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By The Chronicle of Social Change, July 10, 2019. By the time Skylar was a teenager , his mother was serving a life sentence for manslaughter. His biological father was homeless, addicted to drugs and completely uninvolved in his life. As a result, Skylar began to spiral into destructive behaviors, such as theft, assault and defiance toward authority. With the help and support of residential behavioral health treatment provided by Sequel Youth and Family Services, he was able to stabilize...

By Mark Bekoff, Psychology Today, July 10, 2019. An outstanding forward-looking new book called Transforming Trauma: Resilience and Healing Through Our Connections With Animals recently crossed my desk and it's my pleasure to spread the word about it through an interview with its editors, Philip Tedeschi and Molly Anne Jenkins of the Institute for Human-Animal Connection in the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver. Transforming Trauma is a book many people have long...

Safety must be addressed first throughout trauma treatment. This is especially the case with traumatized children and their families because the child is often more vulnerable to abuse or neglect. The FST| Family Systems Trauma Model presents the use of a safety risk scale of 1 to 5 (1= no risk; 5 = high risk) to assess current safety levels within the family. The use of what is called an FST Trauma Safety Playbook is then used if needed to realign a chaotic and disorganized family with...

Migrants mainly from Central America seeking asylum guide their children through the entrance of a World War II-era airplane hangar in Deming, N.M., that is being used as a shelter . Credit Cedar Attanasio/Associated Press Speak up. Donate. Educate yourself. Vote. By The Editorial Board (Originally published 6.24.19) The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher. It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed section. This editorial has been updated...

I am well aware of these fears and why they are present, after my four year stint in EMDR therapy, so I honor their presence and just notice them without judgment. I remind myself these are physiological responses triggered by chemical surges in my brain in relation to past traumatic events. I am working at re-wiring my brain and creating new neural pathways, but that is still a work in process.

By Tovin Lapin, Fortune, July 11, 2019. Galvanized by the steady stream of disturbing details spilling out of U.S. immigrant detention centers, protests of inhumane conditions at the facilities are expanding. Now, a plan for a rally and vigil on Friday, July 12, has drawn widespread support, with more than 600 demonstrations planned on five continents. Lights for Liberty is helping organize vigils across the country with the goal of ending immigrant detention, and the coalition has struck...

By Corey Jones, Tulsa World, July 7, 2019. Patients would carry soda into Dr. Gerard Clancy’s office, with cigarettes tucked away for after therapy. Often victims of abuse or violent crime, they would seek soothing but risky behaviors to cope. Overweight. Chronic pain. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Type II diabetes. His former patients will die younger than they should, he said. Clancy conducted therapy sessions until he became president of the University of Tulsa in 2016. At his...

By Julia Rosen, Los Angeles Times, July 8, 2019. There’s the old saying that you should never discuss politics or religion in polite company. Nowadays, it seems climate change has joined that list. Barely more than a third of Americans broach the subject often or even occasionally, according to a recent survey by researchers at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication . All this not talking about climate change has given Americans a rather skewed perception of what the rest of the...

By Melissa Petro, Pacific Standard, July 8, 2019. My progressive husband was against it, but I convinced him of the arrangement. The day we sat down to discuss it, I'd even calculated an hourly rate for my work as a mother. Half of $15 an hour—his part of what it would've cost to put our son in daycare—is a pittance, and if I'd thought he could afford it, I would have asked for more. But at the time, with my hormones raging, tits leaking, and sleep deprivation that left me glassy-eyed, it...

A hearing of unprecedented scope and depth (this link will take you to a list of witnesses and all of their statements plus an overview memo on the hearing from committee staff) on ACEs science and childhood trauma — " Identifying, Preventing, and Treating Childhood Trauma: A Pervasive Public Health Issue that Needs Greater Federal Attention " — will be held today in the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. You can watch the live stream at 10:00 am ET through this link . Nine witnesses...

Teachable moments are those seconds of clarity when someone experiences an absolute understanding that previously eluded him or her. In my work as a School Nurse, I was accustomed to creating the “teachable moments” for my students. On this particular late afternoon, it was my turn to experience a “teachable moment” from a student. Who recognizes this scenario? It was another endless day of problem-solving, crisis management, sewing ripped pants, helping a staff member deal with a personal...

The marijuana industry makes tons of money, a lot of it by targeting young people with ads and glamorizing marijuana use. Too often, people of color get trapped in the justice system as a result. It's harmful for young people to use but you would never know that from how media glorifies it This video uses impacted community voices to tell the story that is most meaningful to and for them. By stepping back and allowing youth and other voices to rise up and step forward, this work advances...