It has been a busy and productive year for the Philadelphia ACE Task Force culminating in a big win for our Policy work group. Last week, on December 10, 2019, the Philadelphia City Council approved Resolution No. 19098900 , "Calling upon the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to recognize Secondary Traumatic Stress as a workplace hazard, recommend steps to address mental health injury as a psychological hazard in the workplace as they do with physical injury, and create a...

The recent Congressional Hearing on Preventing Childhood Trauma included a robust dialogue about the correlation between poverty, trauma and ACEs (time stamp 2:49). Panelists were asked what policies could positively impact income as a means to prevent and mitigate the effects of trauma and ACEs. Raising the minimum wage was not discussed. The following press release, describing new research from the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment , supports it as an effective strategy , one...

Less then 5 years ago long-time trauma informed advocates, Sandra Bloom, MD and Andrea Blanch, PhD, brought together a small group of similarly-minded folks to talk about forming a new national organization focused on trauma informed policy and practice. Months later the Campaign for Trauma Informed Policy and Practice CTIPP was born. In May of 2019, CTIPP was selected by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to receive its Distinguished Service Award for meritorious service to the...

I am thrilled to see that the National Childhood Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) has just released an excellent new fact sheet that discusses the importance of quality supervision that organizations can provide to staff members at risk for secondary traumatic stress (STS). This fact sheet identifies the core competencies for supervisors providing formal support to workers who are exposed to secondary trauma. It is intended to be a developmental assessment for supervisors, to help identify...

Among the 8 solutions offered for reducing health care costs in a February white paper by the Texas Medical Center Health Policy Institute is the recommendation to meaningfully address the impacts of adverse childhood experiences . Childhood trauma is correlated with poor health outcomes – including early death. Early interventions to mitigate its effects are critical. Many studies show that childhood adversity is correlated with adult morbidity and mortality. Adverse childhood experiences...

Kudos to Johnson and Johnson in India! The company has rolled out an e ight-week paternity leave for new and adoptive fathers during the first year. This move is taken to strengthen the bond between the child and the father. For the last six years in the company, 26 weeks of maternity leave for new mothers was already in force. ...“We think that leaves which encourage employees to be with their families can benefit organisations. They can be excellent motivational factors, i ncrease...

A recent study from researchers at the University of Missouri found more communication among family, friends and neighbors who experienced the devastating and deadly 2011 Joplin Tornado was related to more post-traumatic growth. The 2011 tornado in Joplin, Missouri, was one of the most destructive in U.S. history -- killing 161 people, injuring 1,150 and destroying approximately one-third of the city's homes. Individuals who experience such disasters can exhibit a range of mental health...

A year ago, I wrote this blog, urging a shift from focusing primarily on self-care as the antidote to vicarious trauma/secondary traumatic stress to a broader concept of creating cultures of staff wellness and resilience which includes self-care as well as changes in organizational practices, protocols and policy. It is gratifying to see visible progress toward that shift as illustrated by two recent articles. One from the Worcester Telegram about a proposed policy by the Massachusetts...

Small businesses often face budget challenges, but those challenges do not have to get in the way of team building. A great and inexpensive way of creating team morale and building relationships within your staff is by tackling a volunteer service project together.... The staff at Gulf Coast Kid’s House has volunteered together at Habitat for Humanity as well as other organizations. Nonprofits have the same challenge as many small businesses – no budget – but the same need to bond together...

Caseworkers face numerous challenges in their work, and child-welfare departments see high rates of burnout and turnover. Nationwide, most caseworkers don’t stay on the job more than two years. In January last year, Westword explored the child-welfare workforce in Colorado in a feature story , finding that workers often face overwhelming workloads and secondary trauma from home visits and difficult cases. Some of the caseworkers who shared their stories with Westword described the...

Rise magazine is written by parents who have faced the child welfare system in their own lives. Many people don’t know that the majority of children who enter foster care return home to their parents–and that most children in care wish for a lifelong relationship with their parents, whether they live with them or not. Helping parents is fundamental to helping children in foster care. Three parents have joined together to write this excellent article on why bringing the science of toxic...

For the first time ever, the CDC and CDC Foundation are providing city and neighborhood level data for 500 of the largest U.S. cities, making it possible to identify emerging health problems and effective interventions. Old Colony YMCA in Brockton, Massachusetts recently discovered something startling: a single neighborhood more burdened by poor health such as asthma, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol than surrounding areas. Most surprising, however, was that this particular area...

James Cook University scientists have made a disturbing finding about some young Indigenous people's biological reaction to stress, but one that could help close the health gap for indigenous people. The researchers have found young adult Indigenous people they tested show impaired secretion of the stress hormone cortisol and that their biological stress response is linked to the racial discrimination they experience. Professor Zoltan Sarnyai led the team of scientists from the Australian...

