Tagged With "Depression and Children"
Blog Post
Letters: Relieve stress for Philly teachers, too [philly.com]
Kerri McGinley, PhD a former teacher and principal with the SDP, thoughtfully responds to my letter to the editor regarding the end of kindergarten suspensions with her own letter (below). Dr. McGinley urges all to consider teacher stress too. Thank you Dr. McGinley for raising this important point, reminding us that addressing employee stress and secondary traumatic stress is an imperative if we are to develop the trauma informed education and other systems we strive for. Ease teachers'...
Blog Post
Link between ACEs and Animal Cruelty
Philadelphia ACE Task Force Member Risa Mandell, LCSW, has reminded us that it is important to understand that witnessing animal cruelty may be an adverse childhood event that has lasting impact and may also be indicative of other ACEs. She has...
Blog Post
Local Researchers' study shows: Trauma support for welfare recipients helps them earn more [medicalxpress.com]
People on welfare can earn more money in their jobs—and potentially leave the program—if the trauma they've faced since childhood is addressed, Drexel University research shows... "Financial education without the trauma-informed peer support had virtually no impact on improving income and in promoting health," said Mariana Chilton, PhD, director of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities and professor in the Dornsife School of Public Health. "Once the trauma-informed peer support was mixed...
Blog Post
Loving foster homes repaired brain damage of Romanian orphans
The haunting pictures of Romanian Orphans in their cribs, wincing in pain from AIDS and neglect, are shown throughout a recent article in a UK online news publication. Partly as a result of a ban on birth control and abortions during the...
Blog Post
MARC Booklet 2016: Features Philadelphia
Please find attached the 2016 booklet for the Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC) project, including Philadelphia and the other 13 communities that have been selected to participate in this 2 year learning collaborative. This is a great summary of the work happening in all 14 communities across the country. I look forward to working with you all as we share and build upon the great work happening in Philadelphia!
Blog Post
Mayoral Primary One Week From Today
What do the democratic candidates for mayor in Philadelphia think about Trauma-Informed Care, Mental Health/Substance Use Reform, Transformation of the Child Welfare System? Watch the footage from the 2015 Health and Human Services...
Blog Post
Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities: A Highlight of 2015
Members of the ACEs Connection online community are well aware that experiencing significant adversity during childhood can lead to a myriad of negative health, mental health, social, and behavioral outcomes throughout the life course. The growing body of research around adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can, at times, leave us feeling overwhelmed. As advocates for child health and wellbeing, we may ask ourselves, “how can we treat individuals who have multiple ACEs?”,...
Blog Post
National Networks Resource Guide
National Network of Hospital Violence Intervention Programs (NNHVIP) www.nnhvip.org Violence prevention and intervention programs are a powerful way to stop the revolving door of violent injury in our hospitals. Engaging patients in the hospital,...
Blog Post
New Continuing Education Course for Nurses: "Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress and Working with the Child Welfare System"
Do you have clients with health concerns, injuries, or acute/chronic illnesses? According to NSCAW, 28% of children in foster care have a chronic health condition, and 12% have two or more. About 35% of children in child welfare have either a health condition or special need. Your clients with medical conditions will likely have frequent contact with the health care system. Since many have experienced prior trauma, when faced with medical issues they are at greater risk for illness- or...
Blog Post
New Philadelphia mural brings childhood trauma into view [WHYY.org]
Children's Crisis Treatment Center, a leader in the Philadelphia ACE Task Force and trauma-informed movement, unveiled a powerful new mural which highlights their approach to providing trauma-informed therapeutic services for children and families. A fanciful and colorful vision now adorns a Philadelphia office building, but its message is intended to bring more awareness to the serious issue of childhood trauma. Mural Arts Philadelphia and the city’s behavioral health department Tuesday...
Blog Post
New report identifies neighborhoods in need of behavioral health services [thenotebook.org]
At first glance, the Philadelphia neighborhoods in zip codes 19148 and 19120 might seem to have little in common. The 19120 zip code is on the northern edge of the city, bordering Cheltenham Township and including parts of the Olney, East Oak Lane, and Lawncrest neighborhoods. The 19148 zip code is along the Delaware River in Southeast Philadelphia, just below the Pennsport neighborhood and bisected by Interstate 76 before the highway links to the Walt Whitman Bridge. But these two areas...
Blog Post
Nowhere to Hide: The Elephant in the [Class]room
We are trying to scoop water out of a boat which has gaping trauma-holes in the bottom.
