Tagged With "post-traumatic stress disorder"
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Red zones in schools and churches—when kids don’t feel safe!
Ever heard of the “Red Zone?” Many of us understand that when something enters the red zone, it can prove to be a daunting situation. For example, if your car overheats, and the temperature gauge moves into the red zone, it’s important to check the engine to see what’s going on. Otherwise, the car may overheat or cause a fire, and you may find yourself stranded and standing on the side of the road. Wikipedia has a few examples of the Red Zone: Unsafe areas in Iraq after the 2003 invasion A...
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Sheltering in Place: ACEs-Informed Tips for Self-Care During a Pandemic
Millions of lives have been affected in unprecedented ways by the Coronavirus (COVID-19). We are all grappling with uncertainty—our daily routines interrupted, not knowing what is to come. For those of us who have Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), these times can be particularly distressing. At the Center for Youth Wellness (CYW), we know that childhood trauma can have a significant impact on an individual’s health and well-being – both physiologically and psychologically. Since the...
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Some 350 Florida Leaders Expected to Attend Think Tank with Dr. Vincent Felitti, Co-Principal Investigator of the ACE Study; Expert on ACEs Science
Leaders from across the Sunshine State will take part in a “Think Tank” in Naples, FL, on Monday, August 6, to help create a more trauma-informed Florida. The estimated 350 attendees will include policy makers and community teams made up of school superintendents, law enforcement officers, judges, hospital administrators, mayors, PTA presidents, child welfare experts, mental health and substance abuse treatment providers, philanthropists, university researchers, state agency heads, and...
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Something to Consider... for the next time you teach or preach on worry
As I start to talk with pastors about why ACEs matter and why they should inform themselves and their congregations, I regularly hear something like this: "But why does it matter? What difference should it make in ministry? Can't I simply preach and teach the Bible and leave the results up to God?" By way of answer to these questions, I am starting to put together a training called "10 things that kid with ACEs would like you to know: moving your church toward greater empathy." The following...
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The Black Community, COVID-19 & Trauma [sdvoice.com]
By Latanya West, San Diego Voice, May 15, 2020 In January 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Dr. Nadine Burke Harris as California’s first-ever Surgeon General. An award-winning physician, researcher and advocate, Dr. Burke Harris’ career has been dedicated to serving vulnerable communities and combating the root causes of health disparities. Her work is equally dedicated to changing the way our society responds to one of the most serious, expensive and widespread public health crises of...
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The Power of a Trauma-Informed Ministry
ACE Overcomers: The Center for Resiliency and Trauma-Informed Training The Valley Dream Center of Fresno, California hosted a 2-day training, conducted by ACE Overcomers. 40 individuals gathered for the 2-day training on The Power of a Trauma-Informed Ministry. Most participants were from California's Central Valley, along with attendees from San Diego, Oregon and New Mexico. The primary goal was to increase an understanding of trauma and adverse childhood experiences and introduce a...
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The Tiny Cell that Connects our Physical and Mental Health, and Solves a Decades-old Mystery of Why Toxic Stress Leads to Brain Changes that Spark Depression, Anxiety
More than a decade ago, I was diagnosed with several autoimmune diseases, one after another, including Guillain-Barré syndrome , which left me paralyzed twice while raising two young children. All told I spent six years in and out of bed and hospitals, learning, between crises, to use a cane or walker to navigate life as a working-mother-with-chronic-illness. My immune system was repeatedly and mistakenly attacking my body, causing the nerves in my arms, legs, and those I needed to swallow...
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Today's kids are experiencing a world full of trauma. Is your church trauma-informed?
In our world today, many children experience early childhood trauma. Through a lot of research, we now know that childhood trauma can affect children for the rest of their lives. ACEs too High explains in several articles and research reviews how trauma in early childhood can affect kids’ behavior and health during childhood and cause lifelong problems. We know early trauma causes toxic stress in the brains of young children—so much so that the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a...
