Tagged With "Brittany Greeson for The New York Times"
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New School Year, New Mental Health Lessons: 2 States Now Require It
New School Year, New Mental Health Lessons: 2 States Now Require It States are starting to integrate mental health into their curriculum -- whether it's English or biology class. BY MATTIE QUINN | SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 (Shutterstock) As students across the country start a new school year, some will be learning about mental health for the first time. In two states, New York and Virginia, public schools are now required to incorporate mental health into their curriculum. New York's law, which took...
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New survey paints dire picture of challenges black moms face in health care system [centerforhealthjournalism.org]
A new California survey of pregnant and new mothers paints a bleak picture of what it’s like to be a black mother. In Listening to Mothers in California, black mothers reported not being heard by their health providers and said they experienced discrimination during childbirth. They also experienced higher rates of anxiety and depression during and after pregnancy than white women. The findings add fuel to a growing sense of urgency on maternal health. On Wednesday, California Gov. Brown...
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Nominate a Trauma-Informed Care Champion: #TICchampion
Becoming a trauma-informed organization requires clear communication about the transformation process, and support from staff at all levels of an organization. Often these efforts are spearheaded by “trauma-informed care champions”— individuals committed to raising awareness regarding the health effects of trauma and toxic stress and improving care for people who have experienced trauma. This week, the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) invites you to recognize people around you who...
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Nothing Matters More Than Hope -- Including Resiliency
“In every published study of hope, every single one, hope is the single best predictor of well-being compared to any other measures of trauma recovery. This finding is consistently corroborated with other published studies from top universities showing that hope is the best predictor for a life well-lived."
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NPR: New Data Confirm Adverse Childhood Experiences Are Widespread : Shots - Health News.
PUBLIC HEALTH Childhood Trauma And Its Lifelong Health Effects More Prevalent Among Minorities September 17, 2018 12:20 PM ET TARA HAELLE Nearly 62 percent of respondents had at least one ACE and a quarter reported three or more. The remaining respondents had at least two ACEs, including 16 percent with four or more such experiences. Elva Etienne/Getty Images When researchers first discovered a link in the late 1990s between childhood adversity and chronic health problems later in life, the...
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NYSHealth 2019 Special Projects Fund Request for Proposals
NYSHealth 2019 Special Projects Fund Request for Proposals The New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth) 2019 Special Projects Fund Request for Proposals (RFP) is now available. Applicants must submit an online inquiry form to determine whether a proposed project fits the funding criteria. The deadline for the online inquiry form is March 5, 2019 . Selected organizations will be invited to submit full proposals, with a deadline of May 7, 2019 . NYSHealth Special Projects Fund awards are...
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Only 3 States Have a Gay-Straight Alliance in More Than Half of Their High Schools [childtrends.org]
By Dominique Parris and Brandon Stratford, Child Trends, November 5, 2019 In 45 states and the District of Columbia, less than half of all high schools report having a gay-straight alliance (also known as a genders and sexualities alliance, or GSA), according to 2016 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among the 48 states (as well as the District of Columbia) that provide data, only three states (New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts) can claim that more than half of...
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Opioid-Dependent Newborns Get New Treatment: Mom Instead of Morphine [CHCF]
Aug 1, 2019, Dana G. Smith, for CHCF When babies are born dependent on opioids, typically they are whisked away from their mothers, put into the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), dosed with morphine to get them through withdrawal, and gradually weaned off the drug—a process that can take weeks. Research now suggests that this long-established standard of care may be the worst way to care for a newborn with opioid dependency, or neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). The NICU is busy, noisy,...
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Crisis in Care Report
The Greater Rochester Health Foundation convened the Commission on Children’s Behavioral Health in the Finger Lakes in spring 2015, in response to concerns from parents, child care providers, schools, pediatricians and children’s mental health clinicians. They consistently raised alarms about the shortfalls of our region’s children’s behavioral health system: the demands placed on it, its capacity, and in some cases, its quality.
