @Nadine Burke Harris said that, while there was a growing understanding that misbehaviour was a sign of trauma or “adverse childhood experiences” (ACEs) , there were also other types of symptoms. “Behaviour is the canary in the coalmine,” said Dr Burke Harris at Making...
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The Repair of Early Trauma: A Bottom Up Approach
Told to us through the voices of children, this unique animation teaches us that by putting together the seven-piece jigsaw puzzle of 'Developmental Trauma', we can understand how a child’s adverse childhood experiences have shaped their emotional world and outward behaviour. Once we understand this, we can then work with a child to help them with their developmental trauma using an innovative therapeutic approach called the ‘Neuro-Sequential Model of Therapeutics’. This model recovers and...
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Covid-19: a large-scale dose of childhood adversity across Scotland?
I remember my first thoughts when I heard about the Scotland and UK lockdown measures to manage the Covid-19 pandemic. It wasn’t for myself or my wellbeing, or my job, but for my niece and nephews. If I was anxious about this, and their parents were anxious – through being furloughed and working more hours as key workers – how would that translate to them? In particular, the impact of suddenly being removed from school and their peer groups. For my youngest nephew, I wondered how far this...
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Maltreated children five times more likely to develop multiple chronic illnesses in adulthood says study [firstpost.com]
By Firstpost., August 20, 2020 The World Health Organization (WHO) defines child maltreatment as the abuse and neglect that occurs to children under 18 years of age and “includes all types of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect, negligence and commercial or other exploitation, which results in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power". The long stream of child...
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Re: Maltreated children five times more likely to develop multiple chronic illnesses in adulthood says study [firstpost.com]
As a seventy four year old who’s still in therapy after suffering sexual & violent abuse from the age of seven and witnessing my younger sister getting abused aged five. This behaviour from our deranged alcoholic father has had a profound disturbing effect on our lives. Being told by my ex wife to ‘get over it‘ stop waisting money on therapy and to give it to her, as she knew what I needed, didn’t help. Nor did our two children growing up to become drug addicts and gouging one of the...
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The Good Childhood Report 2020’ – looking at the wellbeing of children in the UK.
The Children’s Society has published ‘ The Good Childhood Report 2020’ – looking at the wellbeing of children in the UK . The report includes findings from a survey conducted between April and June 2020 of more than 2,000 young people aged 10-17 across the UK and their parents or carers. Click on the link .
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Charles Spencer on Childhood Trauma Alongside Sister Princess Diana: 'We Were In It Together' (people.com)
Princess Diana and her brother Charles Spencer both went through a difficult time following their parents’ divorce. In a new interview with The Sunday Times , Diana’s brother, 56, spoke about the pain he and his sister endured when their father, John Spencer, the 8th Earl Spencer and his first wife, Frances, split in 1969. Previously speaking to PEOPLE, Charles said that the split was “ was tough on Diana .” As for his own journey, Charles told The Sunday Times that he’s been “in and out of...
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UK Trauma Council
https://uktraumacouncil.org/ More than one in three young people are exposed to at least one potentially traumatic event by age 18, which can have a devastating impact on long-term health and social outcomes. We know that intervention can make a substantial difference to the extent to which traumatic events impact on children and young people, increasing their resilience and improving how they are affected in the longer term. The UK Trauma Council (UKTC) is the first UK-wide platform...
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Rising suicide rates need population level interventions (The BMJ)
BMJ 2020 ; 371 doi: org/10.1136/bmj.m3852 (Published 07 October 2020). Future suicide data must include more information for analysing health inequalities Dear Editor, Woody Caan made an important assertion that adult suicide rates will only reduce once policy makers tackle health inequalities, with particular consideration needed regarding adverse childhood experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic (Letters, 10 October). [ Please click here to read more ]
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Three-nation research to examine relationship between social factors and epigenetics [eurekalert.org]
By Elizabeth Newcomb, University of Southern California, November 9, 2020 A new three-nation project will examine how social, economic, psychological, environmental and behavioral circumstances in childhood influence gene expression and affect health and aging later in life. The cooperation brings together large longitudinal studies in the US, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. This unique international collaboration will examine social, economic, health and epigenetic data from the...
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Whole People Watch Weekend on ACEs Connection (Dec. 11th - 13th)
The Transform Trauma with ACEs Sciences FREE Film Festival continues this weekend. Please join us to watch parts 1, 2, and 3 of the PBS Whole People series at your convenience, on ACEs Connection, by clicking play on the videos below: Whole People | 101 | Childhood Trauma | Episode 1 (27 min) Preview: Whole People | 102 | Healing Communities | Preview | Episode 2 Whole People | 102 |Healing Communities Episode 2 (27 min) Whole People | 103 |A New Response | Episode 3 (27 min) This is one of...
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Unmasking ACEs and racial trauma as causes of health inequity: ways forward for primary care
Dear Colleagues & Friends, We are delighted to invite you to our second Racial Justice Open Conversation . This live webinar will provide participants with a unique opportunity to hear from two London GPs who are at the forefront of a movement to raise awareness of the impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and racial trauma in causing health inequity and in medical practice and education. Challenges and solutions will be addressed during the event, giving special emphasis to...