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By Emine Saner, Illustration: Fran Pulido/The Guardian, The Guardian, March 12, 2023 When I was studying as an undergraduate, almost 30 years ago, I was taught that the human brain stops developing in childhood. But that is wrong. Now that we have the technology to look inside the living human brain and track changes in its structure and function across a lifespan, we know that the brain continues to develop substantially throughout adolescence and into early adulthood. We define adolescence...

By Alissa Quart, Illustration: Paola Saliby, The New York Times, March9, 2023 From a child's earliest age, independence is extolled as a virtue, with “doing things on your own” as proof of maturity. I celebrated my daughter when she was little for picking out her books herself. She always wanted to go on the monkey bars without help and swung and did tricks until her hands were blistered. Now that she’s 12, I cheer her for taking herself home from school on the train and for climbing by...

Week three in the "Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks" series... examining whether or not Jesus' ministry was trauma-informed. In this message, Pastor Chris looks at the two-fold aspect of Jesus' ministry: a call to individuals and a call to change the culture, our communities, and affect positive outcomes for those who are hurting and marginalized. Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks is the ground-breaking trauma-informed 8-week Bible study that was written in 2017 to introduce ministries to...

Proper nutrition is a key ingredient in rewiring your clients traumatized neural pathways. Yet, research shows that nutrition is not part of trauma treatment. In fact, Nutrition and trauma are on two different planets. Join Dr. Scott Sells on April 12 from 12 - 1 pm ET to learn an FST (Family Systems Trauma) Nutritional Self-Assessment Handout to help talk to your families about nutrition and its potential benefits through a nutritional brain change. Dr. Sells will share a case study using...

Trauma-informed leaders know that healthy boundaries are essential for healthy relationships—in and out of work. But setting and reinforcing your boundaries can be challenging when you haven’t had a lot of practice. That’s why we’ve provided these boundary phrases to help you maintain healthy relationships at work by saying no and setting expectations in a kind and trauma-informed way. As you read through these boundary phrases, keep in mind that not all phrases are right for all people or...

Sitting at the airport in Salt Lake City, two talks for the Idaho Head Start Association completed, I was glancing through the evaluations of my talks—95% were 8+. Whew. Apparently the topic—how asking for help as a single mother of two helped save my family and me—resonated with staff, teachers, and parents in the Head Start program in Idaho.

[Editor's note: Dr. Harise Stein at Stanford University edits a web site — abuseresearch.info — that focuses on the effects of abuse, and includes research articles on PACEs. Every month, she posts the summaries of the abstracts and links to research articles that address only ACEs, PCEs and PACEs. Thank you, Harise!! — Rafael Maravilla] LGBTQ Concerns Arayasirikul S, Turner CM, Hernandez CJ, et al. Transphobic Adverse Childhood Experiences as a Determinant of Mental and Sexual Health for...

In honor of Women's History month, the entire month of March will be dedicated to the women creating a legacy in the worldwide PACEs movement. In this Thursday’s episode, Agnes Woodward uses her knowledge of historical trauma and the healing power of the arts to raise awareness of the adversity Indigenous women face. She also discusses how indigenous women can heal themselves, their families, and future generations. About Agnes Woodward: Beginning in 2013, Agnes Woodward often awakened in...

Registered nurse Jamie Simmons speaks with a patient during an appointment at the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center in Massachusetts. The patient, whose first name is Kim, says buprenorphine has helped her stay off heroin and avoid an overdose for nearly 20 years. Jesse Costa for KHN By Martha Bebinger, National Public Radio (NPR), March 6, 2023 For two decades — as opioid overdose deaths rose steadily — the federal government limited access to buprenorphine, a medication that...

By Alissa Quart, In 2022, after Maxwell Frost was elected to Congress at age 25, he announced he would be living with friends while saving money and looking for a place. When the Republican National Committee mocked him for couch surfing, Frost responded : “I don’t get my first paycheck till February and I don’t have a lot of money.” He was, he said , rebutting “the ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ people.” He is not the only member of the new Congress to reveal a modest financial...

By Jillian McKoy, Photo: From article, Boston University School of Public Health, March 10, 2023 Gun violence—and racial disparities in gun violence—have increased substantially during the pandemic, particularly among children. Now a new study led by a School of Public Health researcher shows just how stark these differences in risk of firearm injury are between White and non-White children. Published as a research letter in JAMA Network Open , the study examined gun injuries among children...

By Phillip Inman, Photo: Tetra Images/Getty Images, The Guardian, March 12, 2023 Large corporations have fuelled inflation with price increases that go beyond rising costs of raw materials and wages, pushing shopping bills to record highs, according to an analysis of hundreds of company accounts. Highlighting a trend dubbed “greedflation” , the research indicates that supermarkets, food manufacturers and shipping companies are among hundreds of major firms who have improved their profits and...