Tagged With "childhood trauma"
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How Have Children and Families Fared During Covid?
Hi everyone, It's Friday or as some say, Fri-yay! Today we want to share some additional research info with you and it is based on US data for the past year. Essentially, the desire was to understand how children and families have been coping since the onset of Covid-19. Recently, KidsData released the latest data from the "Family Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic" questionnaire. These data are the second wave of findings from the multi-wave questionnaire. As the COVID-19 pandemic...
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5 ways to create compelling messages about childhood trauma using data
When presented strategically, data can help tell an important story about childhood trauma. Here are a few tips for presenting numbers in ways that advance efforts to reduce adversity, promote resilience, and improve health outcomes.
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Understanding Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) Communicating What We Know to Communities of Care [bach.health]
Keynote & Expert Panel August 12, 9am - Noon Join an interactive discussion with several nationally-recognized experts on ACEs and the field of early childhood development Learn how to communicate, screen, treat and heal trauma associated with adverse childhood experiences Receive a free social media toolkit to educate your community about screening for ACEs [ Please click here to register .]
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When Self-Care Doesn't "Work"
You can't fail at self-care. If something isn't helpful, maybe you haven't yet found your own way.
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"Machete" Star Talks About His Childhood Experiences
Hello everyone. If you are into corny action-comedy movies, then you know the person whose picture adorns the cover image for this post. None other than Mexican-American actor, Danny Trejo, the star of the "Machete" series. Back in the day, I had read that Trejo was a former gang-banger, former drug addict and was formerly incarcerated. However, I never heard his story until recently. He has written a book detailing some of his highlighted experiences but shares how, after giving the...
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Connecting the Dots between Overdose Prevention and Adverse Childhood Experiences
Hi everybody. As you may know there have been many persons who have sought to dull the pain of childhood trauma through the use of narcotics, some becoming addicted in the process. In an effort to explore solutions to this dilemma, we are happy to share with you an upcoming webinar on ACEs and Addiction. "Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, are shown to increase the risk of chronic health conditions including substance use disorder. These ACES, frequently experienced as “trauma” in early...
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Racism as an Adverse Community Experience
By Christina Velez, The Relationship Foundation July 15, 2021 Have you ever questioned the ways that racism and trauma intersect? As a person of color, I know I have. Racism is a core determinant of health which often leads to social inequities. From watching PBS’s video on “Mental Fitness for Resilience-The Trauma of Racism” it was interesting to learn how racism and trauma, often converge in inseparable ways. Dr. Terri D. McFadden, a general pediatrician, and professor at Emory University...
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Free Webinar: Trauma and Nutrition
Proper nutrition is a key ingredient in rewiring your client's traumatized neural pathways. Research shows that nutrition is often not part of trauma treatment. Nutrition and trauma are on two different planets. This free webinar training by Dr. Sells is for professionals who want to understand why nutrition and trauma are not typically linked in treatment and how to bridge this gap with step-by-step tools, case examples, and handouts. Wednesday, July 21 12 - 1 pm EDT Click HERE to register...
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World Day Against Trafficking in Persons Coming Up on 30 July
Good Sunday morning everyone. We hope you are enjoying the weekend. While we seldom post on the weekend, today is different. Why? Well, because it's the 25th of the month and, as promised, we want to bring you a post that highlights the issue of slavery and human trafficking. This week will mark the United Nations observance of World Day Against Trafficking In Persons on 30th July. The commemoration of the Day was proclaimed in December 2013 by the United Nations General Assembly, in its...
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Trauma and COVID-19: Addressing Mental Health Among Racial/Ethnic Minority Populations Webinar
The Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cordially invites you to join a national audience of mental health professionals, health advocates and educators, health care providers, public health professionals, and OMH partners and stakeholders for an upcoming webinar: Trauma and COVID-19: Addressing Mental Health Among Racial/Ethnic Minority Populations July 29, 2021 | 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. ET As part of the OMH observance of National...
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PACEs Champion Dwana Young navigates community-driven ACEs healing centers in New Jersey
In 2020, New Jersey, a state with about 9 million people spread over the rural countryside and dense urban areas like Newark, launched a new entity: the NJ Office of Resilience (NJOR). The NJOR is unusual because it is a public-private partnership. It brings together three private foundations as well as the NJ Department of Children and Families to provide community-driven strategies for preventing, treating, and healing from ACEs. Like a ship’s navigator laying out a course on charts, Dwana...