Blog Post
OPPORTUNITY: Philadelphia Parent Innovation Institute
The Philadelphia Parent Innovation institute will bring early childhood organizations and the families they serve together to learn human-centered design so they can strengthen family engagement in early literacy and language programs for Philadelphia’s youngest learners. Between April 2020-May 2021, organization representatives and parents they support will work collaboratively in small teams and identify a challenge they would like to solve together. The teams will be guided through a...
Blog Post
Ordinary Magic-Resiliency Research - The Power of Connection
Resilience and Positive Psychology The message from three decades of research on resilience underscores central themes of the positive psychology movement (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Snyder & Lopez, in press). Psychology has neglected important phenomena in human adaptation and development during periods of focus on risk, problems, pathology, and treatment. Attention to human capabilities and adaptive systems that promote healthy development and functioning have the potential...
Blog Post
Organizations develop a Funders Guide to Trauma-Informed Practice
Responding to the overwhelming demand of funders in the Delaware Valley to better understand the impacts of trauma on our region and how they can apply trauma informed practices to their own work, Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia, the Thomas Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation, and United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey partnered to produce this hands-on resource that will help funders : Understand the science behind trauma, adverse childhood experiences,...
Blog Post
PA Legislative Victory Is an Opportunity to Celebrate Two Groups that Help and Protect Children
Philadelphia Children's Alliance and Darkness to Light are two organizations that provide support/prevention for sexually abused children. PA's recent legislative victory is a chance to celebrate their hard work.
Blog Post
Pediatrician struggles to help patients through Philly's 'terrible lottery of birth' [philly.com]
Every day in our clinic at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in North Philadelphia, I see upwards of 25 children, ranging from newborns to teens. I spend as much time as I can talking with parents about their infants' feeding patterns, their toddlers' development and their adolescents' maturing bodies. I try to provide helpful advice, appropriate medical care and positive assurances. But as I listen to the questions and concerns of the families I care for, I know that whatever we do,...
Blog Post
Peek Inside a Classroom: Jasmine
© Elliot Gilfix/Flickr . What happened to Jasmine? . Photo © Jinx!/Flickr When you look...
Blog Post
Peek Inside a Classroom: Danny
When you look inside a classroom, there are some things you can not see . . .
Blog Post
Peek Inside a Classroom: Jasmine
Wiry, active, savvy. Jasmine. There were not many good days. . . only random moments of calm in a violent storm, erupting on a ‘hair trigger’ When you look inside a classroom there are some things you can not see….
Blog Post
Peek Inside a Classroom: Jose
Photo credit Max Klingensmith at flickr . Jose was one of the calmest, quietest, most peaceful boys in the classroom. The kind of boy everybody loves. ...
Blog Post
200 health experts, educators discuss child trauma at AtlantiCare event [Pressofatlanticcity.com]
How many people would say something if they saw a harsh interaction between a parent and child at a grocery store, at a park or elsewhere? How many people would recognize distress in a child or adult related to something that happened in childhood? More than two-thirds of children report experiencing at least one traumatic event by age 16, studies show, and health experts, caregivers, teachers and others gathered for a workshop Wednesday to find how best to help both children and their...
Blog Post
A doctor's call for action on childhood poverty [philly.com]
The main aim of pediatrics is prevention. Prevention of diseases, of injury, of emotional problems, of developmental and intellectual delays. Our armamentarium include vaccines; screening instruments; and guidance on development, safety, and nutrition. It's time to add one more item to our tool kit: screening our young patients for health and emotional problems related to poverty. At St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in the heart of North Philadelphia, we see 15 to 20 newborns a day,...
Blog Post
ACEs Connection's Inclusion Tool makes sure nobody's left out
We developed ACEs Connection's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Tool — called the Inclusion Tool, for short — to ensure that ACEs initiatives across the world focus on being inclusive when forming a steering committee, recruiting leaders, providing education about ACEs science, recruiting members, or providing resources and services within their communities. The more inclusive your ACEs initiative is, the more diverse it will be, giving your initiative a real shot at achieving equity and...
Blog Post
ACTION NEEDED: Expanding Access to School Breakfast in Philadelphia
As the nation’s poorest big city, it is common knowledge that tens of thousands of students struggle with food insecurity. The federal Community Eligibility Program makes it easy to provide every student in Philadelphia with free breakfast and lunch. Unfortunately, too many of Philadelphia’s students attend schools that don’t prioritize increasing access to these meals. Students who eat school breakfast perform better in school than children who don't, yet: Only 39.6% of public school...
Blog Post
Adoption Advocates Bank on a New Way to Address Childhood Trauma [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
According to a coalition of adoption advocates, broader acceptance of an emerging mental health diagnosis has the potential to help traumatized children access the help they need. That’s the goal of the End Childhood Trauma Tour , which stops in five cities this week in the name of promoting awareness of the disruptive effects of trauma on children. The tour started in Minneapolis on Friday before stopping in Chicago. It heads to Boston tonight before moving on to Philadelphia and...
