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Tagged With "Trauma-Informed"

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In the Return to "Normalcy" in 2021

Adrian Alexander ·
Okay, so we all are hearing of the end of life as we have come to know it for the past 14 months. The social isolation, physical distancing, mask-wearing, business shutdowns, country lockdowns, and travel bans are what we in the region have endured since March 2020. The disruption of life from Covid-19 is expected to come to a close as more than one vaccine has been approved and is being used in the Caribbean. As we adults relish in the return to school of our children, our return to gainful...
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Education Related Resources

Adrian Alexander ·
With the Covid-19 fallout having its toll on school attendance around the world, many persons of all ages and stages of life have been adversely affected. But it has not only been children who have been impacted. Trauma has arisen through separation from playmates and colleagues, loss of access to food from school feeding programmes, loss of safety from abuse within the household, loss of familiarity with the school environment, loss of employment for non-academic staff, loss of income for...
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Childhood Trauma Clips on PBS

Adrian Alexander ·
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) has been known as a source of wholesome, relevant information for decades. (Remember Sesame Street? ) Well, PBS also has videos on childhood trauma that you can access at no cost, even from the Caribbean. Some of the content is designed as a series so you can arrange to view the segments when you have the time. So get the popcorn ready and check out PBS for your free Childhood Trauma-related content. [Clips related to Childhood Trauma on PBS] If you would...
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Recording Available: Trauma-Responsive Practices During Distance Learning

Adrian Alexander ·
Hi Community! Did any of you register for the interactive workshop on Advocating for Trauma-Informed Care for Teachers and Caregivers being hosted by Rise to Resilience on March 17? If so then we have a treat for you. Please watch a recording of their previous online workshop titled, Trauma-Responsive Practices During Distance Learning . Learn relationship-building strategies to be trauma-responsive during distance learning as an educator, parent, or other caregiver.
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Help Inform and Transform the Caribbean with ACEs Caribbean Community

Adrian Alexander ·
Hi there. We recently started the ACEs Caribbean Community on the website, Aces Connection, to rally our Caribbean people and those who love the region to work together to bring the knowledge of Aces Science ( Adverse Childhood Experiences ), Resilience, Hope, and Truth to our regional people and government institutions. We are facing an epidemic of crime, violence, addiction, despair, and suicide throughout the region and we believe that a better understanding of the connection between what...
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How will Covid-19 and Trauma Shape the Lives of Young People?

Adrian Alexander ·
The New York Times published an article today which features Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris, the Surgeon General for California, USA and podcaster Ezra Klein of The Ezra Klein Show where they discuss Covid-19 and the growing evidence that childhood adversities including things like Covid-19 impact us into adulthood. It is an interesting transcript but, if you prefer to use your ears rather than your eyes, the link below has an option to listen to the original podcast.😀 Here are some excerpts...
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Free Webinar on Trauma and Justice

Adrian Alexander ·
"Understanding the Role of Trauma in Truth, Reconciliation & Peacebuilding" is the name of a Free webinar from the Mary Hoch Center for Reconciliation, affiliated with George Mason University in the USA. The webinar will focus on how trauma hinders efforts to heal social divides. It will be held on March 17, 2021 from 4:00pm to 5:30pm via the Zoom platform. Registration is available online at the following Eventbrite link: ...
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Building a Multi-System Trauma-Informed Collaborative.

Adrian Alexander ·
Since the effects of childhood trauma do not play out in isolation, an effective response to child trauma should benefit not only children but the communities in which they live. This feeds into what we know from studies about factors that impact a child's growth - they occur within the family, community and also are climate-related. Multiple studies reveal the extremely high percentage of youth in contact with the law and under the care of social services who have been exposed to violence...
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UK 'Punishing Abuse' Report Finds Many Justice-Involved Youth have Trauma Histories.

Adrian Alexander ·
A published study from West Midlands in the United Kingdom, titled "Punishing Abuse", has confirmed what many have long suspected - many youth are being punished in the criminal justice system for acting out in the aftermath of childhood trauma. It looked at 80 youth, 67 of whom were male, and many of whom were of Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) heritage. They included White and Black Caribbean youth, some of whome were born in and others whose parents came from the Caribbean island...
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How Trauma Affects the Body.