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Overdose and suicide among top causes of death for new moms in California, study finds [Sacramento Bee]
By Elizabeth Shwe, The Sacramento Bee, June 14, 2019 Drug overdose and suicide are leading causes of death among California mothers within the first year after delivery, a recent study shows. Professor Sidra Goldman-Mellor of UC Merced and Professor Claire Margerison of Michigan State University found that drug overdoses were the second-leading cause of postpartum death and suicide was the seventh in California. Both constitute around 20% of all California postpartum deaths from 2010-2012.
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Panel Discussion: The Need for Promotion and Prevention Efforts
A panel discussion of local representatives from different professional disciplines discussed the data that highlights the need for prevention and promotion efforts. Each panelist provided a single background slide to serve as context for the overall discussion that took place at the Summit. Amy Scheel-Jones: Chief of Planning at Monroe County OMH Dr. Leonard Brock: Executive Director of the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative Jackie Campbell: Director of ROC the Future Dr. Michael...
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Parent Handouts: Understanding ACEs, Parenting to Prevent & Heal ACEs (English)
Please see the main post for these parent handouts in the ACEs Connection Resources Center. These two flyers ( Understanding ACEs and Parenting to Prevent & Heal ACEs ) can be downloaded, distributed, and used freely. One is brand new and the other is a revision. Both flyers were made with generous support from Family Hui, a Program of Lead for Tomorrow. Translations of these flyers are in progress and will be shared by Family Hui and updated on ACEs Connection when available.
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Parents who had severe trauma, stresses in childhood more likely to have kids with behavioral health problems [ScienceDaily.com]
A new study finds that severe childhood trauma and stresses early in parents' lives are linked to higher rates of behavioral health problems in their own children. The types of childhood hardships included divorce or separation of parents, death of or estrangement from a parent, emotional, physical or sexual abuse, witnessing violence in the home, exposure to substance abuse in the household or parental mental illness. "Previous research has looked at childhood trauma as a risk factor for...
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"PCEs" and "ACEs" Are Two Sides of the Same "Childhood Experiences" Coin
This collection of reports, shared with edited highlights, is posted in hopes of raising awareness of the importance of Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs). Please share widely on social media. 1. Seven Early Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) with Potential Benefits in Adulthood Below are the seven items on the positive childhood experience (PCEs) psychometric analysis. For each item, respondents are asked to respond "yes" or "no" to a prompt, "Before the age of 18, I was..." Able to...
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Playtime May Bolster Kids’ Mental Health [theatlantic.com]
“Play has become a four-letter word.” So says Kathy Hirsh-Pasek , a psychologist at Temple University and one of the authors of a new paper about the importance of play in children’s lives. The clinical report , published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, recommends that pediatricians write a “prescription for play” at doctor visits in the first two years of life. Years of research have shown that play is an important part of a child’s development, assisting in cognition, memory, social...
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Pocket Time by Sarah H. Waite
A book for children who score 5 or more on the ACEs questionnaire .
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Police Need ACE Training to Better Understand Impact of Childhood Violence, Study Says [cypnow.co.uk]
Written by Nina Jacobs, Friday, May 1 2020 - Police officers should be trained in understanding the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on young people in order to tackle an increase in child to parent violence, new research suggests. The study was commissioned by Northumbria Police. A report commissioned by Northumbria Police, Policing Childhood Challenging Violent or Aggressive Behaviour: responding to vulnerable families , makes the recommendation as part of a wider strategy to...
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Postpartum Anxiety Is an Epidemic Among American Mothers. Why Does It So Often Go Undiagnosed? (Time Magazine)
By Sarah Menkedick, March 20, 2020, for Time As a new mother, I worried about mouse poop in the small cabin where I lived. About fracking chemicals in the water. About glyphosate in the oatmeal. About flame retardants in pajamas. About phthalates in toys. Although it constantly overwhelmed me, I thought my anxiety was normal, even necessary. After all, it was my job to protect my child. When I mentioned my fear at my six-week follow-up appointment after birth—the sole instance of medical...
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Power of Family Resilience to Protect Children From Bullying [sciencedaily.com]
By American Academy of Pediatrics, Science Daily, October 25, 2019 Studies show that children exposed to childhood trauma known as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are at increased risk of being bullied or bullying others. New research being presented at the American American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2019 National Conference & Exhibition suggests that family resilience -- the ability to work together to overcome problems, for example -- reduces this risk. The research abstract,...
