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On January 30, 2019 the County of Sonoma took a significant step towards becoming a more trauma informed organization by delivering a 1 hour over-view of ACES science to newly hired staff. With this framework now embedded in NEO training we hope to give staff a solid foundation on the key concepts behind trauma informed care. We are re-focusing our efforts towards educating all staff on the link between toxic stress and health outcomes and behavior. This training is the result of...

James Anthony Ellis is an award-winning playwright and reporter who owns Legacy Production, a San Diego production company that in 2012 produced the acclaimed “Indoctrinated: The Grooming of our Children into Prostitution.” An author of eight books and producer of 100 video presentations, Ellis is now working on a new educational film “Keeping The Peace” supporting law enforcement officers in their mental and emotional wellness.

Millions of people -- more than 1 in 7 in the U.S alone -- are taking psychiatric drugs for depression and anxiety. It's not clear, however, that they are helpful for treating the effects of early trauma. These symptoms may include depression and anxiety, but rather than a chemical imbalance, the cause may indeed stem from brain dysregulation, which responds to a very different kind of treatment. It may also be related to shame, guilt, anger and isolation, which so often flow from early...

How about this weird weather we've been having? It's a common query around the Pacific Standard office, and for good reason: Abnormalities such as the recent cold and snow in Southern California capture pretty much everyone's attention. Climate change is significantly increasing the chances of more unsettling weather in the years to come, including longer and more severe heat waves. But if you're hoping the strange conditions will inspire people to realize that something profoundly dangerous...

In July 2018 the “Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act” was passed with the intention of helping identify, promote, coordinate and disseminate information about resources and best practices to help relative caregivers meet the needs of children removed from the custody of their parents. That summer Christine Stankik, PhD., Senior Researcher at Altarum , began in-depth data collection on 20 Michigan grandmothers raising grandchildren and surveyed 1,015 grandparents nationwide...

For the past few months, my body has been too heavy to measure. Well, too heavy to weigh on my home scale. It has a 400-pound weight limit. When I first began my own writing career last spring, my weight was ranging anywhere from 340 to 375 pounds, but swinging upwards. At some point, I gave up completely and saw my weight reach 400 pounds last fall. Obviously, that's a huge number. I know, some of you are laughing or rolling your eyes. Some of you want to vomit. Meanwhile, I have intense,...

What comes to your mind when you hear the word trauma? Do you think of physical or psychological trauma? Do you have preconceived notions about how trauma may affect human development? [For more on this story by Támara Hill, MS, LPC, go to https://blogs.psychcentral.com/caregivers/2019/02/trauma-9-things-we-fail-to-understand/ ]

Teaching in the United States was once considered a career for men. Then the profession’s gender composition shifted dramatically around the mid-19th century, when the country’s public-school system was born. As schoolhouse doors opened to children of all social classes and genders, so too did the education profession. By the late 1880s, women made up a majority—63 percent—of all the country’s teachers (though men continued to make up most of the high-school teaching force until the late...

Late last year, the Trump administration moved to roll back Obama-era regulations designed to improve air quality and limit pollution. No one thought of it as an education story. But new research suggests it is, at least in part. While the health risks of air pollution have long been documented, two recent studies are among the first to directly connect two different forms of pollution to lower test scores and higher absence rates among exposed schoolchildren. Schools across the country —...

E ven as crime has dropped in L.A. over the last two decades, there are thousands of children who grow up with a constant drumbeat of death while navigating safe paths to schools in neighborhoods where someone has been killed nearby. The impact of close-up violence can be devastating and costly for students, schools and communities: Some students suffer PTSD-like symptoms. Schools have begun incorporating the inevitability of trauma into their design, with curriculum addressing stress...

The New Hanover County Resiliency Task Force has more than 200 members from just about every segment of the community, including schools, health providers, law enforcement, the courts, state and local government, social services, nonprofits, churches, nursing homes and even the county library.

Keeping your organization afloat in challenging conditions... Following up on "Adaptive Change in Behavioral Health Organizations Serving Survivors of Trauma" (posted 2/20/19), here is the first of 3 webinars Villa of Hope presented through the Alliance for Strong Families & Communities. It's called "REBUILD: Adaptive Change to Rebuild the Perspective, Courage, & Leadership of Your Organization." Enjoy!