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Tools and how to use them is focus of second webinar on Community Resiliency Model, May 14, 2020
The second of two free Community Resiliency (CRM) webinars with Elaine Miller-Karas , key creator of the CRM, will be held Thursday, May 14, from 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET, (10 a.m. CT; 9 a.m. MT, and 8 a.m. PT) and will include the practical application of tools of the model. CRM is an ACEs science-based biological model for helping individuals become emotionally regulated during natural disasters and other dysregulating times. Miller-Karas will be joined by CRM trainers from Wilmington, NC:...
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Toxic stress from El Paso, Dayton, Gilroy shootings addressed in Thursday Community Resilience Model Webinar
An ACEs Connection webinar will offer helpful self-regulation tools to those rocked by recent shootings in Gilroy, CA, El Paso, TX , and Dayton, OH. The Building Resilient Communities webinar is offered by ACEs Connection this Thursday, August 9, at 10:00 AM PDT / 1 :00 PM E D and will last approximately 1 hour. Elaine Miller-Karas will teach her Community Resilienc y Mode l. Find registration details below. This webinar is free and open to the public. It serves professionals and community...
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Toxic Stress: Issue Brief on Family Separation and Child Detention [immigrationinitiative.harvard.edu]
By Jack P. Shonkoff, Immigration Initiative at Harvard, October 2019 Background The separation of children from their parents and their prolonged detention for an indefinite period of time raise profound concerns that transcend partisan politics and demand immediate resolution. Forcibly separating children from their parents is like setting a house on fire. Preventing rapid reunification is like blocking the first responders from doing their job. And subjecting children to prolonged...
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Trauma-informed churches
In our world today many children are experiencing early childhood trauma. We now know through a lot of research that childhood trauma can affect a child for the rest of their lives. The website ACEs too High (Adverse Childhood Experiences)...
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Trauma Informed Congregations Community of Practice meeting May 27, 2015
LINK TO THE RECORDING OF THE MEETING: https://hrsa.connectsolutions.com/p1zlsjfmfww/ Short summary of presentations and topics discuss Northeast Michigan Trauma-Informed Community Action : With the goal of making Northeast...
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Trauma-Informed Ministry curriculum, "Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks," now available on Amazon as an e-book!
Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks is a study on the intersections between the science of adversity in childhood (ACEs), trauma, and ministry. Suitable for individuals exploring how their faith and the science of brain development, toxic stress, and spiritual formation are connected, this study is best explored by small groups that want to being trauma-informed ministry interventions and outreach within their faith communities. This e-book version doesn't have the videos that are part of the...
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Trauma-Informed Ministry study, "Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks" now an Amazon ebook!
Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks is a study on the intersections between the science of adversity in childhood (ACEs), trauma, and ministry. Suitable for individuals exploring how their faith and the science of brain development, toxic stress, and spiritual formation are connected, this study is best explored by small groups that want to being trauma-informed ministry interventions and outreach within their faith communities. This e-book version doesn't have the videos that are part of the...
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Was Jesus' ministry "trauma-informed?" [part 1]
I have written before about a growing trend in education, mental health, social services, and health care that has now extended to ministry settings: becoming trauma-informed . Trauma results when we experience something as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening. A traumatic event, circumstance or series of events leaves a lasting effect on our ability to experience “life to the full” as Jesus intended (John 10:10). Adversity, and particularly traumatic stress in childhood,...
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Was Jesus' ministry "trauma-informed?" [part 2]
Was Jesus’ ministry trauma-informed, part 2: recognizing the signs and symptoms of trauma There is a movement that is beginning to take shape across the country when it comes to ministry settings: becoming trauma-informed . The topic concerns churches that are interested in missional engagement with the culture because there is a growing body of evidence that suggests that if we can break the cycle of adversity in childhood we can help everyone experience “life to the full” as Jesus intended...
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Was Jesus’ ministry “trauma-informed?” [part 4]: Responding to trauma within the compassionate Kingdom of God
There is a movement taking shape across the country when it comes to ministry settings: becoming trauma-informed . I am personally invested in this movement and I am intrigued by the ways I see connections between Jesus’ teachings and trauma-informed ministry principles. In the first post in the series, I focused only the first identifier of a trauma-informed ministry: the realization of the widespread impact of trauma and potential paths for recovery. In the second and third posts, I...
