Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the annual National Council for Behavioral Health Conference. I have been to my fair share of conferences but #NatCon19 was one of the best. First, I'm biased. It took place in my city, Nashville, TN . And the venue was the world renowned Opryland Hotel's Gaylord Convention Center . And, I love, love, love the Opryland Hotel ! As any seasoned conference goer, I had a strategy when it came to which sessions and events I wanted to attend. My game...

As more and more organizations work toward trauma-informed, many struggle with how to measure the impact they are having on those they serve. In a new brief from the Center for Healthcare Strategies, leaders from the Montefiore Medical Group shares a proposed model to help organizations consider the critical question, “Is what we are doing working?” If you are an organization in Kansas, our Trauma-Informed Systems of Care team may be able to assist you in developing an infrastructure to...

Tufts University medical professor Dr. Robert Sege directs the Center for Community-Engaged Medicine and is nationally known for his research on effective health systems approaches that address social determinants of health. He is also the principal investigator for the HOPE framework (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences).The HOPE framework is based on research that shows how positive childhood experiences can mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences. Sege and colleagues...

School districts across the state (and country) are working to find ways to become more trauma-aware, trauma-sensitive, and trauma-responsive. Many have started the process by implementing a variety of programs and practices school-wide from Restorative Justice to Capturing Kids' Hearts . Others are making small changes, one classroom at a time. All of it is good work – and the best way to make it sustainable is to have a written plan developed by leaders at all levels within the school or...

It’s that time of year – the time of year that is often described as “merry”, “bright”, and “joyful”. A popular way of spreading the joy is through cookie exchanges where we share our favorite memories and recipes with others through little wrapped packages of often artful treats. This year, I would suggest that we spread that comfort and warmth through a different kind of cookie exchange. In their book, Fostering Resilient Learners , Kristin Souers and Pete Hall introduce a concept called...

By Melissa Mahtani for CNN.com, on June 2nd 2020, As anger and heartbreak have swept across America over the killing of yet another black man at the hands of police, CNN and "Sesame Street" are refocusing their second town hall to address racism. The 60-minute special "Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism. A CNN/Sesame Street Town Hall for Kids and Families" will air on Saturday, June 6, at 10 a.m. ET. The show will talk to kids about racism, the recent nationwide protests, embracing...

Karen Clemmer, the Northwest community facilitator with ACEs Connection, was already deeply interested in the CDC/Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study when she and a colleague from the Child Parent Institute were invited to lunch by ACEs Connection founder and publisher Jane Stevens in 2012. But that lunch meeting changed everything. Karen Clemmer “Jane helped us see a bigger world,” says Clemmer. “She came with a much wider lens. She didn’t look only at Sonoma County, she...