Blog

Eighteen months ago, sudden school closures left students throughout the Lehigh Valley struggling with previously unimaginable challenges. Covid-19 stole their classrooms, in-person relationships with teachers, and crucial social skill learning time with their peers, leaving an unprecedented traumatic experience in its wake. Additionally, more than 140,000 children in the U.S. lost a primary or secondary caregiver in a pandemic-associated death, further traumatizing many. To help students...

The Dibble Institute is pleased to present an introductory webinar by Rev. Dr. Bryant T. Marks Sr. of the National Training Institute on Race and Equity , which will provide foundational information on implicit bias. It will focus at the individual level and discuss how implicit bias affects everyone. Strategies to reduce or manage implicit bias will be discussed. Broadly speaking, group-based bias involves varying degrees of stereotyping (exaggerated beliefs about others), prejudice...

Please join Resilient Lehigh Valley for a virtual lunch and learn featuring keynote speaker, Dr. Shawn Ginwright. Dr. Ginwright will be presenting on healing-centered relationship building with youth of color. Wednesday, October 27, 2021 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. Virtual Register Now! Dr. Shawn Ginwright is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Flourish Agenda, Inc. , a national nonprofit consulting firm, whose mission is to design strategies that unlock the power of healing and engage youth of...

The pandemic has had a lasting effect on youth mental health. Moved by a desire to reduce youth’s toxic stress and increase their resilience, The Dibble Institute, in partnership with a team of students and alumni from ArtCenter College of Design and author Carolyn Curtis, PhD, is releasing Me & My Emotions —a new, free adaptation of our beloved Mind Matters Curriculum. The mobile-friendly Me & My Emotions website features engaging graphics and bite-sized lessons teens can access and...

The pandemic has had a lasting effect on youth mental health. Moved by a desire to reduce youth’s toxic stress and increase their resilience, The Dibble Institute, in partnership with a team of students and alumni from ArtCenter College of Design and author Carolyn Curtis, PhD, is releasing Me & My Emotions —a new, free adaptation of our beloved Mind Matters Curriculum. The mobile-friendly Me & My Emotions website features engaging graphics and bite-sized lessons teens can access and...

Paxinosa Elementary School (Easton Area School District) is a community school supported by Communities in Schools Lehigh Valley, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley (UWGLV) and Crayola, Inc. As a community school, Paxinosa focuses on addressing the holistic needs of the child and family through before and after school programs, family services and events, and providing basic needs like food, clothing and health services for students. Principal Elise Jones knew the profound impact that...

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), like experiencing child abuse or witnessing domestic violence, are some of the most intense sources of stress that children can experience. This toxic stress produces an abundance of stress hormones that can rewire a child’s brain and body, causing cognitive and social delays and long-term health concerns. Along with immediate health and educational effects, ACEs have also been linked to higher rates of damaging behaviors, like smoking, excessive alcohol...

A webinar offered by the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP) Thursday, September 30, 1:30 - 3:00 pm EDT Register today . Addressing the mental health needs of child care providers and children in care is vital in the face of the pandemic, a population-level traumatic event. CTIPP is offering a "plug and play" framework to ease the process of developing a continuum of training, reflective coaching, and consultation to build the capacity for supporting relational health...

Becky Antle, Ph.D., Professor of Social Work and esteemed University Scholar at the University of Louisville, won The Dibble Institute’s national competition to evaluate Mind Matters: Overcoming Adversity and Building Resilience in 2019. As a result, Dr. Antle and her colleagues have conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine the impact of Mind Matters on a host of outcomes related to trauma symptoms, emotional regulation, coping and resiliency, and interpersonal skills for at-risk...

Resilient LV is a cross-sector coalition dedicated to creating a trauma informed and resilient Lehigh Valley by: Providing trauma awareness and trauma-informed practices training to any and all interested agencies and community groups. Creating a community awareness campaign to raise awareness of trauma, its impact on brain development and tips on building resilience. Sharing best practices in trauma-informed care and resiliency-building strategies Advocating for trauma-informed legislation,...

Register for A Better Normal- Our reckoning with race and equity at ACEs Connection

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.