Adrian Alexander ·
In a post on the website, Aces Aware, California paediatrician, Dr. Eric Bell shares how he and his family experienced Trauma after the death of a pet, which was a close member of their family. As a doctor, he was aware of his physical, emotional and other symptoms and is able to clearly articulate these as well as the benefits he and his family derived from implementing protective factors, stress-busting strategies and using other resilience building tools. We love how he is able to use his...
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How Trauma-Informed Care Can Prevent Youth Incarceration

Adrian Alexander ·
Last week we looked at 'Punishing Abuse', a report which showed that the majority of youth offenders in a research done in West Midlands, UK had a history of childhood abuse and trauma. Today's post examines this from a US state perspective, through the audio accounts of former juveniles in conflict with the law. Please take a listen to them as they discuss their childhood adversities and later criminal involvement. Also interviewed is a clinician who shares how Trauma-Informed Care can...
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What's On Your Short List?

Adrian Alexander ·
There is an interesting course on Coursera on "Resilience in Children Exposed to Trauma, Disaster and War". It is quite broad in scope and has a lot of helpful information for us in this field. One of the many things I found to be of value is to learn that across the decades of research, there is a consistent group of factors proved to help children from various cultures. Below is a link to a video from the course which outlines a short list of what makes a difference in helping children who...
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Free Trauma-Informed Law Webinar

Adrian Alexander ·
Hello everyone! One of the core areas in which we need to see a transformation is in the Justice system - from the point of arrest all the way through to reentry. As we've shared previously, there is ample research from the original 1998 ACEs study through to recent times which indicates the majority of persons in conflict with the law have multiple ACEs. So if you're interested in learning how Trauma Informed principles can be used to transform Justice, please register for the free webinar...
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A Nation in Trauma [A newsday.co.tt article]

Adrian Alexander ·
Mr. Benjamin asked, "Does the cycle of death, trauma, outrage, and dismissal deal with the root causes of the violence which affects each person in T&T?" "...the nation is full of people whose traumatic childhood experiences have set them on a path that would lead them down violent roads with a fatal end. He said unless T&T puts preventative measures in place to handle childhood trauma, the cycle will continue and T&T will remain a nation in trauma."
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La Soufriere now more dangerous, pyroclastic flows have begun. [Newsday article]

Adrian Alexander ·
The danger posed by the La Soufriere volcano has increased significantly in the past day with the discovery that there have been sightings of pyroclastic flows on the leeward side of the peak. The lead scientist on the scene, vulcanologist/geologist Professor Richard Robertson explained that pyroclastic flows "are not like the ash that damage things by the weight. These flows really are moving masses of destruction, they just destroy everything in their path. If you have the strongest house...
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Did You Remember?

Adrian Alexander ·
Happy Monday, everyone! We hope the weekend was relaxing and refreshing. So about the image we chose for this blog post. Legend has it that elephants have fantastic memories. They represent the animal with the ability for the longest recall. What were you supposed to remember? Well, the upcoming free webinar from Justice Clearinghouse on "The Empathetic Workplace: Five Steps to a Compassionate, Calm, and Confident Response to Trauma on the Job". It is scheduled for April 21 which is only 2...
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Can We Talk About George Floyd? [Al Jazeera article]

Adrian Alexander ·
Hi everyone. As everyone knows, the year 2020 was defined by a series of events, many of which linger to this day. Covid-19, as devastating as it and government efforts to curb it have been, may have been eclipsed for a time by the reporting and riots which ensued after the horrific death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers in the USA. Last week, the tension of a 3-week trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd ended with a guilty...
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'A lot of grief and anxiety' for kids, youth after living with COVID for 1 year, says psychotherapist. [CBC article]

Adrian Alexander ·
Around the world, the 1 year anniversary of Covid-19 interrupting our lives was observed in different ways. For many, the concern is for the children and young people who are experiencing Covid-19 as an adverse childhood experience. The clinical observations of a Canadian psychotherapist may well be true for the Caribbean region as it relates to how children are coping one year on. Alyssa Strachan, based at the Delton Glebe Counselling Centre in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada has been helping...
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Technology to the Rescue in Saint Vincent