Blog Post
American Acad of Pediatrics Policy Statement - Immigration policies need to be trauma-informed [www.medpagetoday.com]
The American Academy of Pediatricians has made a bold statement about the proposed DHS policy to separate children from their parents and the use of detention - clearly linking these policies to their potential to traumatize children. To that end, children should never be separated from a parent unless it is for the child's safety, and the Department of Homeland Security should discontinue the use of family detention and use community-based alternatives to detention to treat immigrant...
Blog Post
Academic Pediatrics publishes case study on Philadelphia ACE Task Force
On Tuesday, September 5th, 2017, Academic Pediatrics released a special issue highlighting a comprehensive research and policy agenda for addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and promoting well-being. The issue features an article, Developing a Community-Wide Initiative to Address Childhood Adversity and Toxic Stress: A Case Study of The Philadelphia ACE Task Force." Authored by the Task Force's three co-chairs, Lee Pachter (lead), Sandra Bloom, and Joel Fein, along with staff...
Blog Post
An Evidence-Based Indictment of Inaction
If schools are to be guided by data, the data says that 2 of 3 children experience at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE): children of all incomes, all colors, all social levels, all educational levels. It is all of us. Is your school trauma-informed?
Blog Post
An open letter to Governor Wolf:
Childhood Trauma: "The elephant in the [class] room".. . and it doesn't "just go away" Dear Governor Wolf and Education Secretary designee Rivera : I write regarding injured, marginalized children in our schools, to ask that you include them explicitly in a broad, “Healthy State” paradigm in your new administration. Read more at: WHYY NewsWorks http://lucidwitness.com/…/childhood-trauma-versus-public-e…/...
Blog Post
Apply to join: J-TEN Creativity in Cognitive Approaches to Trauma Treatment
Please consider joining the Jefferson Trauma Education Network for this four-part series on February 7, March 6, April 3 and May 1, 2020. Trainings will be free to all admitted into the program. For those requesting continuing education contact hours, the associated costs will be $75 in total for the entire series (3 NBCC contact hours per session). NBCC is an approved provider for the PA Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors. For all others...
Blog Post
Article on Trauma-Informed Juvenile Justice
Judge Joan Byer's article, Youthful offenders need help, not berating , which was published in The Hill today, provides a reasoned argument for the inclusion of a trauma-informed juvenile justice system. Byer points out that 92 percent of...
Blog Post
Artists in the ACE and Resilience Movement: Creative Avenues to Change
They began with a song and ended with a poem. In-between, there were photographs and giant graphic renderings, movement exercises and a “human pulse” formed when 90 people stood in a circle and squeezed each other’s hands. At a June summit in Whatcom County, Washington, titled “Our Resilient Community: A Community Conversation on Resilience and Equity,” the arts played a starring role. Kristi Slette, executive director of the Whatcom Family and Community Network, one of two Washington sites...
Blog Post
As awareness of childhood trauma rises, new free therapy program launches for Philly students [whyy.org]
The fire that destroyed her dad’s third-floor apartment is the scariest thing that’s ever happened to 8-year-old Dakota Johnson. It was five-thirty in the morning. Someone on the first floor of the building had fallen asleep smoking. Dakota and her dad, Kenneth Johnson, woke up to the sound of the fire alarm. First it seemed like it might be just a small blaze, but when Johnson opened the door to the apartment, smoke and soot rushed in. Dakota was too scared to crawl out into the hallway, so...
Blog Post
Attunement: How the Brain, Mind and Body “Remember” Trauma [LakesideConnect.com]
"What haunts me is how few parents realize the incredible need children have to feel emotionally as well as physically safe in the significant relationships they experience early in life. Feeling truly safe requires a child has at least one significant adult who is predictably available and attuned. Sometimes parents and caregivers think they just need to be physically present in a child’s life, but attunement means so much more. An attuned parent or caregiver is really attending, listening,...
Blog Post
Be part of a breathtaking tipping point !
. Education Equity for trauma-impacted children: from failing funding to fair funding. Be part of the solution! Background A heartfelt tip of the hat to the Basic Education Funding Commission (BEFC) of...
