Tagged With "Traumatic event"
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Study: High Stress and Adversity Negatively Affect the Developing Brains and Bodies of Young Children [atlantablackstar.com]
Nationally, nearly 25 percent of children aged 17 and under have experienced at least one traumatic event, whether it be physical abuse, neglect or living with a family member who has struggled with alcoholism or drug use, recent federal data shows. Among Black youth, however, 30 percent have suffered a traumatic event, with another 35 percent suffering two or more adverse childhood experiences, also known as “ACEs.” The stats are the findings of a state-by-state poll released last year from...
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Talking Tough Topics with Kids: Chat Event Right Here!
Hi Everyone! Our first monthly chat is scheduled for May 9th. I'm so excited. The topic is great and so is our guest. I hope you can attend. Cissy Location: Online / Parenting with ACEs Group It’s hard to know if, when and how to talk to children about abuse, addiction and ACEs. How do we find the right words or time? Please join Beth O’Malley , our special guest for the first in our Parenting with ACEs chat series . Beth has dedicated her life to supporting kids, adoptees, parents and...
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Taming the Dragons: Helping Children Cope: Ages Birth to Twelve Years
Taming the Dragons is a training manual for parents, foster parents, and kinship caregivers. It was developed out of a crisis nursery in WA state by Sue Delucchi. English and Spanish versions attached here for free downloads.
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Teen Ability To Describe Negative Emotions Protects Against Depression (scienceblog.com)
Teenagers who can describe their negative emotions in precise and nuanced ways are better protected against depression than their peers who can’t. That’s the conclusion of a new study about negative emotion differentiation, or NED, the ability to make fine-grained distinctions between negative emotions and apply precise labels, published in the journal Emotion . “Adolescents who use more granular terms such as ‘I feel annoyed,’ or ‘I feel frustrated,’ or ‘I feel ashamed’—instead of simply...
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Registration Open - 2019 Families and Fathers Conference Early Rate and Hotel Discount Closing Please Share
In forty-eight days, we open our 20th convening of a powerful conference focused on strengthening families, improving outcomes for children, and strategies to engage families. The 20th Annual Families and Fathers Conference hosted by Fathers and Families Coalition of America Sponsorships allow the extended early rate for an exceptional experience in Los Angeles, California from March 4th (pre-conference institute credential) through the main conference dates of March 5th - 7th. Please share...
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Review of Wrestling Ghosts (Documentary About Breaking the Cycle of Trauma) & Tickets
Cissy's Note: This post below with an offer for some free tickets to see Wrestling Ghosts was shared in the Parenting with ACE s community, thanks to @Charlotte Graham! However, I know many care about parents, parenting with ACEs who are on the main page so I'm sharing here as well with my review of this movie. I saw it last week and IT IS SO POWERFUL!!!! This documentary is so honest, raw, real, and powerful. It made me sad, hopeful, heartbroken, and encouraged all at the same...
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SAMHSA's Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach
Years in the making, this important piece of the trauma-informed pie is on the table! Check it out.
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Save-the-Dates: Sebern Fisher, Donna Jackson Nakazawa & Belleruth Naparstek
Please save these dates. Come join these amazing leaders chatting online about ACEs, n eurofeedback, self-care & guided imagery. Parenting with ACEs Fall 2017 Chat Series Sebern Fisher / Neurofeedback for ACEs Oct. 10th (10 AM / 1 PM EST) @Sebern Fisher Donna Jackson Nakazawa / Well-Being, Self-Care & ACEs Nov. 14th (10 AM / 1 PM EST) Belleruth Naparstek / Guided Imagery for Parents w/ ACEs Dec. 12th (10 AM / 1 PM EST) More details about each of our featured guests...
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Scientists Report Gains in Treating Kids Suffering Chronic Trauma [dailymemphian.com]
By David Waters, Daily Memphian, February 9, 2020 A landmark Memphis clinical trial of neurofeedback therapy shows promising results for adolescents struggling to overcome chronic childhood trauma. In the 2019 trial, scientists measured, recorded and trained the brain waves of nearly three dozen adolescents at Compass Intervention Center in southeast Memphis. The non-invasive therapy, which has been used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder in war veterans, was used to treat developmental...