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Power of Family Resilience to Protect Children From Bullying [sciencedaily.com]
By American Academy of Pediatrics, Science Daily, October 25, 2019 Studies show that children exposed to childhood trauma known as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are at increased risk of being bullied or bullying others. New research being presented at the American American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2019 National Conference & Exhibition suggests that family resilience -- the ability to work together to overcome problems, for example -- reduces this risk. The research abstract,...
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Pregnant Behind Bars: What We Do And Don't Know About Pregnancy And Incarceration [NPR]
There are 111,616 incarcerated women in the United States, a 7-fold increase since 1980. Some of these women are pregnant, but amid reports of women giving birth in their cells or shackled to hospital beds , prison and public health officials have no hard data on how many incarcerated women are pregnant, or on the outcomes of those pregnancies. A study published in The American Journal of Public Health Thursday changes that. The study included 57 percent of the US prison population (New...
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Prince Harry and Oprah’s New TV Series Could Change the Way We View Mental Health at Work (thriveglobal.com)
A couple of years ago, Prince Harry joined the ever-growing list of high-profile public figures who are opening up about their mental health struggles. “I can safely say that losing my mum at the age of 12, and therefore shutting down all of my emotions for the last 20 years, has had a quite serious effect on not only my personal life, but my work as well,” Harry said on a podcast for The Daily Telegraph . Now Harry and Oprah Winfrey are teaming up on a series for Apple TV+ that will debut...
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Programs work from within to prevent black maternal deaths: Workers targeting root cause — Racism [APHA]
By Kim Krisberg, Aug 2019, American Public Health Association Twenty years ago, working at the bedside in a maternity ward, Hakima Tafunzi Payne saw first-hand how poorly black women were often treated. “People didn’t go out with the intention to be racist, but you still saw the impact that racism had,” said Payne, MSN, RN, a labor and delivery nurse. “Black families were always held to a different standard, seen as more suspect. White patients were given leeway that black patients were...
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Public Health Matters Blog Posts: Using trauma-informed care to guide emergency preparedness and response
"Exposure to a traumatic event or set of circumstances can negatively affect a person’s mental, physical, social, emotional or spiritual well-being for a long time after the initial incident. We know that not all individuals respond to trauma in the same way and we know that individuals with a history of trauma, especially childhood trauma, are more likely to experience psychological distress and are at increased risk for the development of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with future...
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Quantifying the Cost of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders in the US [CHCF]
Maternal mental health disorders are the most common medical complication during and after childbirth, affecting at least one in seven pregnant and postpartum women in the US, and one in six in California. In addition — and alarmingly — half of perinatal women with a diagnosis of depression do not get the treatment they need. The lack of attention has stark human costs. Untreated mothers are more likely to deliver preterm and have a cesarean delivery than those without these disorders, which...
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Raising Resilience Summit
On January 9, the Raising Resilience Summit brought together leaders from multiple professional disciplines to advance a comprehensive approach to promoting the social and emotional health of children and their families, and to plan and build cross-sector prevention actions. Working together we can raise resilience in our children and families to grow a healthier community. To all who attended the Raising Resilience Summit, thank you for your active participation and contributions. It was an...
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Raising Resilience Summit Booklet
The booklet provides an overview of the program; bios of the speakers; a description and a graphic of the Whole Child view of children’s health.
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Raising Resilience Summit News
Summit at St. John Fisher focuses on preventing teen suicides Pittsford, N.Y. (WHAM) - A new survey of Rochester-area teens suggests suicide is a major risk for about one in seven teenagers. According to the survey, 14 percent of teens considered taking their own lives in the last year. There is no question mental health issues among young people are on the rise for a number of reasons. Continue reading the full article here .
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Reasons to be Positive and Optimistic
Positive thinking and optimism are words often thrown around when thinking about being happy and cheerful. But what do they really mean? Positive thinking means approaching life in a positive and productive way instead of focusing on the negatives. Meaning you’re hopeful for the best and don’t focus on the worst. Sounds good in theory, but how can you start to think positively? Here are seven reasons why positivity is so good for you, and some tips on how to remain positive everyday:...