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How Art Therapy Can Help Children Heal from Trauma [salud-america.org]
By Julia Weis, ¡Salud America!, July 20, 2021 A new method is emerging to help children heal from trauma – art therapy. More mental health clinics, like the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas , are beginning to use art to help children with the healing process. Mental health professionals hope that art therapy can help children process adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which is growing to be a public health crisis . “Art therapy helps one process emotions and feelings that one...
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Back to School Readiness for Caribbean Children
Good Monday morning everyone. As we are passing the half way mark for the month of August, traditionally, children would be getting restless as their return to school would be a fortnight away. In many of our Caribbean and CARICOM jurisdictions 2020 and perhaps 2021 will be remembered as periods of great diversity. While some territories barely interrupted the education cycle during their relatively moderate Covid-19 fight, others with more alarming infection and death rates closed schools...
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How to Nourish Your Resilience in a Time of Trauma (yesmagazine.org)
We are in a historic moment of trauma in the United States. How do we face these things fully, let in the devastation, and then both heal and act? Can we navigate through this toward healing? Toward racial, economic, and gender justice? Can we use this moment to alter the trajectory of climate change toward sustainability? Somatics and neuroscience reveal that we have inherent needs as humans—safety, belonging and dignity. We have essential material needs too, like healthy food and clean...
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When Cyclones Party In Your Backyard
Happy "Fri-yay" to everyone! Over the past week ago, the world was shocked out of its focus on evolving virus strains when the media launched an all-out assault on our sensibilities with headlines that screamed " Code RED for humanity !" What they were referring to was not an alien invasion or zombie apocalypse but the report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) that the climate crisis was propelling us to a point where, even with our best efforts, we would not be able...
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Upcoming Presentation on the Causes/Impacts of ACEs in the Caribbean
On Friday, August 27, 2021, at noon, I will be the guest speaker at Port of Spain Adult Library’s monthly International Men's Day Trinidad and Tobago (IMDTT) discussion. The title of my talk is The Causes and Impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in the Caribbean. ACEs pose huge challenges across the globe. Unfortunately, not much has been done in the Caribbean to uncover the links between ACEs and many of the developmental challenges we face. My presentation will highlight some of...
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Six Months and Counting!
Happy birthday to us! Happy birthday to us! Well, sort of. This week marks just over 6 months since ACEs Caribbean Community (ACEs) was formed here on the PACEs Connection platform. Actually, the platform name change from ACEs Connection occurred during our first month here. In that time, we have been pleased to see a coming together of like-minded individuals from within and outside of CARICOM (the Caribbean Community), all with a passion for helping people thrive after childhood adversity.
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PACEs Connection is Taking a Week of Rest
The PACEs Connection team will be taking a week of rest following the Labor Day holiday on September 6. We will be out of the office from September 7-10. We will not be checking or responding to emails or calls. We will not be publishing the Daily Digests and Weekly Roundup during this time. Although the field of Adverse Child Experiences and child trauma has always been a stressful one in which to work, we have been feeling especially overwhelmed lately. Our capacity for feeling, both...
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10 Questions every trauma survivor should ask themselves
I was thinking about the most important questions I have asked myself in this child abuse healing journey, and I thought it might be beneficial to share those with you because when I started asking myself these questions, I felt a massive shift. I believe that one of the hardest things (this was my experience) in healing is to reflect on what is happening in our lives at this moment. Healing trauma is so much about clarity and intention. I think about this - if we can figure out how we got...
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Re: Six Months and Counting!
Thanks so much for celebrating your success with this summary! ACEs Caribbean Community is an inspiration! I noticed that CA Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris is following your account on Instagram—that's so cool!
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Slavery was the ultimate labor distortion – empowering workers today would be a form of reparations [Yahoo! article]
Good morning everyone. We hope you are remaining safe and healthy amidst all that is happening in your country. Tomorrow is the 25th of the month and we're continuing our series of posts that address the interconnection between trauma and historical labour and sexual exploitation and modern slavery. Earlier this month, there was an article in Yahoo! that focused on possible solutions to the pervasive problem of labour relations disparity and historic racial inequality in the labour market.