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Webinar: Cultivating Our Best Selves in Response to COVID-19 | Tuesday, March 17 at Noon PDT
How to use the skills of the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) for self and others to be the calm in the storm as we face the unknown. Free Webinar Tuesday, March 17 at Noon PDT Speakers: Elaine Miller-Karas, LCSW Linda Grabbe, PhD, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC Zoom Webinar Registration Link: https://zoom.us/j/715837300 Additional ways to join are listed at the bottom of this post. About the webinar leaders: Elaine Miller-Karas is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Trauma Resource Institute and...
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When Hidden Grief Gets Triggered During COVID-19 Confinement
first published by The Meadows 4/15/20 Our sense of loss during the current COVID-19 crisis can trigger hidden emotions from when we experienced a sense of loss before. Whatever early losses you have had in your life — whether they be your own divorce, your parents, or both, or the abandonment of one parent, a childhood or parental illness or death, financial upheaval, constant moving around, or growing up with parental addiction or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) — they are likely to...
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Why you faith community should know about ACEs - from Helenair.com
As I begin to share with faith communities throughout Montana why adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) matter and how they can help build more resilient children and healthier communities, I sometimes hear something like this: "But why does it matter? What difference should it make in ministry?” The ACE survey measured the prevalence of ten stress-inducing factors in childhood including abuse, neglect, and substance abuse in the home, and these factors definitely influence ministries...
Ask the Community
Building Resilient Communities Through Trauma-Informed Congregations
Please join us for the Building Resilient Communities Through Trauma-Informed Congregations 2 nd Annual Meeting of the Trauma Informed Congregations Community of Practice Harmonizing the intelligence of science and the wisdom of community ~ Thursday, October 1, 2015 9:15AM (EST) –Registration & Light Fare Breakfast 10:00AM -4:30PM (EST) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Hubert Humphrey Building 8 th Floor (Room 800) 200 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20201 ~ This...
Ask the Community
Worth Forwarding - "Caught between the Amygdala and a Hard Place" - by Karyn Purvis, Ph.D. & David Cross, Ph.D.
As so many disturbing and traumatic events involving children have been covered by the media recently - it caused me to reflect on my own journey of becoming trauma-informed. Now that I know what I know, I cannot view such stories in a trauma- un informed way. I've found myself in discussions with others who may, or may not be, trauma-informed. It turns out this one factor predictably correlates with the type of conversation that ensues around any topic covered by the media where children...
Ask the Community
Decreasing Violence and Addressing Toxic Stress and Trauma in our Communities TiCong Linear Plan
Hello All, Attached is first draft Linear Plan on Violence, Toxic Stress, and Trauma. Again, please edit away and track changes then send your edits to Kimberly dot Konkel at hhs dot gov and I will incorporate them. Shalom, Kimberly
Ask the Community
INVITATION: Strategic planning meeting on Building Resilient Communities thru Trauma Informed Congregations
Monday, July 25, 2016 Dear ACES in the Faith Community Group Members, Please mark your calendars for the 3rd annual in‐person meeting of the Building Resilient Communities thru Trauma Informed Congregations (TiCiong) October 18th, 2016 at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ‐200 Independence Ave. SW in Washington, DC. More to come on this. For those interested in participating in the planning of our meeting, and building our strategy for the year, please send your letter of...
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Re: Faith Based Organizations Paragraph on the new Wikipedia Site
Hi, Dale. Thanks for adding this section! Could you change this sentence: The founder of this ministry was [motivatedhttp://acestoohigh.com/2012/03/13/ex-pastor-marries-science-bible-studies-to-heal-wounds-of-childhood-trauma/ motivated] to create a Bible study for Small groups. ....to read: The founder of this ministry combined the epidemiology of ACEs, the neurobiology of toxic stress and the Bible into a workbook and 12-week course that's being used by clergy in several states. And could...
