Blog

There are some situations in which I’m literally unable to speak. I’ve been this way for almost my whole life due to an anxiety disorder called selective mutism. Selective mutism is considered a rare disorder, but the prevalence—which ranges from .03% to 1%—could be an underestimation. I was within the typical range of onset, which is children under five. Most often, symptoms become apparent when a child begins school. Because my family struggled with their own mental health problems, I...

Growing up in poverty exposes children to greater levels of stress, which can lead to psychological problems later in life, a new study suggests. Researchers at Cornell University reported that kids who grow up poor are more likely to have reduced short-term spatial memory. The study also reported that such kids seem to be more prone to antisocial and aggressive behavior, such as bullying. Poor children are also more likely than kids from middle-income homes to feel powerless, the study...

In October of 2015, in Dietrich, Idaho, a young, intellectually disabled black man was in his high school locker room with other friends, all white, on the football team. He thought his friend was going to give him a hug. Instead, the “friend” grabbed him and held him , according to a civil suit. A second boy, an 18-year-old, allegedly inserted a plastic coat hanger into the young man’s rectum. Then the third attacker started to kick the hanger, driving it into the victim’s body, the family...

Aided by a presidential initiative, the Casa Pacifica agency has doubled admissions to a program that prepares psychologists to work with abused, neglected and emotionally troubled youth. Brian Bantel, 33, is a member of this year's class. The intern from Arizona plans to specialize in the treatment of children who have been traumatized by abuse and neglect, a specialty of the Casa Pacifica Centers for Children & Families. "I do best with a trauma population or a lot of conduct-related...

We have finally completed our trauma informed education seminar. Scheduled for February in Los Angeles, Early March in New York and April in Michigan. We have put together an excellent review of current evidence based approaches, with specific, easy to implement strategies for developing and improving your trauma informed approaches. Hope you can make it!!

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is seeking applications for funding under the fiscal year (FY) 2017 Safe and Thriving Communities: Planning and Collaboration initiative. This program furthers the Department’s mission by strengthening community capacity to stem violence and reduce youth offending and victimization, improving the response to children’s exposure to violence, and enhancing public...

A survey of 2,000 U.S. physicians released in September found that roughly half believed they had met criteria for a mental health disorder in the past but had not sought treatment. The doctors listed a number of reasons they had shunned care, including worries that they’d be stigmatized and an inability to find the time. But they also voiced a troubling reason for avoiding treatment: medical licensing applications. After graduating from medical school, doctors must complete residency...

From banning conversion therapy for gay and trans youth to eliminating solitary confinement for juveniles in federal prisons, President Obama issued a slew of executive orders designed to protect at-risk youth over the past eight years. Now, advocates are worried that new executive orders will undo all that’s been done. “There were a number of very favorable moves that came out under the Obama administration and under his leadership. Some of those can surely be undone by a President Trump,”...

Susan Dreyfus, president and CEO of the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, prepared this blog post on a recent journal article on ACEs co-authored by Jennifer Jones of the Alliance. The compelling issue of how race and income are related to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) was examined in a recent article published in Health & Social Work , a journal of the National Association of Social Workers, co-authored by Jennifer Jones of the Alliance for Strong Families and...

When Samantha Wagner and her colleagues at the Winona Area Learning Center watched the documentary “Paper Tigers,” their first thought was: “That’s our school.” The film traces a big change in a small town, Walla Walla, Wash., where the community capitalized on new science to help turn around the lives of struggling students. When Winona State University (WSU) Professor Ruth Charles gave a presentation on that science in Winona, a girl in the audience exclaimed: “Me! This is me!” After using...

The baby bottoms of Americans born before the 1980s likely never touched a diaper-changing station in a public restroom. Prior to the ‘80s, when parents, and mothers in particular, went to shop or go out to eat, they usually had to fold themselves into the back of a car, balance their wriggling infant on a toilet seat , or crouch on a dirty bathroom floor to change their child’s diaper. In the decades since, changing tables have grown more common, but they still can be hard to find,...

While for many of us the New Year is the time for resolution-making and goal setting, whether you realize it or not, everything you do — all year long — starts with a goal. And, how you approach goal setting determines how you experience life each and every day. The better you are at goal setting — whether your skill is innate, deliberately practiced, or newly learned — the greater fulfillment and happiness you will experience, and conversely, the less able you are, the more frustration,...