Blog

Despite the advances of nutritional therapy over the last 30 years, there is often limited to no inclusion of nutrition as part of the trauma treatment for children and families with PTSD. However, diet and nutrition can serve as powerful tools to influence change in both the body and brain of a child and/or family member experiencing trauma.

The recent Congressional Hearing on Preventing Childhood Trauma included a robust dialogue about the correlation between poverty, trauma and ACEs (time stamp 2:49). Panelists were asked what policies could positively impact income as a means to prevent and mitigate the effects of trauma and ACEs. Raising the minimum wage was not discussed. The following press release, describing new research from the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment , supports it as an effective strategy , one...

By Stuart Butler, Brookings, July 12, 2019. In many areas of domestic policy, effective solutions to a problem typically need the coordination of different government programs and agencies. For instance, achieving good health in a community requires not just good medical care, but also attention to transportation, housing conditions and other “social determinants” of health. Collaboration and coordination across agencies and programs is no easy matter at any level of government. For one...

By Monica Humphries, Nation Swell, July 12, 2019. On the drive home from Priya Shah’s first Storycatchers musical, she pulled over to cry. Shah, who now serves as the executive director of Storycatchers, had just seen a musical at the Illinois Youth Center, a juvenile detention center in Warrenville, Illinois. She watched girls tell stories of sexual abuse, battery and neglect. She also saw stories of hope and resilience. “It struck me that these characters I had just watched struggle, joke,...

By Dominic O'Sullivan, The Conversation, July 10, 2019. Indigenous public policy fails consistently. The research evidence is compelling . Across post-settler colonial societies like New Zealand, Australia and Canada, schooling is not as effective for Indigenous citizens, employment and housing outcomes are not as good, and health outcomes are worse. In Canada, the government says the solution lies in stronger nation-to-nation relationships between the state and First Nations . In Australia,...

You can listen to About Health, on KPFA.org, 94.1FM, hosted by me (Rona Renner, RN) Listen Here: https://www.nurserona.com/health-consequences-of-intimate-partner-violence/ or here: https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=314353 I was honored today to be joined by Dr. Brigid McCaw and Michiko Scott to discuss Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). I was moved by Michiko's courage to talk about her own experience with IPV. As an IPV survivor she overcame various challenges as an immigrant single mother of...

In what’s been described as a landmark investment from the federal government in social-emotional learning, the House of Representatives approved a spending bill last month that included $260 million in funding for what it calls “whole child” initiatives within the Department of Education. The funding is divided into four areas : 1. $170 million through the Education Innovation and Research program to provide grants for evidence-based innovations that support students’ social, emotional and...

By Marisa Kwiatkowski, USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism. How do you know when someone is emotionally ready to be interviewed about a trauma he or she has experienced? What do you do if she wants to back out just before publication? How do you respond to a source’s complex family dynamic when it is affecting the reporting process? How do you protect yourself from becoming emotionally entangled in a story? While producing a five-part series, “ Ashley’s Story ,” published in April in...

By Jenna Grace, PsychCentral, June 13, 2019. In my over 20 years of working, I’ve learned that, when it comes to your mental health, pushing yourself just isn’t worth it. Sometimes you can’t be your best. And sometimes your work suffers. My husband and I are moving into our first house this week. Well, our first purchased house. Which means we’ve been packing our current rental and getting our new house ready to move into. Which saves little time for much else. And while I’m lucky to have...

Room erupts in applause for the grandmother of witness William Kellibrew during July 11 House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing. The power of personal stories from witnesses and committee members fueled the July 11 hearing on childhood trauma in the House Oversight and Reform Committee* throughout the nearly four hours of often emotional and searing testimony and member questions and statements (Click here for 3:47 hour video). The hearing was organized into a two panels—testimony from...

Don't miss out on this opportunity to gain valuable knowledge from Dr. Scott Sells who is one of the leading experts in the field on treating Family Trauma. Please register today as there is a limited number of spots available for tomorrow's free webinar. Click on the link to register . Together, we can make a difference! Find us on Facebook .

Change Your World is the newest addition to the body of resources on Resilience. It has been written by Michael Ungar, PhD - one of the most informed voices in resilience research. Although the reviewer was skeptical leading up to reading the book, expecting more victim blaming, which is often the predominant theme of resilience promotion, she was pleasantly surprised. She now recommends this book to everyone interested in learning how to build a healthier humanity.