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Screening Parents for ACEs! Adverse Childhood Experiences Impact Illness, Unemployment and Disability [TheLundReport.org]
Trapped in a culture of blame, shame and punishment, too many people are thrown in jail, suspended from school and re-traumatized in caregiving situations when what they need is understanding what’s happened to them, nurturing safety and a...
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Let's Twitter Chat about ACEs this Week with Ascend @ 3p.m. (E.T) on Weds.
O.k,, I admit I've never participated in a live Twitter event before. Ever. I won't be able to say that after this week. There's a chat about parenting issues important to lots of us though on Weds. at 3p.m. so I'm in. This is what's being talked about. "How do we make sure that all parents can provide for their families and improve their lives? What are the best ways to prepare our children for bright, confident, and prosperous futures?" Doesn't that sound like a conversation begging for...
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LGBTQ, Traumatized Homeless Youth More Vulnerable to Being Trafficked, Report Finds [jjie.org]
By Stell Simonton, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, October 21, 2019 Understanding how homeless youth are trafficked is important information for the organizations offering them services. That’s the conclusion of a report released today based on a 2018 count of homeless and runaway young people ages 14-25 in Atlanta. “Clearly, talking about trafficking is critically important,” said Eric Wright, chairman of the sociology department at Georgia State University, who led the survey and...
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Making Parenting Education A Priority
Hello. I wanted to introduce myself to this group. My name is Rene Howitt and I'm the founder a non-profit child advocacy organization, COPE24....Changing Our Parenting Experience. Our mission is "To significantly reduce incidences of child abuse and neglect." Our methodology is through parenting education. I've been working with Family Consumer Science (FACS) and health teachers since 2008. We believe that parenting education should be a priority in all of our high schools, reaching all of...
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Maternity Group Home Program Funding Opportunity. Applications Due 07/25/2019 [Admin for Children & Families]
Funding Opportunity Application Due Date: 07/25/2019 Maternity Group Home Program *See attached pdf for more info. Description: The Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families' Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) announces the availability of funds under the Transitional Living Program’s Maternity Group Home (MGH) grant program. The purpose to provide safe, stable, and appropriate shelter only for pregnant and/or parenting youth ages 16 to...
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Menopause, Parenting & ACEs with Carey Sipp: Chat Event Online, August 8th
“I know this today: building the resilience that will afford us a Third Act does take a village. It takes our being checked into the collective energy of a group of people who are dedicated to truth, self-care, and healing.” Carey Sipp Carey Sipp is a health writer, parenting educator and trauma-informed communities advocate. She is the author of The TurnAround Mom: How an Abuse and Addiction Survivor Stopped the Toxic Cycle for Her Family and How You Can, Too! She is a frequent speaker on...
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Michael Skinner, live performance @ Survivor Knights 3-24-19 video 1
Michael Skinner, live performance @ Survivor Knights 3-24-19 video 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1J7llqObqw&feature=youtu.be Live performance of "Pirates" and "When Your Heart Follows A Lie", brand new tune!! for the Survivor Knights Event @ The Rotunda, Philadelphia PA March 2019 More info @ http://www.mskinnermusic.com/home/music/album-pirates/ & http://www.mskinnermusic.com/home/
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Mommy Mentors Help Fight The Stigma Of Postpartum Mood Disorder (npr.org)
Becoming a mother is often portrayed as a magical and glorious life event. But many women don't feel joyful after giving birth. In fact, according to the American Psychological Association , almost 15 percent of moms suffer from a postpartum mood disorder like anxiety or depression, making maternal mental health concerns the most common complication of childbirth in the U.S. And even though these mental illnesses affect millions of women each year, new research shows 20 percent of mothers...
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My Encounter With Harvey Weinstein and What it Tells Us About Trauma
I have been watching the scandal about Harvey Weinstein emerge with great interest – in the early ‘90s, I too was one of the young women he preyed upon.
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My son was hospitalized and now he has PTSD
“Grant, do you remember when you were in the hospital?” “Yes… they came to take the blood and I turned into a werewolf.” Original Post It happened quickly. A year ago my three year old had a collarbone fracture, it became infected and within 24 hours the situation was emergent. A week long hospital stay, one month with a PICC line and two months on oral antibiotics. Finally, the labs finally came back normal. The X-Ray was clean. Gillette Children’s Hospital closed our case. But the healing...
