June 2016

In the days after a 20-year-old former Stanford University student received his jail sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman on the school’s campus, two letters related to the case and made public have been widely read: one by the victim, and one by the offender’s father. The victim’s letter was published in full by BuzzFeed on Friday, a day after the 23-year-old woman, who has chosen to stay anonymous, read it aloud to Brock Allen Turner during his sentencing hearing. In the...

Since the start of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, more than two million men and women have deployed to a combat zone. As a result of spending months, and if you consider the totality of the wars, what could be years for some, these individuals are faced with myriad adjustment issues upon return home. If you work with service members and veterans the one sure thing you can count on is that many will be struggling with accepting changes that occurred in their children during their absence. For...

I’m not sure how it works in other parts of the world, but I do know that here in the US a central message of our culture is to pick yourself up by the bootstraps, toughen up, and stop blaming others for your problems. If you're poor, it's your fault. If you're sad, you're a baby. If you ask for help, you're a moocher demanding a handout. Independence, lack of emotion or vulnerability, and material wealth are what most of us are taught to strive for, above and beyond most anything. This is...

In the second article of this series, I focused on hope and healing for survivors of sexual abuse. Here, I extend the discussion beyond healing to discuss the possibility, now validated through research, that some trauma survivors actually experience post-traumatic growth. If healing can occur from the truly devastating consequences of adverse childhood experiences -- including sexual abuse by clergy -- can survivors also experience meaningful growth through their confrontation with trauma?

Children living in poverty often are exposed to high levels of constant stress that can be debilitating, not only in terms of their physical health but also their ability to learn. So what are schools to do? Below, two writers argue — in their own voices, first, and then together with one voice — that schools and health providers must join forces to make sure children are getting the help they need. Sheila Ohlsson Walker, who studies the intersection between stress and educational outcomes,...

I was very intrigued, and eagerly registered- this is what we're trying to ramp up here in Sacramento! And there were many great nuggets of wisdom shared. (Powerpoint slides are attached).

The incidence of suicide in nearly all age groups has increased by 24 percent since 1999 — and by 200 percent among girls between ages of 10 and 14. Theories behind such astounding unprecedented increases, reported recently by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , vary. Some research says that among older Americans, the recent recession may have played a part, though the correlation is not a simple one. As for why so many more young girls are killing themselves, the answers there,...

During the safety briefing on every plane journey adults are reminded that, in case of an emergency, they are to secure their own oxygen masks before they help their children fit theirs. Why? Because it helps you look after children more effectively. The same is true of mental health, and it is something teachers should consider. After all, it is difficult to discuss good mental wellbeing in front of class if we, as adults, do not practise it ourselves. Action to improve the mental health of...

We know sexual assaults increase along with ACE scores for many. And you've probably already heard about the six-month sentence received by a 19-year old, Brock Turner, convicted of assaulting an unconscious woman. And the people calling for the judge be removed for such a light sentence saying that more time would have 'serious impact' to the offender. Maybe you saw the father of Turner, refer to his son's sexual assault as "twenty minutes of action." More on the entire story here . It's...

If you follow the railroad tracks about an hour southwest of Richmond, beyond rolling green fields dotted with yellow buds of spring, down wide and winding country roads, past faded barns, some overgrown with climbing weeds and others slumping towards earth, you'll find the Nottoway County School Board Office. [ METHODOLOGY: The Data Behind 'Title I and Inequality' ] The central office oversees the school district's 2,200 students, more than 30 percent of whom live in poverty. For a...

For several years, John Snelgrove began his workweek with a lengthy fax from the local police, listing the home addresses where officers had answered domestic violence calls over the weekend. Snelgrove, head of guidance services for Brockton (Mass.) Public Schools, would check those addresses against the district’s student database. When a match came up, he’d alert the counselor at that child’s school, who, in turn, would take a red envelope and deliver it to the child’s teacher. Inside was...

During opening remarks for the Juneau Suicide Prevention Coalition’s conference, “Adverse Childhood Experiences and Suicide,” Alaska Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott talked about the challenging and traumatic experiences he and his family experienced. “My mother — a full-blooded Tlingit lady — her entire experience of life was that of adversity. Her mother was born, and living at the time that missionaries came to our community and changed our world forever,” he said to an audience of more than 200...