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Diane Petrella, MSW is a licensed psychotherapist and life coach specializing in mind-body-spirit approaches to self-growth, healing, and weight loss. Early in her career she co-founded the first child sexual abuse treatment program in Rhode Island and for many years routinely testified in court as an expert witness in the area of child and adult sexual assault and post-traumatic stress.

Hey folks, a little musical reprise from the Survivor Knights event at the Rotunda in Philadelphia, PA - Live performance of "Pirates" and "When Your Heart Follows A Lie" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1J7llqObqw Some tunes of mine addressing the traumas [ "Pirates" ] of life & the lies and the beliefs I [perhaps you have as well] have followed and then finding some truth...and love. These are some of the reasons these songs came to pass. “ PIRATES ” © Michael Skinner Music Walking...

For many who read this blog, speaking about depression may seem redundant. However, an enemy that isn’t acknowledged becomes a silent killer. So, for both those who understand too well what depression is and how it affects our lives and those who don’t know I am writing this post. Every human on planet earth experiences depression. There are no exceptions.

By Kyle Stucker, Fosters.com, January 22, 2020 Hilltop City education, public safety and social service leaders hope this spring to soft launch a new collaborative model for helping prevent and respond to childhood trauma. The goal of creating an Adverse Childhood Experience Response Team in Somersworth is to bring resources together better than ever before, more proactively refer families to individualized services, and more deeply implement trauma-informed care principles at all levels of...

By Quinn Stoddard, PSU Vanguard, January 21, 2020 On Jan. 15, at Multnomah County Central Library, an open discussion was hosted by the Indigenous 20-Something Project—“a movement [bringing] healing and wellness to an entire generation to stop the toxic impacts of intergenerational trauma.” Hosts and founding members of I20SP, Shalene Joseph and Josh Cocker, discussed different factors affecting indigenous communities and the power that historical wisdom has had in their efforts to foster...

By Mark McMillan, Pride Source, January 22, 2020 Warning: this column may contain content that may be triggering for some readers. This past year in my practice, I began to see both male and female clients who presented with a past history of child sexual abuse. Unfortunately, the statistics prove that someone misusing alcohol or other drugs most likely has some form of child abuse in their past as well. Add that this person identifies with the LGBTQ community, and the numbers change...

By Samantha Michaels, Mother Jones, January 22, 2020 Antonio was tired of people calling him names. Staff members at the Virginia juvenile hall where he was held would call him pendejo and “onion head,” he said. After fleeing violence in Mexico at age 15 and arriving alone at the US border, he’d been sent to Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center in 2016 and held alongside American teens while he awaited immigration proceedings. Shenandoah is one of two juvenile halls nationally that the Office...

https://www.fresyes.com/family/your-brain-in-service-of-survival/

https://www.optimalbrainintegration.com/post/how-to-be-your-own-emergency-first-responder-3-minute-read How to Be Your Own Emergency First Responder! (3 minute read)

Yes We Must Coalition is sponsoring a free webinar on how to create trauma responsive educational institutions and why this matters. Date: Jan. 31, 2020; 1:00–2:30 est. Presenter: Karen Gross, JD, D.H.L, PFA and CA certified; continuing education instructor Rutgers Graduate School of Social Work To register: contact info@yeswemustcoalition.com; Zoom details will be provided; Coalition membership not required. There will be concrete strategies and takeaways for participants and free shipping...

Join the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for a new webinar series, based on the recent report The Promise of Adolescence: Realizing Opportunity for All Youth. This report from the Board on Children, Youth, and Families examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and identifies how these findings can be applied to four key sectors: health, education, justice, and child welfare. The webinar series will discuss how systems can...

By Jordan Bailey, January 22, 2020, for Portland Phoenix ME In 2008, 21-year-old Brandon Brown shot a man in Portland’s Old Port. He was eventually convicted of attempted murder and elevated aggravated assault, and sentenced to 17 years in prison. Now Brown is poised to be the first person in Maine to earn a master’s degree while incarcerated, and may be the first inmate to conduct approved research on fellow inmates for his thesis project. Brown shot former Marine James Sanders, crippling...