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The "F" Words: Fear & Forgiveness
“If your parent is the bear in the living room, it is biologically impossible to run to that parent when they are either over or under reacting. If your parent is scary you can’t run to them. And you also can’t run away from them because you are a child, you can’t function in the world on your own. You can’t make it out there." Donna Jackson Nakazawa We can get so lost in theory, data and facts that our language about trauma, abuse and adverse childhood experiences can become clinical and...
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The Healing our Children World Summit starts March 1
The Healing our Children World Summit (free, online event) starts March 1
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The Healing Place Podcast: Barbara Rubel, MA, BCETS, D.A.A.E.T.S. - How to Help Suicide Loss Survivors & the Traumatic Impact of Suicide
Barbara Rubel is a suicide loss survivor and leading thanatologist. Thanatology is the scientific study of death. As a thanatologist, Barbara Rubel specializes in suicide loss survivor grief and educating professionals about traumatic loss. The third updated and revised edition of her book, But I Didn’t Say Goodbye: Helping families after a suicide, just launched on Amazon.
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The Healing Place Podcast - Dr. Erica Holmes: The Impact of Psychological Trauma , Dating with Purpose, & Post-Traumatic Growth
Dr. Erica Holmes has over 20 years of experience in the fields of psychotherapy and counseling, training and consultation, education, and research. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Sociology with a minor in Behavioral Science, as well as, a Master’s degree and Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from an APA Accredited Institution.
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The implicit bias of, “Mental Illness” and “mentally ill”, a lexicon of hurt.
How can we heal from the implicit bias of “ Mental Illness ” and “ mentally ill ”? I hear these words and it sounds like fingernails scraping down the chalkboard. “ The stain of dehumanization colors the mind, body and spirit and it is not so easily washed away.” - Michael Skinner Recently I read a blog post at the ACEsConnection website, “Erasing My ACES” by Sirena Wheeler. It was posted on April, 19, 2020. It struck a chord with me, many in fact and it put me on a spiral down memory lane.
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The implicit bias of, “Mental Illness” and “mentally ill”, a lexicon of hurt.
How can we heal from the implicit bias of “ Mental Illness ” and “ mentally ill ”? I hear these words and it sounds like fingernails scraping down the chalkboard. “ The stain of dehumanization colors the mind, body and spirit and it is not so easily washed away.” - Michael Skinner Recently I read a blog post at the ACEsConnection website, “Erasing My ACES” by Sirena Wheeler. It was posted on April, 19, 2020. It struck a chord with me, many in fact and it put me on a spiral down memory lane.
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The Powerful Role of Parents in Tackling Bullying
Parents also have the power to prevent bullying by changing family dynamics. They may not know it, and they may not know how to do it.
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The Relentless School Nurse: Candida Rodriguez is Creating Community Through the Power of Conversations That Matter
Candida Rodriguez is my mentor, while she may disagree with that statement and say it is the opposite, it is the absolute truth. My respect, admiration, and amazement at the depth of her knowledge, talent, and compassion astound me every time we work together. Candida serves her complex and ever-changing community with dedication, skill and a relentless pursuit of coordinating care for her students and families. We are partners in the Community Cafe Initiative that began in 2015 after I...
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How Trauma Therapy Cultivated My Recovery
I was 5 years old when I had my first encounter with trauma. Too young to comprehend the magnitude of the situation, my first grade class participated in a “Good Touch/Bad Touch” workshop,centered around educating and recognizing signs of sexual abuse. I found relief in finding a safe place to lay down the burden I had been carrying. I went straight to the school counselor and told her, in vivid description, the intimate details of my unwarranted molestation. I remember the grueling...
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If a child is in the grip of a mental health crisis, who is there for the parents? [telegraph.co.uk]
One of the most useful bits of life advice is given out almost every minute of every day on airplanes, as pilots prepare to take off: in the unlikely event of an emergency, always remember to put on your oxygen mask first before trying to help someone else with theirs. Of course, I never pay much attention to the safety announcements when I am strapped into a metal tube waiting to be launched into the sky, being of the opinion that, in the likely event of an emergency at 35,000ft, there is...
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Introducing myself: Cissy White, parent with ACEs who’s parenting with ACEs (and who’s the Parenting with ACEs group's new group manager!)
