By Rachel Glaser, WWMT West Michigan, February 13, 2020 Childhood trauma has life-long, wide reaching consequences, according to a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on adverse childhood experiences, also known as ACEs. In early February, Michigan lawmakers passed a resolution declaring that ACEs a critical health issue. State officials estimated 70% of Michigan adults experienced one ACE before the age of 18. The CDC scores people on a scale of 0-10 for adverse...

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...

By Ted Roelofs, Bridge, December 13, 2019 By now, the medical evidence is clear: Childhood trauma can have profound effects on physical and mental health. Even so, Michigan physicians like Timothy Kval remain all too rare. Working out of a Muskegon clinic, Kval evaluates more than a patient’s symptoms, blood pressure readings and cholesterol scores. He also screens adult patients for past traumatic events like physical abuse, neglect, domestic violence in the home or the loss of a parent...

FYI im speaking to legislative committee Jan 9, 2020 on human trafficking and ACEs

The two biggest myths about ACEs science are: MYTH #1 — That it’s just about the 10 ACEs in the ACE Study — the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study . It’s about sooooo much more than that. MYTH #2 — And that it’s just about ACEs…adverse childhood experiences. These two myths are intertwined. The ACE Study issued the first of its 70+ publications in 1998, and for many people it was the lightning bolt, the grand “aha” moment, the unexpected doorway into a blazing new...

Michigan’s Spectrum Health is piloting a school-based telehealth program that aims to give rural high school students better access to telemental health services. Greenville Public Schools is partnering with the Grand Rapids-based health system to give students at the high school access to a Master’s-level social worker through a telemedicine portal. The counselor, working out of Spectrum Health’s Lakeview Youth Clinic, can schedule as many as a half-dozen virtual visits a day with students...

Patients would carry soda into Dr. Gerard Clancy’s office, with cigarettes tucked away for after therapy. Often victims of abuse or violent crime, they would seek soothing but risky behaviors to cope. Overweight. Chronic pain. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Type II diabetes. His former patients will die younger than they should, he said. Clancy conducted therapy sessions until he became president of the University of Tulsa in 2016. At his psychiatry clinic, he saw firsthand how a...

"We studied what it meant to be “mentally tough” and what characteristics the mentally tough athlete possessed. Characteristics of Mentally Tough Performers Cope more easily with setbacks Have control over anxiety and use it productively Have higher self-confidence Use more positive self-talk Have a positive outlook on the future Set specific goals and visualize accomplishing goals Have a support network" "But the reality is that the majority of people who experience stressful or traumatic...

The Detroit Food Academy works with local educators, chefs, and business owners to teach young people entrepreneurial skills. The kitchen is their classroom. And on this day it has the smell and sounds of home. It’s like family, the six student participants from Cody High School say. It’s the first time the students have prepared this meal. In fact, there are many firsts when preparing cultural dishes, and it’s one of the things the students find most exciting about DFA. Working with local...

Friday, April 12, 2019 marked an exciting, auspicious, and perhaps pivotal day in the history of Monroe County, Indiana. That’s a lot of adjectives—and pressure—to pile onto just another glorious spring day in Bloomington. But I think many folks who virtually congregate on a site that supports communities implementing trauma-informed and resilience-building practices grounded in ACEs science would agree that a county’s first-ever ACEs conference deserves a little ballyhoo. But this ACEs...

If you need help, call the 1-800-FARM-AID hotline. In the weeks after flooding drowned the livelihoods of families who’ve farmed along the Missouri River for generations, rural advocates in the Midwest began gearing up for another crisis. The devastating floods increased concerns about the mental health and well-being of farmers who already were struggling with yearslong economic uncertainty. Groups in flood-affected states such as Nebraska say they are preparing to provide mental and...

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...