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The first time I ever heard the words trauma-informed care and the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study was in the summer of 2014. At the time, I was working for the local Police Department as the Director of a grant-funded Crime Reduction Project aimed at reducing drug-related and violent crime. Of the many program goals, one was to develop a rehabilitative corrections program for felony offenders with addictions in order to reduce recidivism. Though I’ve lived in this region for...

When the world around you becomes unstable, there are two basic energies you can adopt. For those who went through trauma as a child, it’s hard to avoid getting stuck in one of them: Self-protection. As much as we need safety, inside and out -- we also need growth. If you have Childhood PTSD and you always favor self-protection, then times of crisis like we’re going through right now are likely to make your symptoms worse and worse. So what can you do to stop this? As I’m writing this, we’re...

One of Dr. Nisha Manek's proudest moments was moderating HH the 14th Dalai Lama during a Mind-Life Institute conference at the Mayo clinic. With storytelling as a core skill, she has authored a one-of-a-kind book: Bridging Science and Spirit, closing the gap between two seemingly separate areas of knowledge.

At this point, COVID-19 has been a part of our lives for nearly six months now. While the most recent current events are not unfamiliar social problems, this pandemic has provided us with a stronger lens with which to see many of the underlying inequities within our communities. This article, “The Moral Determinants of Health,” explores these inequities by illustrating the systemic imbalances within the field of medicine and the amount of resources we allocate to solving problems as opposed...

Fact Sheet from the Urban Indian Health Institute shares ways to support communities experiencing multiple trauma during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. How can organizations... Be more transparent about COVID-19? Emotionally support the people they serve through telehealth services? Support staff in caring for themselves and their communities? Support communities in handling their emotions? Work together to heal their communities? To download the fact sheet and/or view other COVID-19...

Dr. Ken Ginsburg was overwhelmingly well-received as the keynote speaker at the recent Creating a Resilient Community: From Trauma to Healing Conference back in April of this year. The Peace and Justice Institute (PJI) at Valencia College is excited to share that we are bringing him back to deliver 3 additional virtual workshops in a Community Resilience Series. The first workshop in this FREE series will be specifically for parents: Parenting in an Age of Uncertainty , July 7th from 5:30 -...

Those of us committed to preventing ACEs would like to get back to work at 100%. But before we can refocus on helping our most vulnerable children and families, we can benefit greatly by reflecting on what the virus is teaching us. On earth, we don’t get a global pandemic coupled with social distancing leading to an economic free fall every day. What we did get everyday in the United States, right up until COVID-19 was found menacing, was a society with a long history of social injustice,...

Planning for school reopening seems insurmountable, yet, those who are involved in the details continue efforts to keep our students and staff safe. It feels like we are writing plans in the sand, with constantly shifting information that changes with the tide. One of the many articles I read about school reopening describes the details for the Springfield, Missouri summer school. These guidelines could be coming to a school near you. Are we really ready? The following information is...

I remember my first thoughts when I heard about the Scotland and UK lockdown measures to manage the Covid-19 pandemic. It wasn’t for myself or my wellbeing, or my job, but for my niece and nephews. If I was anxious about this, and their parents were anxious – through being furloughed and working more hours as key workers – how would that translate to them? In particular, the impact of suddenly being removed from school and their peer groups. For my youngest nephew, I wondered how far this...

Everyone experiences flashbacks. Most of the time flashbacks are benign when they experience a trigger, such as the smell of fresh-baked bread, and it reminds them of their grandmother. However, flashbacks are a nightmare for those who have experienced extreme trauma in childhood or as an adult. This piece will concentrate on flashbacks that are part of the lives of those who live in the shadow of complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

By Oxiris Barbot and Daniel Stephens, MedPage Today, June 29, 2020 From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have grappled with the impact of this crisis on children. Many of us think children are uniquely resilient, able to bounce back from anything. But like all pediatricians, we know that children are not simply small adults. Children and adolescents are experiencing acute mental trauma right now -- especially as the pandemic continues alongside mounting protests and civic unrest.

By Shashank Bengali and Zulfiqar Ali, Los Angeles Times, June 30, 2020 The boys struck out from their village in Pakistan’s rugged tribal belt and came to this frontier city to work at Maula Khan’s drink stand, a wooden cart shaded by an umbrella on a road bustling with migrants, war refugees and swerving rickshaws. Umar Gul and Muhammad Siraj stood in the 108-degree heat, pouring freshly squeezed lemons mixed with jaggery into steel cups for 12 cents a serving. They were far from home, but...