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Re: Linear draft plan
My suggestions to the linear plan from Kimberly for tomorrows discussion from our most recent email: A. Under mission and Values: Create trauma-informed congregations that are able to address the co-occurring epidemics of Violence Against Children (ACEs) , adult violence, untreated mental illness... etc.... VALUES Prevention as Young as Possible ( T h ere needs to be a statement here somewhere as to preventing ACEs --- it needs to be specific.... such as our values are to protect the rights...
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Re: Something to Consider... for the next time you teach or preach on worry
Excellent points, Sandy... just another affirmation of how valuable this online community can be, as your words challenge and fuel me and encourage me at the same time! Vulnerability, TRUE vulnerability, is very hard in spiritual leadership... I have had church members get visibly agitated my times I have dipped my toe in these waters (years ago... pre-ACE Study), because their image (read: idol) of a minister was someone that was a spiritual superhero that didn't bleed... especially not...
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Re: Traumatic Incident Reduction Facilitator Training
Hello, I am surprised that one of the options to receive notifications isn't Weekly. Is "as it occurs" the only option? Thanks! Dale Dale Fletcher, M.S. President & Executive Director Faith and Health Connection Ministry Teaching Biblical Truths for Health & Wholeness www.faithandhealthconnection.org 803-802-3210 Connect on LinkedIn Join me on FaceBook or Google + to receive encouragement Receive daily affirmations using scripture on Twitter Share my Pins on Pinterest
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Re: ACE Overcomers Faith-Based Curriculum
Hi, I'm glad to hear about what you're doing with the ACE study. I'm a minister for Healing and Healthy Environments- I see the Healthy Environments as related to Trauma Informed Care and the Healing as related to Traumatic Incident Reduction. I'd love to learn more about how you are working with churches. I have been consulting with churches in the past about abuse prevention and intervention and more recently using Trauma Informed Care as a lens to help groups develop policy and trauma...
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Re: An ACES Presentation as a Sermon
Hi Folks! I'm attaching two documents that I used to deliver the teaching I mentioned in the post above. There is a Powerpoint file that I used on the Sunday that I've converted to a PDF. And the script that accompanies the Powerpoint is also in a PDF document. This presentation and the supporting documents are a 'work in progress.' As Ronnie and I present this to other churches and ministries in the area, I'm sure that it will evolve. We are doing our best to share this important material...
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Re: An ACES Presentation as a Sermon
Daun, it seems that my reference to Kauffman, 2016 came from this internet page - https://www.youthranch.org/edu...onal-impacts-of-aces It's clear to me now that the complete reference is not included. And I see you may be the referenced author. Do you have an accurate reference source that should be used? And attached is a PPT slide with a completed table of Biblical Principles for Risk Factors.
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Re: Building community by facing collective trauma with hope
One of the concepts I try to invoke to the community is the transforming power of being there — connecting rather than separating. Abraham Lincoln is quoted, “I don’t like that man. I need to get to know him better.” And “Do I not lose my enemies when I make them my friends?” Jesus befriended Zaccheus. Zaccheus was transformed in that he worked for the better of his community (Luke 19). Instead of asking, “Why did you do that?” ask, “Why are you hurting?” I’ve worked with those with...
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Re: Why we need both God and medicine to overcome trauma [America Jesuit Review]
Thanks so much for this blog and the article. I'm thrilled to be a new member of this community and to see all the good work being done. When I learned about ACEs after working with the poor and homeless in Washington, D.C., I understood so much more about those patients. It wasn't just stress and lifestyle choices, but also the damage from ACEs that contributed to their many problems. I so value the programs that emphasize preventing ACEs and healing the late effects. My latest blog covers...
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SAMHSATIApproach.pdf
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Forsyth County Trauma Informed Care Network
The Forsyth County Trauma Informed Network is taking great strides into recognizing and addressing community post Covid-19 impacts. PowerPoint attached.