Adrian Alexander ·
Good morning, beautiful Caribbean people.😀 With various parts of the main island of Saint Vincent still under the periodic onslaught of the La Soufriere volcano, thousands of people have been relocated to shelters or are seeking refuge on other islands. There is undeniable fear, stress and anxiety affecting many of them from having to flee for their lives from this active volcano. Natural disasters such as these can wreak havoc on people's mental health due to the ongoing Trauma. Therefore,...
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Be What You Did Not Have

Adrian Alexander ·
Good morning everyone 😀 and welcome to the end of the work week and the end of yet another month. As we move into the weekend, let us be inspired to continue healing from the trauma of what happened to us. Put in the work and know that the sacrifice is worth it. Do not believe that because you had multiple ACEs that you must pass on to your children what you received from your parents. You are the disruptor in the family! Break the cycle and be to your children what you wished you had...
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Re: Can We Talk About George Floyd? [Al Jazeera article]

Alison Cebulla ·
I hope you will attend our PACEs Connection Reacts event this Friday and share your thoughts on this topic. https://www.pacesconnection.com...in-the-united-states <-- Register here.
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Re: Can We Talk About George Floyd? [Al Jazeera article]

Adrian Alexander ·
Today, Juror Number 52 outlined in interviews with the media how he and other jurors were affected by the stress of having to watch the video of the death of George Floyd on multiple occasions during the trial. These incidents reopen the age-old discussion about the impact of re-hearing details of traumatic events on judges, lawyers, court clerks, jurors and, of course, witnesses in criminal trials.
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Monday Motivation - Be Kind

Adrian Alexander ·
Good Monday morning, everyone. We trust the weekend was an opportunity to refresh yourself and be revived. As we commence the work week, we wish to remind you that all of us hide an aspect of ourselves from the world behind our smiles and levity. Whether it's past or present hurt, trauma, fear, grief, loss or disappointment, we all have that "something". The best thing we can do for ourselves and each other is to be patient, kind, gentle, forgiving, hopeful, encouraging and compassionate.
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Regulate, Relate and Reason

Adrian Alexander ·
Hi everyone. As many of you know by now, Dr. Bruce D. Perry has been making the headlines with Oprah Winfrey with their new book, "What Happened To You". Here is some information to help understand his well known steps to address Trauma. #regulate #relate #reason #trauma#WhatHappenedToYou
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May 3 to 7 - The Treating Trauma Master Series: A 5-Module Series on the Treatment of Trauma

Adrian Alexander ·
Hi everyone. Sorry to interrupt your Sunday. However, we think that this info is important and requires a timely response. The US based National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine (NICABM) is offering a series of 5 modules on the treatment of trauma featuring some well-known experts in the field. They include Bessel van der Kolk, MD (featured in the cover image of this blog post), Pat Ogden, PhD, Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD, Dan Siegel, MD and Stephen Porges, PhD. The 5...
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May 6-7: Canadian Sexual Exploitation Summit: Disrupt Demand

Adrian Alexander ·
Hello everyone! Are you interested in Trauma and ACEs as they relate to child sexual exploitation and human trafficking? Well, there is an upcoming Summit which you should enjoy. It will take place this week so be ready to take action. This year's edition of the Canadian Sexual Exploitation Summit will be held virtually on May 6 and 7 with the theme: "Disrupt Demand". With over 50 Canadian, American and international speakers and presenters, the Agenda of the Summit will cover a wide cross...
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How Trauma-Informed Are We, Really? [ASCD article]

Adrian Alexander ·
Good morning everyone and welcome to another Friday. We are offering you an opportunity to think deeply about addressing trauma in education as we move into the weekend. In an article on Trauma-Informed Schools, Paul Gorski shares about his experience at a particular school and asks us to explore how we are seeking to implement Trauma-Informed practice in our school systems. "A major challenge at this school, as in many schools, was the leadership team's habit of embracing shiny new program...
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Bryan Stevenson Nailed It!

Adrian Alexander ·
Hi everyone. If you missed the Feature Address of Picower Institute's symposium on Early Life Stress and Mental Health, you missed a treat. Bryan Stevenson blew everyone away with his flawless talk on racial injustice and how this has shaped the American judicial system to the devastation of persons, many of whom have suffered childhood and generational trauma. It was one of the most powerful opening talks of any conference I have ever heard! We shared excerpts of his talk using Twitter...
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Being Defined By Your Worst Past.

