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Gandelina Damião, 78, is permanently hunched, carrying her sorrow. She lost three children to heroin in the 1990s. A quarter century ago, her cobblestone lane, up a grassy hill from Lisbon's Tagus River, was littered with syringes. She recalls having to search for her teenagers in graffitied stone buildings nearby, where they would shoot up. "It was a huge blow," Damião says, pointing to framed photos on her wall of Paulo, Miguel and Liliana. "I was a good mother. I never gave them money for...

Warning: This article does include spoilers for the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why”. On March 31, 2017 Netflix released a new series titled, “13 Reasons Why”, based off the book by author Jay Asher. This series depicts a young man, Clay Jensen, and his journey to bring justice for his friend Hannah Baker. Hannah, a seventeen-year-old high school junior with nothing but the future before her, took her life on a seemingly calm afternoon. Why is this important? The Centers for Disease Control...

Ian Manuel spent 26 years behind bars after he shot a woman in the face when he was just 13 years old, but he rarely felt alone. That’s because the woman he hurt, Debbie Baigrie , decided to forgive him — and more. The night he shot her, in Tampa, Florida, on July 27, 1990, is something they both still relive. Baigrie, then 28, was out with friends for the first time since giving birth to her second child, and she was walking back to her car to head home. Manuel, who had a history of minor...

Through the plate glass window of the café where I sipped my coffee, I watched an older gentleman bend to pick something off the ground. He did this repeatedly: down and up, down and up. I learned that he did this every day for hours, picking up fallen leaves. The man had dementia and lived in Hogewey, a community outside Amsterdam where older people with advanced dementia lead largely autonomous lives in familiar, welcoming surroundings. This particular gentleman liked to pick up leaves—and...

Originally written by Jessica Rabaey on Unwritten It’s been almost two years since I walked into a depression and anxiety treatment center. I vividly remember the car ride there with my parents ― they were both trying to be strong for me and reassure me it was the right place for me to be at the time. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact I had to be admitted to a treatment facility. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact I couldn’t beat the depression on my own as I had so many times...

John, 61 Prison psychiatrist Los Osos, California I moved to California from Texas at the behest of my wife, who pretty much said, “I’ve had it — I wanna move to California.” I’d planned to set up a private practice when I got here. It’s a lot more varied and a lot more gratifying. But it also tends to be all-consuming. I needed some cash flow, and I started working at a men’s prison. I found that it was a lot easier: I didn’t have any overhead. I wasn’t on call every night. I had paid...

The Mendocino County Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission is happy to present the book Inside/Outside: Your Choice - A letter from Prison by John Mendoza F65673. The book is geared towards youth between twelve and eighteen years old. The link to the website is: inside-outside.me This book was made possible by a grant from the Mendocino County Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission and the generous donations of Heroes for Youth, sponsored by CASA (Court...

Beyond Paper Tigers Conference 2017 Wednesday, June 28 & Thursday, June 29, 2017 A fast-paced information and strategies conference for parents, educators, clinicians, mental health workers & law enforcement. Learn how to effectively use cutting-edge brain science to address the overwhelming effects of chronic stress and trauma in the development of children. Beyond Paper Tigers 2017 provides a universal approach to this global concern. Follow the link below to register for the...

In California, AB 254 authored by Assemblymember Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond) will ensure access to health and mental health services for all students. The bill passed the Assembly Health Committee this afternoon. “We cannot continue to allow children that suffer from health conditions to fall behind in school and slip between the cracks,” said Thurmond. “All students, regardless of economic circumstances, deserve an opportunity to pursue an education and get the healthcare they need to remain...

The ConVal School District is proud to show the following documentaries to educate the community about the relationship between ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and addiction: - May 4th (6:30-8:30 pm) Screenagers - May 8th (6:30-8:30 pm) Paper Tigers - May 22nd (6:30-8:30 pm) Resilience; The Biology of Stress and the Science of Hope All movies will be shown at the Lucy Hurlin Theater at ConVal High School in Peterborough, NH.

As Laura shared her story with me, her eyes filled with tears. Recognizing the emergence of emotion, I invited her to slow down and notice the physical experience of her sadness with compassion towards it. She stopped speaking and focused inward. As she did, the sadness increased allowing her tears to flow unencumbered by conflict. Laura cried as I quietly sat present with her making sure she felt safe and not alone. Soon the wave of affect passed. I then gently directed her to stay focused...

Adverse childhood events require we erect defenses to keep us emotionally safe. In childhood these defenses are brilliant in that they ensure our psychic survival. In adulthood, however, they cost us. George wanted more intimacy, so we worked to help him become "intelligently vulnerable."