Blog Post
Building Resilience in Children - 20 Practical, Powerful Strategies (backed by science)
This is an accessible, practical article. After a brief definition and explanation of resilience, it gives 20 easy, realistic strategies for building resilience in children. Share this with everyone you know! http://www.heysigmund.com/building-resilience-children/
Blog Post
Burden of Environmental Adversity Associated With Psychopathology, Maturation, and Brain Behavior Parameters in Youths [JAMANetwork.com]
Raquel E. Gur, MD, PhD; Tyler M. Moore, PhD; Adon F. G. Rosen, BS; et al JAMA Psychiatry . Published online May 29, 2019. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.0943 KEY POINTS Question What is the association of an adverse environment, including low socioeconomic status and traumatic stressful events, with psychopathology, neurocognition, and brain parameters in puberty among children and young adults? Findings In this community-based cohort study of 9498 participants, low socioeconomic status was...
Blog Post
Call for Submissions: Third Annual Philadelphia Trauma Training Conference
The 3rd Annual Philadelphia Trauma Training Conference: Promoting Equitable Access to High Quality Services for Vulnerable Children and Families , will be held on Thomas Jefferson University's East Falls Philadelphia Campus July 29 th -August 1st, 2019 . This unique training conference will provide an intensive, collaborative, and engaging experience to providers, educators, and leaders across health, education, and social service disciplines, as well as to community members invested in...
Blog Post
Call For Workshop and Poster Submissions: Third Philadelphia Trauma Training Conference
The 3rd Annual Philadelphia Trauma Training Conference: Promoting Equitable Access to High Quality Services for Vulnerable Children and Families , will be held on Thomas Jefferson University's East Falls Philadelphia Campus July 29 th -August 1st, 2019 . This unique training conference will provide an intensive, collaborative, and engaging experience to providers, educators, and leaders across health, education, and social service disciplines, as well as to community members invested in...
Blog Post
Can Changing How We Talk About Childhood Toxic Stress Influence Policy? [drexelnow.edu]
How do you get people to support public policies that help children thrive? Do you emphasize the possible health consequences of child abuse, or do you emphasize the financial consequences for society as a whole? If you focus on consequences, does this messaging have the unintended consequence of creating prejudices towards vulnerable children and their families? When it comes to informing and persuading, how we deliver a message matters as much as the message itself. With a $500,000 grant...
Blog Post
Case Statement on Trauma Informed Approaches
Attached is a Case Statement on Trauma Informed Approaches--it is a review of the Greater Harrisburg Area's and beyond's ACE scores, the outcomes of these ACEs and some ideas of how to resolve the negative consequences of this crisis of epidemic proportions. Please use it to advance the cause of moving from the bad news of ACEs towards the good news of becoming trauma informed and resilient. I would also welcome your comments, questions and recommendations! Thank you.
Blog Post
Cast Your Vote in the Scattergood Design Challenge Today!
Looking for some inspiration? Check out the 20 trauma-informed product ideas submitted to the Scattergood Foundation's Design Challenge and cast your vote by this Friday, February 13th. The winning idea will be crowdfunded by the Foundation...
Blog Post
Certificate of Advanced Studies in Trauma Counseling- Apply Now!
Philadelphia University Certificate of Advanced Studies in Trauma Counseling Philadelphia University’s Community and Trauma Counseling Program offers a 4-course certificate for master’s-level professionals. The Certificate of Advanced Studies in Trauma Counseling provides an advanced understanding of trauma theory, principles, tools and strategies that support trauma-informed practice with adults and children. A new cohort will begin late August with enrollment in the first course in the...
Blog Post
Certificate of Advanced Studies in Trauma Counseling- Apply Now!
Philadelphia University’s Community and Trauma Counseling program offers a 4-course certificate for master’s-level professionals. The Certificate of Advanced Studies in Trauma Counseling provides an advanced understanding of trauma theory, principles, tools and strategies that support trauma-informed practice with adults and children. A new cohort will begin Late August with enrollment in the first course in the program: Foundations of Trauma Counseling. Please find a complete list of...
Blog Post
Child Abuse and Epigenetics
"Increasingly, scientists are coming to realize that people’s experiences exert a strong influence on their biology by silencing genes or turning them back on, significantly changing the way a cell functions without changing its DNA sequence....
Blog Post
Child Homelessness: WHYY Radio Times Segment
Child homelessness is more of an issue than ever with a recent report by The National Center on Family Homelessness citing that 1 in 30 children in America were homeless during 2013, an 8% national increase from 2012. While many...
Blog Post
Childhood Trauma and Its Effects: Implications for Police
Another great piece shared by Philadelphia Taskforce member, Risa Mandell. By Richard G. Dudley, Jr., M.D. Repeated exposure to traumatic events during childhood can have dramatic and long-lasting effects. During the past 20 years, there has been an...
Blog Post
Childhood Trauma makes Policy discussions on a National & International Scale
In an effort to become more educated about adverse childhood experiences , trauma , and resilience and what is happening surrounding those topics in current events, I registered for Google Alerts for each of the aforementioned headings. As a...