Over the last few months Clare and I have been traveling across the nation to visit the Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC) sites. One thing we've consistently heard from members of the ACE and resilience networks we've met is what they have learned about prioritizing what many refer to as "self-care for staff." In Kansas City, Patricia Davis' (LCSW) full-time job is to integrate trauma-informed practice at Children's Mercy Kansas City Hospital (how great is that!). Davis...

The School District of Philadelphia deserves huge congratulations for creating a new position as part of its plan to be a trauma informed education system! They are seeking an excellent candidate to serve in this critically important and cutting edge role. Following is the job description Job Summary Develops, coordinates and implements trauma-informed practices in the schools. Works with administrative, instructional and non-instructional staff, to put into place evidence-based...

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is taking a serious and close look at healthcare provider "burnout" and how to address it by fostering more joy in work. The most joyful, productive, engaged staff feel both physically and psychologically safe, appreciate the meaning and purpose of their work, have some choice and control over their time, experience camaraderie with others at work, and perceive their work life to be fair and equitable. Sound familar? Their collection of...

Researchers in the UK have been building an evidence base for reflective su pervision , a model which acknowledges the impact that working with people who have experienced trauma, adversity and toxic stress has on professionals and provides a structured, collaborative, safe space for them to address it. "Recognizing that there is little understanding from research of what reflective supervision is, its impact and how to do it well" Research in Practice embarked on the Reflective Supervision...

Believe it or not, both the public and policy-makers often get their ideas from the media. When those ideas are formed about something as serious and impactful as posttraumatic stress disorder, it’s important for the media to tell the story in the right way. With that in mind, Drexel researchers examined how the country’s most influential paper, the New York Times , portrayed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from the year it was first added to the American Psychiatric Association’s...

Efforts to understand and embed trauma informed practice in all types of settings have been accelerated by teaching people the power of re-framing the key question asked by so many providers from: "what's wrong with you?" to "what's happened to you?" Now two nurses in California have made a slight twist to that re-framing - suggesting that health care providers shift from asking patients "what's the matter?" , which typically elicits a response only about current physical distress, to "what...

C hronic sickness and staff retention problems among health and social care staff – social workers in particular – along with growing interest in mindfulness and meditation, have put the spotlight on building resilience in the professions. While there is cause for optimism about the benefits of practices such as mindfulness for social workers, it is important to recognise that this will not solve problems such as unfeasibly large caseloads. It is also important that we don’t allow...

In February I had the honor of being part of The National Child Health Policy Conference organized by AcademyHealth . The lunch time plenary was titled: The Many Faces of Immigration's Impact on Child and Family Health. Listening to the excellent panelists , Mara Youdelman , Heather Koball , Matthew Lopas , and Alicia Wilson , I became aware of the many ways that the immigration experience can mirror other adverse childhood experiences and have similar effects on children and families. More...

Catherine Woodiwiss , Associate Web Editor at Sojourners writes this powerful article about how her traumatic experiences changed her.   I knew that pain was a part of life, but — thanks in part to a peculiar blend of “God-has-a-plan” Southern roots, a suburban “Midwestern nice” upbringing, and a higher education in New England stoicism — I managed to skate by for quite some time without having to acknowledge it. After a handful of traumas in the...

Fo urteen communities from across the country now have an opportunity to expand their innovative work in addressing childhood adversity through a new project launched by The by  The Health Federation of Philade lphia , with support from...

r Most likely, marketing expert Greg Satell's recent article for the Harvard Business Review was written for the business community.  In it he suggests what relevant branding lessons can be gleaned from effective social movements such as the...

k The blockbuster Advers e Childhood Experien ces (ACEs) Study has become the fulcrum of a powerful and diverse consortium of interests bent o n preventing and addressing childhood trauma. Groups ranging from...

Rachel Yehuda, Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience and the director of the Traumatic Stress Studies Division at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine speaks with Krista Tippitt, host of On-Being , about how trauma and resilience cross...

As a pediatrician  at the Cobbs Creek Primary Care Center at Children'sHospital of Philadelphia, Roy Wade Jr. employs the usual tools of his trade, such as thermometer, tonguedepressor, and stethoscope.   But as a researcher, he is working...

Two new studies from the University of California in Los Angeles Center on Culture add to the growing body of evidence demonstrating that experiencing racism and discrimination contribute to a cumulative burden that is linked to psychological...

Judge George W. Timberlake, Ret., chair of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission, poignantly reflects on a young woman who appeared in his court starting at age 9 and how his lack of understanding how trauma and adversity impact childhood, at that...

The 2015 issue of Focal Point , a publication of  Pathways to Positive Futures , features 11 articles on critical topics about trauma-informed care and its growing relevance in research, official policy, practice methods, and organizational...

Negative experiences in childhood have been labelled a ‘toxic stress’ on dental health, according to a new report.   Research p ubli shed in the journ al of Community Dentistry Oral and Epidemiology has provided strong evidence for...

Recognizing that patients' experiences of childhood and adult trauma are common and have a direct impact on their health, UCSF clinical researchers and Positive Women's Network-USA have developed and are reporting a new primary care model.   "In...