January 2022

PACEs Connection is one of the more than 400 partners of the Listen First Project . Here's how Listen First describes itself: Listen First Project enhances the impact, visibility and voice of the interpersonal bridge building field. We aggregate, align, and amplify the efforts of 400+ #ListenFirst Coalition partners into large scale, collective campaigns and strategies. Listen First aggregated these resources under the heading, Best Things We've Seen. I think you might find some of them...

At Resilient Georgia, we're always looking for ways to equip our communities with upstream approaches to mental and behavioral health. Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) is an accessible program designed to help people be gentler with themselves in the midst of hardship. For the full introduction to the program, a description of its evidence-based benefits, as well as a wealth of resources and trainings for MSC, check out this post from the Resilient Georgia website .

Children growing up in an alcoholic or other dysfunctional homes struggle to find their identity in adulthood. They have most likely formed complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) and live with an inner turmoil that matches the instability they are experiencing from parents who are occupied with their own problems. This article will focus on the formation of CPTSD in alcoholic (dysfunctional) homes and how it affects children and the adults they become. Complex Trauma Complex trauma...

By Jill Suttie, Greater Good Magazine, January 18, 2022 Living through the COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on people’s mental health and well-being. Restricted movement, loss, and isolation have led to increases in depression, anxiety disorders, stress, sleep disorders, and more. The effects have been even harsher for teens. How can we help protect our well-being during this particularly difficult time? Though a public health response is definitely called for, one way we might try...

By David Tow, EdSource, January 17, 2021 D uring a recent class, my freshmen and I were discussing the best ways to engage with the complex world of high school. We talked about how to juggle multiple deadlines, contact their busy and unavailable teachers and balance appealing extracurricular activities with coursework and the omnipresent complication of Covid-19. This discussion was part of an ongoing conversation about effective study skills and traits. Most of my 13- and 14-year-old...

By Karen Frances Eng, Image: Anson Chan, IDEAS.TED.COM, November 11, 2021 When approaching diseases, scientists usually look for two things — ways to cure them and ways to prevent them. But with mental illnesses, we have neither. For example, SSRIs are the most popular antidepressant medications, but they only suppress symptoms. Yet pharmaceutical research has focused almost entirely on fine-tuning these drugs rather than looking for ways to prevent mental disorders from occurring in the...

By Emily Henderson, Photo: Unsplash, Medical News, January 19, 2021 Researchers know that experiencing a high number of adverse events in childhood correlates with worse health outcomes in adulthood. These studies have led to an emphasis on trauma-informed practice in schools and workplaces in an attempt to mitigate the harm of early adversity. At the other end of the spectrum, focusing on wellness, Darcia Narvaez, emerita professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame, has helped...

Please join us for a presentation of MARC ATR Network Survey findings from the study’s principal investigator, Margaret Hargreaves, PhD, MPP, Senior Fellow with NORC at the University of Chicago. The survey presentation will be followed by a panel discussion featuring network experiences from Fresno County, CA, and New Jersey. Guest Speakers: Amanda Adams , New Jersey Education Association Ingrid Cockhren , PACEs Connection Martha Davis , Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Dave Ellis , New...

By Gretchen Reynolds, Photo: Piotr Redlinski/The New York Times, The New York Times, January 18, 2022 To better cope with all the dispiriting news this winter about rising Covid-19 cases and so much else, you might want to get out and play in the snow, according to a new report. The large-scale study of almost 200,000 cross-country skiers found that being physically active halves the risk of developing clinical anxiety over time. The study, from Sweden, focused on skiing, but the researchers...

By Brian Mann, Photo: Unsplash, National Public Radio, January 13, 2022 The U.S. is facing the deadliest drug overdose epidemic in its history, but there is hope. Research shows most people with addiction do survive and recover, especially when they get quality treatment. RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: Would you like some good news? Yeah, me too. We've been reporting on the epidemic of drug deaths in the U.S. More than 100,000 fatal overdoses last year alone. Here's the good part. This morning, we're...

By Jeremy Loudenback, Photo: File photo, The Imprint, January 13, 2022 t the end of last year, Bobby Cagle stepped down as leader of Los Angeles County’s child welfare system after four years at the helm, citing the overwhelming pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past two years, Cagle shepherded the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) through a host of challenges, including a lack of personal protective gear, outbreaks at congregate care facilities, social workers...

By Jesse Rhodes, Raymond La Raja, Tatishe Nteta, and Alexander Theodoridis, Photo: Carlos Carria/Reuters, The Washington Post, January 17, 2022 In his famous address at the 1963 March on Washington, Martin Luther King Jr. drew a direct line between the struggle for racial equality and the nation’s efforts to realize democracy. “When the architects of our Republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which...