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When Things Get Difficult, Turn To Wonder [Peace and Justice Institute at Valencia College]
Each week we will be posting one of the 13 Principles for How We Treat Each Other from the Peace and Justice institute at Valencia College. This week we welcome Principle number ten, "when things get difficult, turn to wonder." Turning to wonder in times of stress is a gift to ourselves and others. Pausing to wonder the circumstances which lead others to their choices is a powerful tool of compassion. #PJIPrinciples Click here to access all of the Principles available in English, Spanish,...
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ACEs Champion Danette Glass says COVID-19 increases the need for trauma-informed communities
Glass’s mission has always been to protect and foster the practice of nurturing children. That’s because she herself experienced at least five types of adverse childhood experiences, as measured in the original CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE Study). If the scale could account for childhood adversity such as structural racism and community violence that’s more likely to occur in communities of color, her burden of ACEs is higher.
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Free Online Stress-Reduction Program for Individuals and Faith-Based Groups
Hello. It is so satisfying to be able to turn to this wonderful community and tell you about the free online program I’m offering through my Serenity and Health ministry. While many of us continue with social distancing, this program may be useful for you or your church group. It is particularly relevant to this ACE community...both to prevent ACEs and to mitigate the new sources of stress created by the pandemic and felt so keenly by ACE survivors. The program is available in English and...
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Perhaps now is the time for your church to become trauma-informed?
Wondering what your church can do in response to the unrest, riots, and disharmony we see? Perhaps this is the time to invest in becoming trauma-informed using "Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks," a study where sound biblical principles intersect with the science of adversity and trauma. Order on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/ Bruised-Reeds-Smoldering-Wi cks-trauma-informed/dp/ 1733812318 Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks is a study on the intersections between the science of adversity...
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Racism's Effect on Health, and the Heartbreak of Being a Black Parent Right Now: California's Surgeon General Speaks [kqed.org]
By KQED Science, KQED, June 14, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic and the recent killing of George Floyd have brought longstanding racial inequities into sharp focus. One of those disparities concerns the high rate of coronavirus transmission among people of color. To talk about the intersection of race and health, KQED's Brian Watt spoke last week with California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, who is known for her pioneering work on the role that childhood stress and trauma play on...
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"A Different Distribution of Power": ACEs, Trauma and Resilience Networks Sharpen Focus on Racial Justice and Equity
For the leaders of Sarasota Strong (or "SRQ Strong") Florida, anti-racism work isn’t about inviting people of color to tables long-occupied by white professionals fluent in academic jargon and theories of change. It’s about venturing, with humility and openness, into spaces where Black people worship, work and live. Helen Neal-Ali from SRQ Strong. Photo courtesy of Andrea Blanch. Which is why, before SRQ Strong even had a name or held a formal event, educator/minister Helen Neal-Ali launched...
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Help Navigating the Road to Community Resiliency
The first time I ever heard the words trauma-informed care and the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study was in the summer of 2014. At the time, I was working for the local Police Department as the Director of a grant-funded Crime Reduction Project aimed at reducing drug-related and violent crime. Of the many program goals, one was to develop a rehabilitative corrections program for felony offenders with addictions in order to reduce recidivism. Though I’ve lived in this region for...
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Greater Richmond Trauma Informed Community Network, first to join ACEs Cooperative of Communities, shows what it means to ROCK!
In 2012, Greater Richmond SCAN and five other community partners hatched a one-year plan to educate the Richmond, Virginia, community about ACEs science and to embed trauma-informed practices. Eight years later, the original group has evolved into the Greater Richmond Trauma-Informed Community Network (GRTICN) with 495 people and 170 organizations. And they're just scratching the surface.
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Donald Trump is the product of abuse and neglect. His story is common, even for the powerful and wealthy.
“In order to cope,” writes Mary Trump, “Donald began to develop powerful but primitive defenses, marked by an increasing hostility to others and a seeming indifference to his mother’s absence and father’s neglect….In place of [his emotional needs] grew a kind of grievance and behaviors—including bullying, disrespect, and aggressiveness—that served their purpose in the moment but became more problematic over time. With appropriate care and attention, they might have been overcome.”