Blog

Pre-COVID, I was invited to speak at a conference in Flagstaff, Arizona. During lunch the organizers brought dancers from the Apache tribe to perform. What we witnessed was so powerful and moving, that it prompted me to inquire about the spiritual significance of the songs and dance. They explained to me that after going to war, the warriors returned to their land and were gathered together to perform that particular dance and song. As a tribal African woman, it all made perfect sense. As...

From the Producers of The Wisdom of Trauma Join Iya Affo for an insightful online community conversation facilitated by Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo. Iya's passion is to cultivate intergenerational healing by connecting intuitive ancestral practices with modern neurobiology. As we delve into leveraging our neurobiology to facilitate the healing process, we will also explore re-culturing and the creation of self-harmonizing communities. Please join us and bring your questions! The gathering will...

Join us for CRI's 7th Annual Conference ! This year's conference will feature practitioners from around the country representing a variety of community sectors. They will share innovative strategies that will expand your toolbox and spark your creativity to develop your own unique resilience strategies. The conference agenda includes: Keynote Presentations Keynote presentations are led by expert thought leaders and practitioners. Their stories will inspire you to think outside the box and...

Register now! February 11, 2022 10:30 AM 6:30 PM EST Pure Heart Church, Glendale, Arizona (In-Person or Online) As the founder of The Faithful City, I also founded Arizona Trauma Informed Faith Community (AZTIFC) five years ago. It was out of my life with a traumatic season and powerful healing journey with trauma informed care (TIC) that includes my faith tradition and practice. AZTIFC has been in an exponential growth as a grassroots movement, collaborating with all other social sectors to...

In Honor of Black History Month 2k22 Please Enjoy the Following NEW Trainings: Facilitating a Full Expression of Resilience: BIPOC are resilient. In learning how trauma is formed and passed from one generation to the next in our communities, we will understand how to facilitate a full expression of resilience in vulnerable communities. This course takes a deep dive into the reality of flight or fight mode and how many people enduring oppression, discrimination and hate live with a constant...

Forward-Facing Face to Face: Embodied Trauma-Informed Care Our bodies have the power to convince people we serve that we are trustworthy, but how? This workshop will equip professional caregivers to offer embodied trauma-informed care to traumatized communities by teaching them how to interrupt their threat response and offer cues of safety from a relaxed muscle body instead of cues of stress. Join us Tuesday, December 7, 2021 at 5:00pm Arizona Time for 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝-𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞...

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...

By Roxanne De La Rosa, Photo: Free Art For Abused Children Of Arizona, Azcentral., November 14, 2021 In 1993, Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona was created by art therapist Margaret Beresford. There was zero funding to start the program, but Beresford understood that art can be used to bridge the gaps in services for children who have experienced trauma. Today, the group serves an average of 7,000 children a year. Many come from foster care, homeless and domestic-violence shelters,...

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...

LEVEL 2 HISTORICAL TRAUMA SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION MARCH 2022!!! The wait is finally over! Iya Affo and Heal Historical Trauma will present: Historical Trauma Specialist Certification- LEVEL 2: A Neurological, Environmental & Cultural Perspective on March 1st & 2nd 2022. LEVEL 2 will cover the following: Neurological implications of Historical Trauma and how to align neurobiology with desired behavioral outcomes. Indigenous Attachment Theory Understanding the injurious relationship...

In The Black Panther movie, we marveled over Okoye and her magnificent band of the Dora Milaje, powerful female warriors. In this true-to-life depiction, Wakanda is Dahomey, present day, Benin, West Africa. Okoye is a famous female warrior and forgotten queen named Queen Hangbe who lead the most powerful army in West Africa fighting against the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, the MINO also known as the Amazon Women of Dahomey. Today, we are remembering their brilliance, fierceness, discipline...

The Dibble Institute is pleased to present an introductory webinar by Rev. Dr. Bryant T. Marks Sr. of the National Training Institute on Race and Equity , which will provide foundational information on implicit bias. It will focus at the individual level and discuss how implicit bias affects everyone. Strategies to reduce or manage implicit bias will be discussed. Broadly speaking, group-based bias involves varying degrees of stereotyping (exaggerated beliefs about others), prejudice...