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Resource: Guide for Early Childhood Development
Healthy development in the early years of life provides the building blocks for lifelong health, educational achievement, and responsible citizenship. What can we do during this incredibly important period to ensure that children have a strong foundation for future development? This guide explains how children develop in their earliest years, why that time period is so important, and the practical ways we can support early childhood development (ECD) and improve outcomes for children and...
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Resource List - Trauma Informed Approaches and Autism Spectrum and Other Developmental Disabilities
Resources for individuals, organizations, and communities moving along trauma and hope-informed pathways in order to: Prevent and mitigate adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Promote resilience and safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments. Promote equity and racial justice. Prevent substance abuse and promote mental health. … so that all children, youth, families and communities have equal opportunity for educational success, economic stability, health, and well-being.
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Restoring Attachments using a Playbook from Treating the Traumatized Child: A Step-by-Step Family Systems Approach
For many boys, fathers, and grandfathers, a first step towards healing trauma can be found in the wilderness, “Where there are no deadlines, cell phones, or committee meetings. Where there is room for the soul and a quiet place to restore lost nurturance”, ( Wild at Heart , Eldridge, 2011). Glen and his father Darren are a great example of how this healing can take place. Dr. Sells uses the Wild at Heart Wound Playbook from Treating the Traumatized Child: A Step-by-Step Family Systems...
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Role of Pre-existing Adversity and Child Maltreatment on Mental Health Outcomes for Children Involved in Child Protection: Population-based Data Linkage Study [bmjopen.bmj.com]
By Miriam Jennifer Maclean, Scott Anthony Sims, Melissa O'Donnell, BMJ Journals, July 29, 2019 It is established that children who experience child abuse and neglect are at an increased risk of poorer mental health outcomes. The National Scientific Council on the Developing Child states that chronic stress to which maltreated children may be exposed, in the absence of consistent and supportive relationships with adult caregivers, has negative impacts on children’s developing brain.
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Shifting the focus from trauma to compassion
photo: Rolf Schweitzer/CCO Dr. Arnd Herz, a self-described champion for ACEs science, would like nothing more than to witness a greater appreciation of how widespread adverse childhood experiences are. Herz, a pediatrician and director of Medi-Cal Strategy for the Greater Southern Alameda Area for Kaiser Permanente Northern California, would also like to encourage more people in health care to engage in a trauma-informed care approach, a change in practice that he says not only benefits...
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Six Ways To Instantly Calm Your Brain and Body [bestbrainpossible.com]
The human being is the only animal known to cause itself suffering with its own thoughts. And it doesn’t end there. Then, we suffer because we suffer when getting upset about being treated unfairly, mad about having an illness, or sad about going to bed sad yet another day. The crazy thing is that this kind of unhappiness is totally a product of our brains which is at the same time good and bad. If your brain is causing the suffering, it can also stop it. Over millions of years of evolution,...
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Sleep Tied to Teenagers’ All-Around Health [nytimes.com]
A good night’s sleep may be critical for the metabolic health of teenagers. Researchers studied 829 boys and girls, average age 13, who wore electronic measuring devices that tracked sleep time, sleep quality and physical activity over seven to 10 days. They also recorded five factors associated with cardiovascular risk: waist circumference, blood pressure, HDL or “good” cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin resistance. Inadequate sleep was common — 31 percent of the children slept less...
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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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Strengthening Families: Increasing positive outcomes for children and families [www.cssp.org]
We engage families, programs, and communities in building key protective factors. Children are more likely to thrive when their families have the support they need. By focusing on the five universal family strengths identified in the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework , community leaders and service providers can better engage, support, and partner with parents in order to achieve the best outcomes for kids. How We Do It The Strengthening Families framework is a...