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Overcoming Emotional Flashbacks with Self-Compassion
Emotional flashbacks take a horrendous toll on those who experience them. To feel like you are in danger with all the emotions that accompany it, fear, anxiety, startle, and a myriad of other feelings without understanding where they are coming from is both frightening and debilitating.
This piece will delve deeper into emotional flashbacks and methods to defeat them.
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Path to a Just Society: Our new infographic shares common language and an aspirational path.
Our version of a “Path to a Just Society” is our first attempt at creating a common language and identifying points along the path to a just society. The Race and Equity workgroup of PACEs Connection started the project in early 2021, following a staff meeting where we realized that we, our organization and the movement needed this. We think it can help all of us gauge where we are, where we want to be, and what’s needed to get to the next level of integrating practices and policies based on...
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Substance misuse linked to risk profiles, study finds - Jeff Grabmeier
The study found that scores assessing childhood trauma exposure among adults with substance misuse issues were 24% higher than previous estimates for other adults in the child welfare system, and 108% higher than the general population. While many parents and caregivers involved in the child welfare system suffered trauma as children, new research suggests that those with substance misuse issues as adults may have had particularly difficult childhoods. Not surprisingly, children in these...
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Brain scans of Black women who experience racism show trauma-like effects, putting them at higher risk for future health problems [theconversation.com]
By Sierra Carter , Georgia State University , the Conversation, September 15, 2021 Black women who have experienced more racism throughout their lives have stronger brain responses to threat , which may hurt their long-term health, according to a new study I conducted with clinical neuropsychologist Negar Fani and other colleagues. I am part of a research team that for more than 15 years has studied the ways stress related to trauma exposure can affect the mind and body. In our recent study...
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FREE WEBINAR - The Impact of Mind Matters: Preliminary Evidence of Effectiveness in a Community-Based Sample
Becky Antle, Ph.D., Professor of Social Work and esteemed University Scholar at the University of Louisville, won The Dibble Institute’s national competition to evaluate Mind Matters: Overcoming Adversity and Building Resilience in 2019. As a result, Dr. Antle and her colleagues have conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine the impact of Mind Matters on a host of outcomes related to trauma symptoms, emotional regulation, coping and resiliency, and interpersonal skills for at-risk...
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ACEs, Food Addiction, and What Most Weight Loss Programs Get Wrong According to Dr. Felitti and Dr. Alman
We know a high ACE score is connected to a higher likelihood of “substance-related disorders.” However, sometimes it’s overlooked that food can be that substance of choice, too—not just drugs or alcohol. Learn about food addiction and ACEs, and a weight loss solution that heals from the inside out endorsed by Dr. Felitti, the CO-Principal Investigator of the ACE Study.
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How to Help Yourself if you’re On a Waiting List for Therapy
One of the positive outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it has increased mental health awareness. Limiting our activities and contact with others has led to so much talk about fear, loneliness, disconnection and mental health. These experiences have made people notice their needs and feel more comfortable seeking help. More people now seek therapy For some, actually getting help has been easier because they could reach out from their living rooms and receive virtual therapy. Yet for...
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The Wisdom of Trauma Part 2
Happy Sunday, everybody! If you missed the first screening of the documentary, The Wisdom of Trauma, featuring Dr. Gabor Mate, that aired a couple months ago, there is a Part 2 happening from October 4 to 10. Feel free to register at the following link and enjoy the remainder of your weekend. As always, stay safe and healthy in spirit, body and mind. https://wisdomoftrauma.com/
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Juleus Ghunta aims to make the Caribbean nations PACEs-informed
If Jamaican poet, children’s book author, and appointee to the nation’s Task Force on Character Education, Juleus Ghunta had his way, all 44 million people living in the Caribbean—from Barbados to Guyana to Grenada—would become PACEs-informed in the near future. To start off, everyone—including children, parents, teachers, social workers, doctors, and policymakers—needs to read his new book, Rohan Bullkin and the Shadows: A Story about ACEs and Hope , due out this December, just in time for...