Adrian Alexander ·
Good Tuesday morning everyone. As we navigate the various systems of our nation, one in which trauma often manifests is the penal and criminal justice system. In our nation, thousands of men and boys and hundreds of women and girls are warehoused in some form of youth detention, pre-trial detention or incarceration after having been failed by dysfunctional or abusive families, and ineffective educational institutions. Often bursting at the seams due to overcrowding, these places of detention...
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Wellness Wednesday - Weighty Matters

Adrian Alexander ·
Happy Wellness Wednesday, everyone! For some people who have experienced childhood adversity, coping with the horrors of what happened to them can take them into using food for comfort. As such, some develop certain lifestyles and gain an unhealthy amount of weight such that their health is comprised. This was evident from the original Kaiser Permanente study in 1998. It is also revealed in a recent study involving 1,647 adults aged 27-33 . “A history of any childhood maltreatment was...
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North Carolina Looks at Feasibility of Having Trauma-Informed Courts.

Adrian Alexander ·
Hello ACEs Caribbean Community! Do you think that Trauma-Informed Courts will work well in the Caribbean? Before you say, "No", remember that some of the region's justice systems already have examples of problem solving courts. Last week, PACEs Connection staff member, Ms Carey Sipp posted that "p lans to integrate practices and policies based on the science of adverse childhood experiences in North Carolina’s 6,500-person,100-county statewide judiciary were announced... by Chief Justice...
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Intergenerational transmission and prevention of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) [Science Direct]

Adrian Alexander ·
Hi everybody. It's Friday and we want to share some ACEs research wirh you that you can digest over the weekend. 📖 This is a heads-up on a recently published study from the USA on intergenerational trauma and ACEs and how it is transmitted and can be prevented. Angela J. Narayan, Ph.D., L.P. and her colleagues published it in April 2021. Here is an excerpt from the abstract. "In recent years, research and practice on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have shifted from delineating effects...
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Immature Brains Cannot Regulate Themselves Alone.

Adrian Alexander ·
Kudos to Gerry Diamond who shared this image on Twitter. His handle is @gerrydiamond71 As Gerry put it, this challenge of regulation also is seen in young people who have unaddressed ACEs and Trauma. They often present with arrested emotional development. Parents and caregivers, including teachers, may need to remember that the young minds in their care are not yet equipped to make the mature choices or decisions the adults hope they will make. Being mindful of the fact that emotional...
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Re: Wellness Wednesday - Weighty Matters

Mark Nicoll ·
Thanks for posting this.
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Re: Wellness Wednesday - Weighty Matters

Adrian Alexander ·
You are welcome, Mark.
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How can student progress in public schools be improved?

Adrian Alexander ·
Good Monday morning everyone. It is a public holiday here in Trinidad and Tobago for the Arrival Day observance on Sunday but this article just cannot wait. Kudos to our ACEs Caribbean Community member, Mark Nicoll, whose article on ACEs and their impact on children's education was published last week in the Cayman Islands newspaper, Cayman Current. At the time, Mark was commenting on the Education Data Report 2020 that highlighted the poor performance of public schools as compared with...
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Oprah & Dr. Bruce Perry book on Childhood trauma: What Happened to You?

Mark Nicoll ·
What Happened to You? Oprah Winfrey and renowned brain development and trauma expert, Dr. Bruce Perry, discuss the impact of trauma and adverse experiences and how healing must begin with a shift to asking, 'what happened to you?' rather than 'what’s wrong with you?' Through wide-ranging, and often deeply personal conversation, Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Perry explore how what happens to us in early childhood – both good and bad - influences the people we become. They challenge us to shift from...
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Criticizing ACEs in Peer Reviewed Professional Journals Impairs Child Abuse Treatment

Jeoffry Gordon ·
Criticizing ACEs in Peer Reviewed Professional Journals Impairs Child Abuse Treatment Jeoffry B. Gordon, MD, MPH May 23, 2021 As a family doc practicing in San Diego I was privileged to hear Dr. Vincent Felitti talk about his inspired development of the ACEs questionnaire and its association with many adult mental and physical diseases directly from him only a few years after his original insight. Yet, although I had a lively clinic and learned how to manage a vast array of medical...
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Webinar on Trauma and Prostitution

