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Recovery is about stories. Stories of hope, stories of change. In addiction, the stories we tell about ourselves do not tend to have happy endings. Rarely are we the authors of our own journeys, and if we were to assign ourselves a character, it would not be the hero/ine. More often we see ourselves as the villain, or the victim, or a combination of both. Sadly, in recovery we often continue to tell ourselves stories that keep us stuck. Sit in your average 12-step meeting and you are likely...

My sons are both in college, one at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and the other at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. Raising African American boys into adulthood was often stressful. Despite the many advantages and supports we had as a family while they were growing up, I worried about their safety, whether their schools would see and nurture their greatness despite the color of their skin, and whether they would be able to live up to their potential. As a public health...

Not sure which sector to choose for your organization? See the list of examples below for help. Business : Privately owned organizations that operate at a profit. Examples: McDonalds, Local Drugstores, Child Care : Organizations that provide care to children. Daycare Centers, In-home childcare providers, after-school programs. Civic : Elected officials, city offices, libraries Community Service Organizations : Local service clubs. Lions Clubs, Kiwanis Clubs, Fraternities and Sororities.

Most of us would agree that parenting is the most important job in the world. If you had to fill out an application to get that job would you be hired? While many people instinctively know how to raise a child, many people who become parents have no idea what they are doing. The 14th amendment to the constitution is interpreted to give people the right to have children and be parents. But something important is missing from the constitution, what about the rights of the child? It’s a strange...

by Aaron Williams and Armand Emamdjomeh The United States is on track to be a majority-minority nation by 2044. But census data show most of our neighbors are the same race. Since 1990, more than 90 percent of U.S. metro areas have seen a decline in racial stratification, signaling a trend toward a more integrated America. Yet, while areas like Houston and Atlanta have undergone rapid demographic changes, cities like Detroit and Chicago still have large areas dominated by a single racial...

Touching is the core of developmental play therapy, building both the self of the hurt child and his or her appreciation of the nurturing other. It thus makes way for dialogue between them and - as the dialogue becomes an organizing force for the child's behaving and relating - facilitates healing and maturation. 

KENT, Ohio - Kent State University researchers have received a $2.7 million grant to study how to best identify and treat depression and anxiety caused by a trauma. The five-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health will allow a group of researchers, led by associate professor of psychology Karin Coifman, to look for more efficient treatment approaches. Depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide, the university said. According to the World Health...

Welcome to episode 134 of the Therapy Chat Podcast with host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. This week, we’re delighted to welcome back Hilary Jacobs Hendel, LCSW. In this episode, Hilary speaks to me all about her amazing new book “It’s Not Always Depression”. Hilary grew up in New York City in a culture of "mind over matter." Raised by a psychiatrist and a guidance counselor, family time included analyzing her thoughts and dreams. Feelings were rarely mentioned (except perhaps to discuss how to get...

Human services organizations and coalitions often talk about “making room at the table” for non-professionals, local residents and people with lived experience of poverty, addiction, mental illness or trauma. But those organization leaders rarely spend time at the community’s tables—that is, the block parties and cook-outs, playgrounds and parks, neighborhood association meetings, parent-teacher organizations, Little League games and other grass-roots venues that are essential grounds for...

Your step-by-step guide to using the Department of Education’s latest data release to uncover—and address—the racial disparities in your district. I remember being suspended for “insubordination” in sixth grade. I thought my teacher just didn’t like me. I didn’t know I was experiencing something much deeper and more problematic. It wasn’t just one bad teacher. The entire school district was four times more likely to suspend students who looked like me—Black boys—than our White peers. And...

Hello! I’m one of the Community Managers for the ACES and Nourishment Community on ACES Connection. Along with my co-manager, Adrienne Markworth, I am excited to launch this community where anyone can share research, articles, stories and ideas about the connections between food, eating, nutrition, obesity and ACES. As many of you know, the foundational ACES research emerged from an investigation into why participants in an obesity program were dropping out despite initially losing weight.

Nashville is booming, and so is its real estate, and so is its income inequality. In one of the city’s hottest neighborhoods, East Nashville, the James A. Cayce Homes, a sixty-three-acre tract of aging, run-down public housing, are about to be razed, redeveloped, renamed, and radically transformed—a six-hundred-million-dollar project for the supposed benefit of all. “ The Promise: Life, Death and Change in the Projects ,” a stellar six-part series from Nashville Public Radio reported and...