Blog

The connection between voting and political change is straightforward: If you don't like President Donald Trump 's policies, you vote against him and his party. If enough people join you, better people will get into office and institute better policies. The theory of change behind direct action, though, is less clear. How does marching, or blocking a highway, or punching a Nazi, lead to change? To many critics, direct action seems like an outlet for expressing anger and frustration, rather...

On this West Virginia Morning, current best practices for harm reduction programs include a couple provisions: no retractable needles should be distributed, patients should get as many needles as possible regardless of how many they bring back, and barriers to accessing needles should be as low as possible. But what happens when those recommendations are at odds with community acceptance for the practices? Kara Lofton reports. [For more on this story by WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC BROADCASTING, go...

Trauma Sensitive Approaches for Home and School is a series of three brief (under 10 minutes each) training videos for use by school personnel, families, child welfare and other professionals. Developed by Formed Families Forward, a parent resource center, as part of the Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports project, the videos cover: - Understanding Trauma Awareness; - Responding to Trauma; and - Building Trauma Sensitive Schools One page fact sheets are available to accompany each video.

With all the health care changes and challenges in today’s society, going to the doctor or dentist is difficult enough for the average person. With a history of childhood or adolescent sexual trauma, a medical appointment can become re-traumatizing if not handled with care by the survivor and provider. Think about it, some other adult is making decisions on the survivor’s behalf, touching their body, has their hands in the survivor’s mouth rendering them unable to make their needs known or...

Becoming a trauma-informed organization requires clear communication about the transformation process, and support from staff at all levels of an organization. Often these efforts are spearheaded by “trauma-informed care champions”— individuals committed to raising awareness regarding the health effects of trauma and toxic stress and improving care for people who have experienced trauma. This week, the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) invites you to recognize people around you who...

Limbic revision is simply another name for revising and rewiring the faulty development of our brain, namely our limbic system. In simple terms in order to truly heal we need to experience deep and attuned loving care.

I would be interested in other people's responses please and thank you. I have noticed that somehow it has become almost a sin to not be positive all the time. People are not just encouraged to be positive which I think is a good thing, but are shamed or blamed if they are "negative" which is not a good thing. For many trauma survivors this behavior can be triggering and retraumatizing since many survivors have been taught for years to ignore their feelings, and/or that no one wants to hear...

"This November, Microsoft News is putting a focus on Poverty in America with a 2-week series examining the root causes of poverty, what poverty really means to the many different kinds of people affected, and what we can do to contribute to the most meaningful solutions. We teamed up with some of our most trusted news partners to bring you custom content and highlight quality journalism that helps us understand these issues. We hope you’ll join us in supporting the organizations that are...

“We believe in things like science ,” a client tells me after learning that I am an ordained minister with the United Church of Christ. I have been working with his family for three years and there has never been any indication that either this man or his wife think I am anything but very smart. In fact, they have often credited our work together with saving their family life and marriage! I do not take his statement as an insult, but rather, as evidence of the depth of religion’s wounding...

New York City is moving closer toward an overhaul of its early child care system that will put the education department in charge of some programs for children as young as six weeks old — a consequential shift that signals learning begins at birth. Among the changes the education department is proposing: a universal enrollment system that could ease the burden on parents looking for child care, and an explicit focus on racial and economic integration from the earliest ages. The moves are...

I’m keeping myself busy.” Lots of retired people say this kind of thing, probably to reassure themselves and others that they are not at loose ends and drifting into oblivion just because they aren’t going to work every day or receiving a paycheck. One day I heard these words coming up from some deep crevice in my own mind, and before I could stop them, they went right into the telephone. “Wait a minute,” I wanted to cry out. “What am I saying, and who the hell is saying this?” I am not...

All eyes in Canada have turned to Oshawa, Ontario, following the announcement by General Motors that it will end auto manufacturing in the city after more than a century of production. In the coming days we will hear about community resilience and the inevitability of market forces. Some of those affected will be asked to share their feelings and politicians of all stripes will send their thoughts and prayers to the nearly 3,000 autoworkers who will be out of work. Then we will all move on.