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Strengthening self-regulation in childhood may improve resiliency later in life [medicalxpress.com]
Millions of families live in poverty in the United States. Associated stressors can often lead to adverse life experiences for children in those families, and negative socioemotional outcomes later in life. Family-centered programs are a well-supported way of buffering against these effects. More than two decades of peer-reviewed research suggests family -focused interventions play a role in improving outcomes over a long period of time. Now, a paper published in Child Development finally...
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“Strong Island”: Trans Filmmaker Yance Ford Searches for Justice After His Brother’s Racist Murder [democracynow.org]
We speak with Yance Ford, who on Tuesday became the first trans director to be nominated for an Academy Award. His film “Strong Island” is up for best documentary. Ford, who is African-American, chronicles what happened to his own family after his brother, William Ford Jr., was shot dead by a white mechanic in Long Island, New York, in 1992. The killer was questioned by police but never charged. “My brother’s case, 25 years ago, simply affirms what we are seeing now,” Ford says. “It doesn’t...
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Structure of brain networks is not fixed (neurosciencenews.com)
Summary: Brain networks are spatially and functionally fluid, and not static, as previously believed. Source: Georgia State University The shape and connectivity of brain networks — discrete areas of the brain that work together to perform complex cognitive tasks — can change in fundamental and recurring ways over time, according to a study led by Georgia State University. The interaction and communication among neurons, known as “functionally connectivity,” gives rise to brain networks.
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Study defines differences among brain neurons that coincide with psychiatric conditions [medicalxpress.com]
It's no surprise to scientists that variety is the very essence of biology, not just the seasoning, but most previous studies of key brain cells have found little variability in a common cell process that involves how genetic information is read and acted on. The process, called epigenetics, involves chemical or structural "tweaks" to gene activity that don't affect the underlying genetic code itself, but do affect when and how a gene becomes available to be read for its protein-encoding...
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Supporting Older Trauma Survivors as They Heal Their Pasts, Grow Their Futures
Members of The Living Well Theater perform at the Good Food for All Conference at the Free Library/Parkway Central Library. Photo courtesy of Marie-Monique Marthol. ________________________________ Marie-Monique Marthol handed out the cards to older adults at meetings of her local civic association. With the pastor’s permission, she left some at a neighborhood church. She stacked them in restaurants, community centers and even at the laundromat. On the front, the cards read, “Time never runs...
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Taking Action: Building Resilience Presentation
Thank you to all who presented the material, and all who listened! Here is a copy of the slides from the presentations.
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Teaching Kids to Understand Self Regulation and Responsibility
Sample Lesson from Superkid Power Teaching Kids to Understand Self Regulation and Responsibility Key concepts from the curriculum are how to breathe deeply to stay calm and how to use that inner calm to control how to respond to whatever is going on around you. First, we teach how to take deep breaths using a 3D prop, called the breathing sphere, that expands and contracts to represent the lungs and diaphragm filling with air along with the teacher counting out the beats of...
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Teenagers Say Depression and Anxiety Are Major Issues Among Their Peers (nytimes.com)
Most American teenagers — across demographic groups — see depression and anxiety as major problems among their peers, a new survey by the Pew Research Center found. The survey found that 70 percent of teenagers saw mental health as a big issue. Fewer teenagers cited bullying, drug addiction or gangs as major problems; those from low-income households were more likely to do so. Some psychologists have tied a growth in mental health issues among teenagers to increased social media use,...
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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 many faces — and aspirations — of all of us at ACEs Connection
All of us at ACEs Connection have experienced ACEs during our childhoods, either in our own families or vicariously through friends; some of us accumulated pretty high ACE scores, with not enough resilience factors, and we’ve suffered the consequences. That history propels us up and out of bed every single morning to grow this network of amazing people (that’s you!) to reach even more people so that kids don’t have to repeat what we went through. We want more of our taxes to go to such...
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The Many Faces of Grief
“…Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding…. And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy; much of your pain is self-chosen. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self….” – From The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran There are many kinds of loss that we can encounter in life. However, losses surrounding addiction can be particularly confusing; they tend...
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The Rise of the Trauma-Informed Mothers
The next generation is less likely to wear predisposed shackles of trauma because as trauma-informed parents we are re-wiring the traumatically stressed DNA that was passed down to us.