By Michael Painter and Priya Gandhi, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, September 3, 2019 Across the United States, people are recognizing that climate change is a major threat to any vision of a healthy future. They are responding by developing solutions to not only avoid the health harms from climate change, but also actively improve health and limit climate change. In Austin, Texas, city officials have grown increasingly concerned about their residents enduring more days with extreme heat.

The two biggest myths about ACEs science are: MYTH #1 — That it’s just about the 10 ACEs in the ACE Study — the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study . It’s about sooooo much more than that. MYTH #2 — And that it’s just about ACEs…adverse childhood experiences. These two myths are intertwined. The ACE Study issued the first of its 70+ publications in 1998, and for many people it was the lightning bolt, the grand “aha” moment, the unexpected doorway into a blazing new...

Research has proven many significant benefits in cultivating gratitude for mental and physical health. Studies show that the practice of gratitude can increase happiness levels by an average of 25 percent and overall health by, for example, increasing the quantity and quality of sleep. Beneficial outcomes can be achieved by such simple practices as praying, writing in a gratitude journal, placing a thankful phone call, making a mental gratitude list, or writing a thank-you letter to someone.

By Claudia Deschamps, NBC News, September 16, 2019 There are significant long-term effects of not addressing trauma early. Building resilience is key to helping children overcome traumatic events, like a school shooting or a hurricane. Dr. Julie Kaplow, director of the Trauma and Grief Center at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, leads several initiatives focused on understanding how resilience works and how it can be used to heal trauma. [ Please click here to read more .]

We're proud to announce major research that suggests that positive childhood experiences — such as supportive family interactions, caring relationships with friends, and connections in the community — are associated with reductions in chances of adult depression and poor mental health, and increases in the chances of having healthy relationships in adulthood. This association was true even among those with a history of adverse childhood experiences.

Solutions journalism offers comprehensive coverage of an issue by proposing solutions rather than just focusing on the problem. The Center for Media Engagement set out to determine how certain components of solutions journalism affect the way readers evaluate both the reporting and the issue. Solutions journalism strives to include what is sometimes overlooked: reporting not just about the problems facing society, but about how communities respond to them. The Center for Media Engagement...

By David Leffler, The Washington Post, August 19, 2019 At 9 on a chilly February morning in Austin, Elizabeth Minne met in her office with a former counseling client and her mother. The three were all smiles, catching up for the first time in ages. As their laughter faded, they recalled their weighty introduction five years before, when Minne’s mission to create a comprehensive mental health-care system for Austin’s schools was still in its infancy — and her client, Sarah Luna Newcomer, was...

Houston – August 21, 2019 – The premiere radio program of Breaking the Silence with Dr. Gregory Williams was broadcast worldwide live this past Sunday evening and now is being released to over 120 podcasts networks. Dr. Williams is on the Senior Administrative Leadership Team at the Baylor College of Medicine OB/GYN department located in the Texas Children’s Hospital Pavilion for Women Hospital in Houston, Texas. He is the author of Shattered by the Darkness: Putting the Pieces Back Together...

By Jenn Jacome, Hello Woodlands, August 12, 2019 Nearly two years after the historic rainfall and flooding of Hurricane Harvey, Texas Children’s Harvey Resiliency and Recovery Program is assessing and treating more children than it did in the six to eight months immediately following the storm. “Currently, we’re seeing about 250 kids per month in our Trauma and Grief Center overall when you look at new assessments and those coming in for return appointments, and many of these children were...

By Jenn Jacome, Hello Woodlands, August 12, 2019 Nearly two years after the historic rainfall and flooding of Hurricane Harvey, Texas Children’s Harvey Resiliency and Recovery Program is assessing and treating more children than it did in the six to eight months immediately following the storm. “Currently, we’re seeing about 250 kids per month in our Trauma and Grief Center overall when you look at new assessments and those coming in for return appointments, and many of these children were...

An ACEs Connection webinar will offer helpful self-regulation tools to those rocked by recent shootings in Gilroy, CA, El Paso, TX , and Dayton, OH. The Building Resilient Communities webinar is offered by ACEs Connection this Thursday, August 9, at 10:00 AM PDT / 1 :00 PM E D and will last approximately 1 hour. Elaine Miller-Karas will teach her Community Resilienc y Mode l. Find registration details below. This webinar is free and open to the public. It serves professionals and community...

By Paul M. Sherer, DirectRelief, July 29, 2019 As he sat on the exam table in a Dallas clinic, the five-year old boy’s face was completely blank. He wouldn’t speak a word or even turn his gaze to the doctor. In more than 30 years of practicing pediatrics, Dr. Farooq Habib had never seen a child so traumatized. The boy and his father had migrated from violence-wracked Honduras. But instead of finding security in the United States, the child was taken away from his father by immigration...