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Now is the time for community schools for all
Community schools have been an effective school improvement strategy for over a century, implemented in both urban and rural areas across the country — yet many people have never heard of this dynamic approach to school design. Whole districts have invested in this model over the past several decades, from Oakland to New York City, from Duluth, Minnesota to Tulsa, Oklahoma. California recently approved $2.8 billion in the 2022 fiscal year budget for the implementation of community schools...
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NJ ACEs Collaborative ACEs Screening Position Release - 10/14/2021
Trenton – New Jersey’s ACEs Collaborative today announced that screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) by care providers should be used as a means to provide assistance and referrals to children and families, not as a diagnostic or treatment tool. In a position paper released today, the Collaborative – a coalition of state-based foundations, the New Jersey Department of Children and Families, and its Office of Resilience – advised that ACE screening results are an opportunity for...
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Join us October 27, 2021 for the inaugural event in our Trauma-Informed Criminal Justice System series, “The Relationship between PACEs and the Criminal Justice System”
Please join us for a new series entitled: Trauma-Informed Criminal Justice. This monthly series will feature conversations facilitated by Porter Jennings-McGarity, PACEs Connection Midwest and Tennessee community facilitator and criminal justice consultant, with special guests to discuss the need for trauma-informed criminal justice system reform. Using a PACEs-science lens, this series will examine the relationship between trauma and the criminal justice system, what needs changing, and...
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How We Heal from Adverse Childhood Experiences
It’s not time, but an integrated recovery plan that heals.
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Labels v. the roots of trauma
When articles on self-harm are posted, I recommend we understand that diagnoses are merely labels for symptom clusters, almost always resulting from early trauma. Professionals use labels primarily for billing. They are also used widely as derogatory terms, at least when I was working as a mental health professional. "Borderline personality," "dissociative disorders," etc. are shorthand descriptions of desperate coping measures that survivors use to manage the pain from early extreme abuse.
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How Trauma Can Affect Adult Relationships (A NICABM website Resource)
Hello everyone! If you're in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana or another territory that observes Diwali, I hope you are enjoying the public holiday today. We would like to share an Infographic with you that was recently posted to the website of the National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioural Medicine (NICABM). It was adapted from Terry Real, MSW, LICSW. Please see the attachment for the infographic. To read more about this resource please visit the NICABM website at the link...
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Trauma and Criminal Justice
Hi everyone! We trust you are remaining safe and healthy amidst everything that is happening around you. There is a new monthly series that will be starting today (Wednesday 10th November 2021) on the PACEs Connection platform. It is entitled: Trauma-Informed Criminal Justice. This monthly virtual Zoom series will feature conversations facilitated by Porter Jennings-McGarity, PACEs Connection’s criminal justice consultant, with special guests to discuss the need for trauma-informed criminal...
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Beginning the Healing Journey: Return to the Resilient Zone
Dysregulated stress is central to the ACEs/health outcomes link. The healing journey starts with regulating stress arousal that is stuck on too high or too low.
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Positive Effects of Giving Thanks: Not Just for the Holidays
“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not but rejoices for what he has.” ~Greek philosopher, Epictetus It is that time of year in which the leaves are changing color, the days are getting shorter, and as we prepare for family meals and holidays, we witness a lot more folks talking about what they are thankful for. The days leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday lend themselves to a shift in our focus onto what we appreciate in our lives, and we notice folks...
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Upcoming Bruce Perry Webinar
Hi everyone! This year there has certainly been a lot of interest shown in trauma and ACEs due in part to the celebrity effect of Oprah Winfrey who co-authored with Dr. Bruce Perry the bestselling book "What Happened to You?" Well, Dr. Perry will be participating in a free webinar on 30th November on faith, religion, spirituality, adversity and resilience. To find out more, please read the blog post on the website of HOPE. ...
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A Trauma Informed Approach to Vaccine Fear
PLEASE SIGN ON TO THIS MEMO TO SUPPORT OUTREACH ALONG THESE LINES TO THE ADMINISTRATION! If the goal is to impact meaningful change, it might prove helpful to view vaccine fear through a trauma informed-lens. There is an intentional shift from the use of the word “hesitancy” and instead using the more specific and appropriate term “fear”. We are more likely to change that which we better define and understand. The following memo has been developed with input from an interdisciplinary team of...
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Why, this 'Giving Season', we are grateful!