I learned about the CDC-Kaiser Permanente ACE Study and 10- questionnaire survey only two years ago, and it’s fair to say I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. I’m a mother, a trauma survivor, an activist and a writer. For years, I’ve written personal essays , profile pieces and a few research-style papers about post-traumatic stress disorder, developmental trauma and interpersonal violence. Yet, something was missing. In my own recovery, I’d often say, in therapy and to friends and lovers,...
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Introducing NEW Becoming Trauma-Informed & Beyond Community
Earlier this year @Dawn Daum wrote to us when she was ready to share ACEs science with people in the organization she works in to make a case for moving towards more trauma-informed care for the benefit of the staff and those they serve. She was frustrated because almost all the training and resources she found were geared towards schools, clinical staff or to organizations working with children and families rather than ACE-impacted adults in the workplace and who are...
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Junk Journaling for Resilience (During COVID-19)
This is an activity that came to me during a time of incredible turmoil and hardship for my family, and it quickly became my go-to practice to shift out of fight-or-flight, gain perspective on my situation, find peace in the chaos, and sort through my many colliding thoughts and feelings about the impossible time we were in. It was how I metabolized, sifted, and found my right way through a significant family crisis. It honestly saved me/us, in part because it is so fun, easy and feels good!
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Keene event focuses on childhood trauma (www.sentinelsource.com)
Excerpts from article in today's Keene Sentine l by Jessica Ricard.
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When the trauma of a difficult birth leaves mothers devastated, alone (centerforhealthjournalism.org)
While there has been extensive media coverage looking at the health risks faced by mothers before and after they gave birth, as well as the heavy toll of postpartum depression. But less remarked is the emotional trauma and devastation that mothers can face from a difficult labor and delivery. These kinds of birth-related traumas may be far more common than realized: 18 percent of mothers report experiencing post-traumatic symptoms from childbirth, according to one estimate from the 2008...
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When Your Kid is Too Good for Brené Brown
Childhood, like literature, lasts." Lance Woolaver, paraphrased from his book, Maud Lewis: The Heart at the Door. Even in the midst of conflict, I have known moments of maternal bliss. I had one just recently when my daughter and I hit a snag. It wasn't one of the ugly, awful or prolonged kinds. That's not due to me though. That's mostly because my kid has a practical, logical and rational nature which does not clash with my more emotional, reactive and fearful one. We are alike enough to...
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Why Do Family Estrangements Happen?
Family estrangement is a very grief-ridden and personal experience that family members face when someone leaves or driven away from their family of origin. It occurs in families of all different demographic situations, including all races, religions, and cultures. But why do family estrangements happen? In this article, we shall focus on some of the most common reasons why family estrangements occur including: Abuse Neglect Mismatched expectations about family roles and relationships Clash...
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WHY FAMILY SUPPORT MATTERS? (Its Importance for Strengthening Resilience from Adverse Childhood Experiences-ACEs)
Graduation day - a picture of my mother and me after I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice (Corrections) studies from Kent State University in June 1977. This was seven years after that fateful summer of 1970 when my mother and I realized that our family needed some help. When I look back at that time, I marvel at the love of GOD and the love from both parents as they began to realize that the harmful consequences of their domestic violence squabbles and of my father’s...
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Why Focus on Resilience? 2019 BPT Conference Big Idea Session with Teri Barila
“There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in” -Desmond Tutu. This quote captures the essence of why resilience matters. To Community Resilience Initiative, Resilience is not about “lifting yourself up by your bootstraps” or “bouncing back” from serious harm or injury. To us, Resilience is about self-discovery and self-awareness based on what the ACE Study, neurobiology, and epigenetics tell us...
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Why I’m Writing a Book About the Most Important Problem Facing Men and Their Families To [GoodMenProject.com] & Chat Reminder
Cissy's Note: The next chat is next Tuesday. The topic is Fathers & ACEs and it will be held live, here, at 10 AM PST/ 1 PM EST. Here's the link to the chat event. I’ve been writing books that help men and the families who love them since my first book, Inside Out: Becoming My Own Man, was published in 1983. Getting books published that focus on men is never easy. The perception in the publishing world continues to be that men don’t read books about men’s issues (unless it’s a sports...
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Why Mandating Mental Health Education in Schools is a Band-Aid on a Gaping Wound
Don’t get me wrong: of course I care deeply about the mental and physical health of children, including my own son’s. I don’t want students to suffer in silence and shame. But I am very concerned about just how this topic will be taught in schools.
