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On March 11 of this year, “60 Minutes” aired a report on the long-term effects of childhood trauma, or Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The report featured renowned psychiatrist Dr. Bruce Perry who stated that because of their developing brains, children are much more sensitive to developmental trauma than adults. As evidence of the impact of childhood trauma continues to permeate child-serving institutions, teachers, social workers, pediatricians and caregivers are changing the way...

Like millions of others in the U.S. and throughout the world, I’ve been depressed a lot in my life. I’ve taken medications to help relieve the hopelessness, irritability, and lack of energy that plagued me. In 2004, I wrote a book, “ The Irritable Male Syndrome: Understanding the 4 Key Causes of Depression and Aggression ” that gathered the information I had discovered in 35 years as a psychotherapist. But since then, I’ve learned something new about the hidden cause of depression and have...

On the day after the 2016 presidential election, a group of pediatricians arrived at the Customs and Border Protection processing center here. Their host was Marsha Griffin, MD, a pediatrician who practices in this border town and is co-chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Immigrant Health Special Interest Group. Griffin had been at work with two fellow AAP members on a policy statement for the academy calling on the government to stop separating families who've been apprehended...

Last week I shared the link to the video with Oprah on 60 minutes. In that show, she talked about the role of childhood trauma in her life. I believe that this was an important event for all of us in the Trauma and Attachment fields. It furthers our work and brings collective light on these important issues so they do not stay in the shadows! I'm also excited to let you know that next week we will be reopening our free video training series on Attachment, for the first time since 2016. You...

I've been a member here for what seems like a very long time, but this is my first post. I want to start with a quick introduction to myself. I came to the work of trauma informed care and ACEs almost by accident. I had never even heard of this branch of psychology, although I had been working in it even before I was a licensed practitioner. I have long worked with people on the down side of power, especially children. When I went to my first formal presentation about trauma, I suddenly...

No matter the poll, no matter the year, and no matter the conditions of life in America for people of color, white folks have rarely ever believed racism to be much of a problem. Nothing shocking there, I suppose. Whenever a system works to your benefit, taking that system for granted becomes second nature. We don’t see what others who are harmed by that system see, because we don’t have to. Most slaveowners never questioned the legitimacy of their system, and most whites — including those...

Excerpts from article written by Dorothy Roberts and Lisa K. Sangoi. Read more.

Oprah talked developmental trauma on 60 Minutes and introduced the world to the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study and ACE Quiz o n national television. I’m still flying high and committed to 30 days of posts about developmental trauma from ACEs. However, it is time for some digital diversity and the brilliant and varied voices of ACEs experts. These talks are all available online, for free, and can be understood whether one has a Ph.D. or PTSD – or both. Personally, I need to hear a lot of...

Many people ask me: How is it that what we might think of as less severe or “milder” trauma (living w/ depressed or alcoholic or verbally abusive parent) can change the brain in the same way as physical or sexual abuse? WHY do all these # ACEs affect the brain in similar ways? We know that kids who are growing up with what we might think of as more common, living room variety traumas, such as a depressed or alcoholic parent, or being chronically put down, or humiliated by a p arent, or...

SALISBURY — Sometimes, all it takes to change a child’s life is a relationship. Over the past year, Koontz Elementary School has been building a trauma-focused and resiliency program to help students who have experienced extreme difficulty in life. One piece of that is a partnership with the Public School Forum of N.C., which is helping the school come up with strategies to combat adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs. The other is a new partnership with the University of North Carolina at...

Gov. Kim Reynolds signed bills Thursday that make sweeping changes in Iowa's mental health system and which require suicide prevention training for school employees. More than 200 people attended an emotional bill-signing ceremony in the Iowa Capitol Rotunda where Reynolds was joined by parents and other family members of people who have experienced mental illness, including some who have taken their own lives. Many legislators, advocates,and other officials, including county sheriffs who...