As 2021 comes to a close, we want to take a few moments to reflect on this busy and fruitful year as we ask you to remember PACEs Connection in your year-end giving. Despite this physically and emotionally challenging time, we have so very much for which to be grateful, and we would love to share our gratitude list with you. When we practice gratitude, we’re actually practicing a very PACEs-Connection thing to do: helping our brains. Brain imaging studies, says Dr. Daniel Amen, show that “...
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The Launch of Heal Trauma Global: Culturally Attuned Trauma Training
Being Trauma-Informed means that we are Culturally Attuned. Heal Trauma Global is a sister company to Heal Historical Trauma and was cultivated to fill a wide gap in stress science & trauma training. The trauma-informed movement is beautiful! It's wonderful that as a society we are moving in a direction that honors an individual's past as part of the driving force behind current behaviors. Yet, time and time again, I have attended trainings that are labeled as Trauma-Informed only to...
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Trauma-Informed Criminal Justice with Special Guest, Becky Haas, Pioneer in Developing Trauma-Informed Judicial Initiatives
Please join us for our new series entitled: Trauma-Informed Criminal Justice. This monthly virtual Zoom series will feature conversations facilitated by Dr. Porter Jennings-McGarity, PhD/LCSW, PACEs Connection’s criminal justice consultant, with special guests to discuss the need for trauma-informed criminal justice system reform. Using a PACEs-science lens, this series will examine the relationship between trauma and the criminal justice system, what needs changing, and strategies being...
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FREE 2-Day Conference on The Body Keeps The Score
Happy weekend, everyone! We don't usually post on a weekend but we have some exciting news! Dr Bessel Van Der Kolk is offering a 2-day virtual conference on his landmark presentation, The Body Keeps the Score, on 13th and 14th December 2021. The fact that it is free and open to everyone makes it even more exciting. "I’m presenting this training to serve as both a guide and an invitation—an invitation to dedicate ourselves to facing the reality of trauma, to explore how best to treat it, and...
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ACEs in the Caribbean
Hello everyone, I'm excited about this post as it serves to highlight the special edition of PREE magazine that explores P/ACEs in the Caribbean (and elsewhere). One of the authors and editors is our very own, Juleus Ghunta, a community manager here at ACEs Caribbean! Other members of our ACEs Caribbean Community and persons with whom we have collaborated also contribute to the special edition, including Drs. Richard Honigan and Stephanie Guthman, and Jerome Teelucksingh, PhD. Please visit...
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As We End 2021...
Hi everyone, The year 2021 has been challenging for many. In the Caribbean, while many of our territories were able to minimise deaths from COVID 19 during 2020, the infection rate and death toll rose sharply in 2021, leaving thousands of families in mourning for the Christmas season. Death is seldom welcome, especially at holiday times. However,difficult roads can lead to beautiful destinations. As people have come to understand there is growth that can come from childhood trauma, we look...
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PUB DAY: Rohan Bullkin and the Shadows Released Today
December 31, 2021 – Rohan Bullkin and the Shadows , a provocative new picture book by Jamaican poet and Chevening Scholar Juleus Ghunta, has been released today by CaribbeanReads, a St. Kitts-based publishing company. The book follows the title character, Rohan Bullkin on his journey from reluctant to enthusiastic reader. Rohan’s reluctance to read is fuelled by Shadows – manifestations of his adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress. He improves his literacy with the guidance...
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As We End 2021...
Hi everyone, The year 2021 has been challenging for many. In the Caribbean, while many of our territories were able to minimise deaths from COVID 19 during 2020, the infection rate and death toll rose sharply in 2021, leaving thousands of families in mourning for the Christmas season. Death is seldom welcome, especially at holiday times. However, as people have come to understand there is growth that can come from childhood trauma, we look forward to the growth that will spring forth in 2022...
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The myth of survivor solidarity: Why it’s so hard for us to all just get along (culturico.com)
As a Weinstein survivor, I’ve noticed that journalists love to explore the presumed solidarity among “sister survivors” – in our case, the over 100 women who came forward about Weinstein’s sexual predation. But what journalists don’t write about are the challenges in preventing any group of trauma survivors from imploding. Only when we survivors understand the impact of trauma can we overcome the underlying forces that threaten to pull us apart and stand together against injustice and abuse.