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Writing to Heal, Yoga to Feel & Survivor-Led Resources Online
I love yoga and writing. I need yoga and writing. Both are relatively affordable and can be done alone and at home or in community. Both have been central to my survival, recovery and growth which I write about below. I also love sharing and supporting survivor-led resources created for survivors and others. Here are two links to those if you want to get to those right away. There are more details about each following the essay: Write Your Story, Heal Your Life Summit: Alaura O'Dell...
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www.embracerace
Every 4th Tuesday, there is a T alking Race & Kids online event (for free) at embracerace.org . Here's information about the next topic and event. Topic: Doing Race, Family, & Culture through Transracial Adoption Description: There are plenty of myths and facts on the topic of transracial adoption, including who transracial adoptees are, pathways into transracial adoption, and the practices and policies that shape it today. Join us for a look at a few of the common experiences of...
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YoungMoms is Making a Difference in Southern Chester County [aldianews.com]
By Zitlalit Ayllon, Al Dia, March 13, 2020 On Saturday, March 7, YoungMoms held its annual Brunch and Silent Auction event. It was hosted at the Willowdale Chapel in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. The event was for members of the community to gather and hear teen moms share the impact the program has had on their life. It was also an opportunity for the community to learn how it can invest in the program– either financially or as a volunteer. The auction on March 7 was one of their largest...
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Negative fateful life events and the brains of middle-aged men [sciencedaily.com]
Writing in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, a research team, led by senior author William S. Kremen, PhD, professor of psychiatry and co-director of the Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging at UC San Diego School of Medicine, found that major adverse events in life, such as divorce, separation, miscarriage or death of a family member or friend, can measurably accelerate aging in the brains of older men, even when controlling for such factors as cardiovascular risk, alcohol consumption,...
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New ACEs data on Kidsdata.org
On behalf of California Essentials for Childhood, I am very excited to announce the release of a new Child Adversity and Resilience data topic on Kidsdata.org! This has been a collaborative effort between the CA Essentials for Childhood Initiative's Shared Data and Outcomes Work Group and the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. I represent ACEs Connection Network on Essentials and am the co-chair of the Shared Data & Outcomes Work Group so I couldn't be more thrilled about...
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New Peer Support Group Successes and Challenges
I started a weekly peer support group for women survivors of trauma in April 2018. It took a few weeks to get any uptake on the offer. In the beginning a few people who knew me trickled in to provide some encouragement. Some people working at the center that eventually agreed to give me access to a room to host the event, told me that if people got the sense that I was in it for the long haul, they would then start taking me up on my offer. I was determined to persist, so I stuck it out even...
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New Toolkit Issued to Help Providers Measure Trauma With ACES Survey [youthtoday.org]
A new toolkit is out that aims to help services providers give a survey about traumatic childhood experiences that are linked to negative effects on health and well-being. The toolkit, developed by The National Crittenton Foundation , offers recommendations about the Adverse Childhood Experiences survey, including how to talk to children and parents about the survey, track results and use the data for public education and policy advocacy. The toolkit also includes a sample protocol, case...
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“No Coincidence, No Story.” Lisa See Inspires (www.healwritenow.com)
(Cissy's note: This is a post my sister, Karyn White Doherty, wrote for my blog about an event she organized with her book club. I share it here because it's about loss, grief, and ACEs as well as about what heals - relationships, community, and sharing stories. If you have been dealing with extreme weather or life conditions the last few days, and find reading or writing to be a soothing and wonderful escape, I hope you enjoy this. My sister is the best!) How does an author bring about...
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Parenting as a Survivor Keynote to Follow Free Resilience Screening
I share my story of having an ACE score of 9 and how that has effected me as a mother, because I can make sense of it now. I want other parenting survivors, and those that provide education and support services to them to be able to do the same.
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Parenting, COVID and Teens: The Hassle
It all started for me about two weeks ago. Even though I heard about Coronavirus here and there, it was just a distant conversation happening on the background for me. Until one day, I got home from work, and my husband said we had to start stocking up for the crisis . "Crisis? Which crisis?", I asked. "The outbreak! It is serious. My company is preparing us to work from home for at least four weeks". "Get out of here," I thought. He is known for being anxious and controlling, so I scratched...