“ Hope is being able to see the light despite all the darkness.” - Desmond Tutu “ Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you - all of the expectations, all of the beliefs - and becoming who you are.” - Rachel Naomi Remen The latest Surviving Spirit Newsletter - Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health is out - It can be read online via this & you can also subscribe -...
Hi Everyone! The good news is after seven years, with a five year break (AKA stall-out), I have finally finished my new book and have titled it: It's Not About Food, Drugs, or Alcohol: It's About Healing Complex PTSD Although my book won't be available to the general public until its launch date on Feb 21 st , 2023, I am offering FREE advance reader copies to a limited amount of people this week. Below is a summary of what my book's about and how to qualify to get a free copy this week.
In April, Jarl Rockhill placed a sticker with racist imagery — a man making a Nazi salute below the word “pure” — on the fence of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization, a nonprofit organization in Portland, Ore. Upon identifying Rockhill in surveillance footage, investigators determined that he was a member of a Portland neo-Nazi group, according to court documents. After he was arrested in May, the Oregonian reported , police recovered several firearms and a Nazi flag in a search...
Some child advocates worry that California’s tool to screen kids for adverse childhood experiences has pitfalls that could cause even greater harm. Doctors argue that the innovative program is effective and beneficial, and creating systemic change in health care. A recent commentary published by CalMatters raised a concern that screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, may lead to unwarranted reports of suspected child abuse or neglect to Child Protective Services. There is no...
Take a quiet moment (you deserve it!), and journal your year-end reflections to ring in the new year with anticipation, joy, and gratitude. Then, learn how you can keep your stress at bay in 2023 and beyond.
Was sitting here tonight thinking about everything that a sizable portion of the population will be looking forward to this and next week as we enter the apex of the holiday season. And how little of it I have in my life. I don't have fond childhood memories. My entire childhood, and up through age 30, was spent in my own version of personal dissociation. It was a very aware and present experience. But one entirely and wholly devoid of an actual true self. It was autistic masking taken to...
Last week I posted “ The trouble with trauma (-informed), the aggravation of ACEs (screening): We're trying to fit both into traditional frameworks and it isn't working .” This post goes one step farther to describe the first easy steps that all organizations can use, no matter what the sector, to wrap their minds around integrating healing practices and policies based on PACEs science. In the comments section, Rebecca Bryan asked, “What is a reliable tool to assess organizational ACEs? Does...
This month’s CTIPP CAN call will feature Erin McDonald from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), presenting on the just-launched Equitable Long-Term Recovery and Resilience Plan . We’ll also have Lisa Cushatt and Sara Welch from Iowa ACEs 360 share their valuable findings on the most effective messaging while advocating for trauma-informed policies and practices. We found their initial findings insightful and actionable,...
We know a high ACE score is connected to “substance-related disorders,” but oftentimes it’s overlooked that food can be that substance of choice, too—not just drugs or alcohol.
(Merced, California) Valley Children’s, along with a collaborative of Merced community-based organizations, has been selected as a $500,000 recipient by the California Department of Health Care Services to combat adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress screening. ACEs are stressful or traumatic events children experience before the age of 18, including abuse and neglect. The screenings will focus on patients at Valley Children’s Olivewood Pediatrics in Merced. “Children who are...
CAPTA (The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act) was first passed in 1974 and has been reauthorized ever since. The FVPSA (Family Violence Prevention and Services Act) was first passed in 1984 and has been reauthorized ever since. Both were expected to be reauthorized during the present Congress. This will NOT happen. The must-pass Omnibus Bill will not include reauthorization CAPTA and FVPSA even though there is bipartisan support for these basic federal programs. Unknown amounts of...
To advocate is to plead for, support, or recommend action for a cause; at least, that's what the general definition tells us. In reality, advocacy entails much more than what a dictionary definition or complex training tells us. For those of us who have taken on this work, we know it requires passion, heart, and determination. As we continue to pursue a society where trauma-informed relationships and care are the standards, there will be inevitable pushback. The pushback may take our...
Hello. I am a mental health curriculum developer currently looking for prospective peer and lived experience trainees based in Oregon. There's an opportunity this month to fund development of a free course on trauma-informed peer support and advocacy/activism skills from a mad justice / liberation / decolonization perspective. Can also somewhat tailor this to other learning needs you may have and happy to chat about that. Course completion will also mean earning a Peer Support Specialist...
(Note: I was looking through some old essays and found this one I wrote for a wellness website exactly 10 years ago. With a couple of updates, it still rings true to my decades-long commitment to breaking cycles of addiction and abuse.) It’s as omnipresent as bad Christmas music: that vague sense of dread for people who are related to an active addict at holiday time. “I don’t know when he’ll do it, but I know it’s a matter of time before he’ll drink too much and make an ass out of himself.”...
Why is there so much emphasis on healing from the effects of unsupportive and harmful parenting and so little emphasis on the prevention of unsupportive and harmful parenting? Is it a money issue? Is there money to be made in intervention, treatment, healing, and rehabilitation? Is there money to be made in primary prevention?