Adrian Alexander ·
Hi everyone. There's an upcoming free webinar on Sunday 6th June 2021 (9am to 10:30am EST) on Trauma and Prostitution. Some of the questions it will answer include: "Does prostitution have a negative impact on mental health? What about physical health? What is the role of dissociation? Is trauma in a woman’s childhood connected with her entry into prostitution? " To register please visit the link below. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trauma-and-prostitution-tickets-152860332369
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Reflections on Trauma-Informed Policing

Adrian Alexander ·
Hi everyone, Happy Friday.😀 If any of you has a law enforcement background, this post is for you! Recently, we had the pleasure to virtually connect with Graham Goulden from Scotland. Graham is an experienced and committed leadership and violence prevention trainer. For thirty years he was a Scottish police officer and Chief Investigator specialising in criminal investigation, drug investigation, training and crime prevention. For the last eight years of policing career he was a Chief...
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The Pain of "215"

Adrian Alexander ·
Hi everyone. We hope you're taking care of your spiritual, physical and mental health, wherever you are in the world. This has been a sombre week with the news of the discovery of the bodies of 215 precious children on the grounds of a residential school in Canada. Words cannot express the incredible pain those families must have felt for years, knowing nothing of the whereabouts of their babies. To have the revelation come at this time, during all that the world is experiencing and with the...
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Wellness Wednesday - The steps that can help adults heal from childhood trauma

Adrian Alexander ·
Hi everyone! This Wellness Wednesday we are looking at an article written by Shanta R. Dube, Associate Professor, School of Public Health, Georgia State University. In writing in 2107, she focused on the fact that ACEs can be a cycle that is hard to break if we only deal with it from the perspective of the child. "Prevention is the mantra of modern medicine and public health. Benjamin Franklin said it himself: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Unfortunately, childhood...
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Gabor Maté on The Wisdom of Trauma

Adrian Alexander ·
Hi everyone, this is exciting! 🙌 In case you have not heard, The Wisdom of Trauma, the movie production around Dr. Gabor Maté and his approach to treating Trauma, is currently online. You can view the sessions "live" or the replays online between 8th and 14th June 2021 at the link below. https://wisdomoftrauma.com/hub/ The introductory video is a bit over 1 hour long but it sets the tone for the experience. The video begins with Dr. Maté speaking to the recent events in his native Canada...
Comment

Re: Gabor Maté on The Wisdom of Trauma

joanne k spence ·
Looking forward to watching this movie. I believe it will be quite informative On Wed, 9 Jun 2021, 08:00 PACEsConnection, < communitymanager@acesconnection.com> wrote:
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Wellness Wednesday - Resilience Prescription

Adrian Alexander ·
Hi everyone and welcome to another Wellness Wednesday! Today we have an account from a psychiatrist who, after many years studying trauma and the experiences of trauma victims, had the misfortune to become one himself. In a rather dramatic turn of events, Dennis S. Charney was shot by a former co-worker and survived to write about it and to grow from the experience. In his own words, he describes how the situation challenged him to dig deep and uncover the resilience he needed to take him...
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How Does Historic Trauma Impact Blacks Swimmers?

Adrian Alexander ·
Good Monday morning everybody! It's warm weather time in the global North and the "wet season" here in the Caribbean. In times before 2020, this would have signalled a lot of beach and river bathing in Trinidad and loads of people headed to Tobago to enjoy the more attractive beaches there. Now, beach-going and sea-bathing are restricted as part of the current national State of Emergency. With those thoughts in mind, that may explain why this recent article from an African American mother...
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Gwyneth Paltrow x Nadine Burke Harris: How Does Childhood Trauma Impact Health Outcomes? [goop.com]

From Goop, June 16, 2020 “You can’t grow up Black in America and not feel outraged by the terrible health disparities that are still going on every day,” says Nadine Burke Harris, MD , the first surgeon general of California. GP got on a video call with Harris, who is an expert on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Her book, The Deepest Well , explores the connection between adversity, trauma, and toxic stress in childhood and health outcomes later in life. Much of her work focuses on...
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It's time to heal childhood trauma!

Phil Schmauss ·
A consensus of scientific research demonstrates that cumulative adversity, especially when experienced during childhood development, is a root cause to some of the most harmful, persistent, and expensive health challenges facing our nation. But there is hope. We can take action now to change and save lives. The impacts of ACEs, trauma, and toxic stress are treatable. Start by watching the short educational video below. For more information please visit: https://aceovercomers.org/...
 
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