April 2020

I've written a 4-part series on Medium about trauma, the brain, and coping with stress related to COVID-19, incorporating core concepts of the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics. The goal is to help to normalize and validate our collective responses and offer potential ways to soothe our nervous systems and enhance our relational connection-- in a straightforward and sometimes humorous tone. Please feel free to read and share with anyone who may find it helpful: ...

By Tatiana Sanchez, San Francisco Chronicle, April 10, 2020 Hundreds of educators in San Francisco are pledging to donate part of their stimulus checks to undocumented immigrants who make up a vital part of the U.S. and regional workforce but do not qualify for federal aid under the government’s stimulus bill. United Educators of San Francisco, which represents more than 6,200 San Francisco Unified School District employees, including teachers, nurses, counselors, and psychologists, said it...

By Justin Phillips, San Francisco Chronicle, April 9, 2020 Three weeks is a lifetime during a global pandemic, and a lifetime ago I would joke with my two older brothers and a few close friends about unfounded rumors that we, as black people, were somehow immune to the coronavirus. Early reports from government agencies about new cases across the globe didn’t elaborate on the race of sick patients at the time, so in that vacuum of information, we applied humor. We aren’t laughing much these...

HERE this NOW was shocked and stunned when the Corona pandemic hit. But with a few weeks of thawing, this network of trauma-informed consultants is awakening to the new day and ready to talk about it with others. Please join Emily Daniels, founder of HERE this NOW, for the first conversation in a new series of discussions called CONVOS during COVID. Daniels' first guest will be Dr. Stephen Porges, creator of The Polyvagal Theory. Daniels and Porges will discuss the effects of prolonged...

" Be Strong In The Storm" is a poster by Diane Kaufman, MD and Amanda Sloan submitted to the UN Call for Creatives to Help Stop the Spread of COVID-19. The poster was inspired by my saying to a patient and her family, “stay strong in the storm,” and then afterwards remembering the song, “When You Walk Through a Storm,” by Rogers and Hammerstein from their musical Carousel. Little did I know when creating the poster concept that this song was already being used internationally to honor the...

With the advent of the #MeToo movement, the public has been forced to examine the horrific tragedy of women suffering at the hands of sexual predators. We have learned through marches and very public testimony of the damage women receive when their boundaries and dignity as human beings is violated. However, there is another group of people who, because of societal restraints, suffer the same fate, only in silence. That group consists of men. In a study published by Muenzenmaier, et.al. 1 ,...

“At the time of the World Trade Center terrorist attack in September 2001, I was employed as a hospice bereavement coordinator and supported those who were terminally ill and those who loved them; I also facilitated a bereavement support group and taught a master’s-level crisis intervention course at Brooklyn College in New York City. It was during the car ride back from teaching that I felt compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma. As I reflected on my feelings, I knew that I needed...

By David Woodlock, New York Daily News, April 9, 2020 Wash your hands. Don’t touch your face. Self-isolate if you are experiencing symptoms. Right now, our health-care system is — very appropriately — in emergency triage mode in the battle against COVID-19. But there is a looming crisis on the horizon if we only pay attention to the physical and ignore the emotional dimensions of this pandemic. A landmark 1997 study found that Adverse Childhood Experiences, including things like physical,...

By Bri DeRosa, March 17, 2020 As families everywhere find themselves following stay-at-home advice to help slow the coronavirus pandemic, the need for fresh activity ideas grows. Kids may be engaged in online learning through their schools, parents may still be working (whether at home or on-site), and there are always board games and the usual activities to keep people busy. But there’s a good chance that we’re all going to be staying home for quite a while. And we’d like families to use...

My wife works for an educational company and her past few weeks have been busy working with schools and districts across California as they face the herculean task of adapting to distance learning for the remainder of the school year. One of my favorite stories from last week comes from a training that one of her colleagues was conducting with a school site. During the training, without skipping a beat, the trainer announced that his daughter had just handed him their pet mice and he was now doi

By A. Hosack, P. Berman K. Hecht I am proud of him. He’s growing up to be a kind person. Claire woke up the next day with a smile on her face. She had dreamed about Davy and his conversation with Mr. Carson about cats. She was so happy to think that he was growing up and learning from his experience. While changing his mind about cats wasn’t the biggest decision in the world, it did reflect that he was learning to stop and think. This reminded her for some reason about Craig. I want my son...

By K. Hecht, A. Hosack, P. Berman It’s kind of exciting. I’ve been lonely. But what if he is like Larry? Claire was walking home with a quickstep. Suddenly she didn’t feel the least bit tired. She was smiling and laughing to herself. It had been so nice that such an attractive young man had shown an interest in her. But she didn’t want to make mistakes. How could she tell if Craig he was like Larry or a nice man more like Mr. Carson? Just as she was reaching the house, Davy burst out the...