October 2021

I have PTSD - That does not mean I can't be a good parent

Adriana van Altvorst · 10/19/2110:12 AM

Through my work as an advocate, I have met many people who, like me, have PTSD. I have PTSD because people made the choice to hurt me so bad that I now live with that every day. I live with trauma. The thing is I survived. I made the decision to pick myself up, to stand again, reset and keep moving forward. I now face many, many people including professionals who believe, erroneously, that I am my trauma. This is especially true in NZ because, in my country that I love so much, far too many...

CYFS continue to children from their parents as a first resort with limited evidence

Adriana van Altvorst · 10/18/2110:32 AM

I have changed the name to CYFS as they desecrate Maori and ALL that is Maori. They do not deserve to carry a Maori name. This post is especially for all Child, Youth, and Family Services (child protection services in NZ) social workers and Family Court judges Whanau and the child are one Removal of children from their whanau is the last resort Removal from their birth mother is the last resort Kelvin Davis told us that CYFS would only remove children from their parents as a last resort...

Anger can be helpful in driving change

Adriana van Altvorst · 10/18/2110:03 AM

Anger can be helpful in driving change Read the article by: Chloe Young, Kat Williams, & Scott R. Stroud, Ph.D. Media Ethics Initiative Center for Media Engagement University of Texas at Austin Snippets from the article: Macalster Bell discusses how most literature on feminist moral psychology and philosophy defends anger in four ways: (1) Calling out wrongdoing and oppression, (2) disvaluing the disvaluable, (3) motivating overall social change, and (4) providing new knowledge about the...

Whakarongo mai whānau!

Adriana van Altvorst · 10/16/217:40 PM

Listen to me! Bad things happen to good people in NZ Many families in New Zealand have been ruthlessly torn apart and desecrated by Oranga Tamariki, harming the very children they were tasked to protect. There are many horrific stories that are hidden away from the general public because parents and children are so traumatized that they cannot speak up. They cannot share what they have experienced because it is so painful for them to do so. Some parents do speak up. They are neither seen nor...

Emotional work is invisible work

Adriana van Altvorst · 10/15/211:48 PM

Emotional work is invisible Emotional work is just as hard as physical work You just can't see it Very often we are excluded or judged by others as incapable of holding down a job Because we have moments when we can't perform when called to attention It is NOT that we do not want to It is very often because in that moment of time we CAN'T do it Please do not discredit us Please do not exclude us Please do not judge us Give us time and space to deal with our trauma and to heal We can do the...

The danger of Flashbacks

Adriana van Altvorst · 10/15/211:24 PM

The danger of flashbacks is that once you are back there, You can get stuck and Never find a way out. That is why we need strategies To find our way out again When you are with a person especially children who are facing flashbacks Please show us kindness and compassion And if you have absolutely no idea about what I am saying Please educate yourself If there is anything that is going to help us ALL to get unstuck Is empathy and that means EVERYONE knows about trauma and what it is like...

My best friend is myself

Adriana van Altvorst · 10/15/211:06 PM

A friend is someone who walks in when the rest of the world walks out. That friend is me Make sure you do self-care and build your resilience First me then the world Have a great day

Me & My Emotions: A New, Free Resource for Teens

Emily P Jackson · 10/8/217:25 AM

The pandemic has had a lasting effect on youth mental health. Moved by a desire to reduce youth’s toxic stress and increase their resilience, The Dibble Institute, in partnership with a team of students and alumni from ArtCenter College of Design and author Carolyn Curtis, PhD, is releasing Me & My Emotions —a new, free adaptation of our beloved Mind Matters Curriculum. The mobile-friendly Me & My Emotions website features engaging graphics and bite-sized lessons teens can access and...

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