In 2015 the Traumatic Stress Institute (TSI), in partnership with Dr. Courtney Baker of Tulane University, noticed a research-to-practice gap in the trauma-informed care (TIC) field. In short, TIC interventions of all sorts were trending, while at the same time there was limited empirical evidence to quantify the impact of TIC. This is what inspired the development of the ARTIC (Attitudes Related to Trauma-Informed Care) Scale , a measurement tool that assess staff attitudes towards...

By Robert Saners, Image: Linda Chao/UCSF, Berkeley News, January 7, 2022 A recent study links anxiety behavior in rats, as well as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in military veterans, to increased myelin — a substance that expedites communication between neurons — in areas of the brain associated with emotions and memory. The results, reported by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, and UC San Francisco (UCSF), provide a possible explanation for why some people are...

By Jennifer Rainey Marquez, Georgia State University News, January 21, 2022 The pandemic has taken a substantial toll on mental health — and for a subset of Americans, COVID has emerged as a source of traumatic stress that may predict post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, according to a new study led by Georgia State University. The research shows that the association between COVID traumatic stress and PTSD is stronger among individuals who have repeated experiences of past trauma. The...

By Jennifer Bauwens, Photo: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters, The Christian Post, January 23, 2022 Every social movement has advocates on each side of the issue offering critiques and ideas that could change the tide of public opinion. This is certainly true of the women's movement in the United States. Regardless of your ideals and what side of the debate you take, it is undeniable that this movement has informed and educated our society on issues of trauma, domestic violence and abuse. In 1968, one...

By Mariah Cooper, Campaign US, January 20, 2022 In five years, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection’s global tool Project Arachnid, which detects images of child sex abuse material (CSAM) on online platforms, has removed six million CSAM images and videos. The PSA “Unwanted Followers” spotlights how CSAM can hurt a survivor long after the abuse took place. The spot follows a young girl throughout different stages in her life. The viewer is introduced to her before she is abused and...

By Rick Rojas, Photo: William Widmer/The New York Times, The New York Times, January 25, 2022 Isaiah Holt passes his days sequestered in a home that was not touched by the tornado. Still, he cannot escape the storm. He sustained nerve damage while trapped in the rubble of the candle factory where he worked and fears it will be permanent. His skin is etched with cuts and chemical burns. A strong gust of wind or an exploding building in an action movie can unleash in him a rush of terror.

Cendie Stanford says that ever since she first learned about ACEs, she’d been thinking about her own upbringing—which included at least 10 ACEs. She felt strongly that everyone needed to know about ACEs, because it “explains why people behave the way they behave.”