Blog

When the word prayer comes to mind one might conjure images of organized religious services. However, prayer is a much richer and more meaningful experience than only that experienced through contact with a church, synagogue, r mosque, or other places of worship. Indeed, there are many mental and physical health benefits to speaking to and cajoling a higher power. In today’s piece, we shall examine together prayer and how it can benefit those who live with the aftereffect of severe trauma;...

By Laura Ungar and Elizabeth Lucas, Kaiser Health News, May 12, 2020 In nearly half a million American homes, washing hands to prevent COVID-19 isn’t as simple as soaping up and singing “Happy Birthday” twice while scrubbing. In many of those homes, people can’t even turn on a faucet. There’s no running water. In 470,000 dwellings in the United States — spread across every state and in most counties — inadequate plumbing is a problem, the starkest of several challenges that make it tougher...

By Christina Caron, The New York Times, May 8, 2020 The wails. The screeching. One more conference call interrupted. After months of social distancing, children are as frustrated as their parents. “They’re fighting over who’s sitting in what chair,” said Ana Balich, a mother of three who lives in Chicago. “They always fought about stuff like that, but it just seems like its been worse.” In her household, like so many others, daily routines have been disrupted and her children are spending...

By Margaret Miller, American Academy of Family Physicians, May 14, 2020 I'm sitting on my back porch in sunny South Carolina, where I recently experienced virtual graduation from my medical school in Tennessee, and I'm having a hard time writing this blog post. There are moving boxes to be unpacked in the kitchen, our mattress is lying on the bedroom floor, and the only place we have to sit in the living room is a giant recliner from Big Lots that we're forced to share until our couch...

By Steven Loeb, Vator, May 14, 2020 "That’s the best case scenario, in the U.S., with insurance; think about the rest of the world, it’s even worse," she said. The question is then, how to cut that down, a topic which was broached by Vasan and the rest of the panel, which included Alon Matas (Founder and president of Betterhelp), Brian Garrett (Co-founder & Managing Director, Crosscut Ventures), and David Bond (Director of Behavioral Health, Blue Shield of California – Promise Health...

By Bryan E. Robinson, Psychology Today, April 15, 2020 Although we don’t know exactly when, at some point in the future self-isolation will end, and many of us will return to offices, restaurants, and houses of worship. But what will that look like? One thing for sure, we will never return to normal; we will return to “a new normal.” And each of us will have repair work to do as we re-enter the world of physical proximity to coworkers and reconnecting with friends, neighbors, and loved ones.

By Bryan Robinson, May 1, 2020 May is Mental Health Awareness Month. It has been observed in the United States since 1949, reaching millions of people. There is no better time than the month of May, 2020 to highlight the importance of helping people re-adjust from the aftermath of the earth-shattering pandemic that has thrown so many of us off the normal course of our personal and professional lives. That includes first responders and all the medical personnel also suffering from PTSD and...

"The schools that prioritize staff and student well-being will thrive!" SIGN UP HERE The COVID pandemic is a rapidly evolving collective trauma that is reshaping and challenging the structure and fabric of education. Prioritizing how we identify and support both student and staff social-emotional needs will be critical from day one. This 2-part webinar is geared towards leaders and educators who are already committed to whole-child work and already exploring how to plan and navigate towards...

Ascend has, as many of you have done, reflected on ways in which this crisis can initiate positive change as we go forward. In response, we launched a webinar series to examine and lift up the ways this crisis has laid bare the profound inequities that lead to health disparities, as well as the ways in which the pandemic is disproportionately impacting the economic, educational, and health of communities of color throughout the US in order to identify innovations to lead us forward. We are...

This week, we explore how exercise helps us heal. According to Dr. C. Marc Madsen, exercise helps improve most physical and mental processes across our entire system. This week, there are a lot of links in the attached pdf for information and fun guided exercise videos. And, as always, written to children at a grade school reading level. Have fun and get moving!

By Town-Crier Editor, The Town-Crier, May 12, 2020 The Palm Health Foundation and Palm Beach County Parks & Recreation are presenting a free one-hour online Mindfulness Meditation Workshop led by meditation practitioner and longtime Wellington resident Jill Merrell. The virtual event is in support of May’s Mental Health Awareness and Trauma Informed Care Month and provides to assist residents in finding calm and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will be a live Zoom...

From Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, May 2020 If you're concerned about how to pay your mortgage or rent due to the coronavirus national emergency, read on for information on what to do now, and what your options are for mortgage and rent payment relief. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) , and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are working together to help homeowners and renters during the coronavirus pandemic.