The five city bus tour to raise awareness for a new diagnosis for childhood trauma and share a hope for healing is underway. The public-private collaboration between Calo Programs, ATTACh, ATN and the American Adoption Congress has completed campaigns in Minneapolis and Chicago to healthy and enthusiastic crowds. This week they have stops in Boston, Philly and Washington DC. To learn more go to www.endchildhoodtrauma.com.
It is time for youth justice reformers to stop and take stock of how we pursue justice. The racial disparities that pervade our youth justice systems from beginning to end are not random occurrences. Rather, youth justice reformers can directly track the development of our justice policies to government control of populations largely seen as “other” by the white majority. As such, our work to shrink the system is insufficient if we do not fully confront the racist roots of the youth justice...
On a fall foliage-filled Saturday before Election Day 2017, sixteen people got together in a suburban church basement just outside Washington, D.C. to hash out their political differences for seven hours. They started at 10 a.m.; they had a lot of ground to cover. “In my house, we’ve trained my granddaughter to yell ‘no politics’ when someone mentions Trump or Obama,” said Paul Roche, a retired financial consultant. The group laughed, but it underscored the fear that brought folks here for a...
Britain’s most socially excluded groups are 10 times more likely to die early than the general population, according to analysis showing inequality is more pronounced than is documented. Its lead author said the disparity exposed “something toxic in our society”. The findings, published in the Lancet and described as the most comprehensive assessment conducted into levels of mortality inequality , reveal women in socially excluded groups are 12 times more likely to die than other women of...
An experienced kindergarten teacher contacted me the other day. She reported that she and teachers in her district have seen a spike in children entering kindergarten having suffered trauma. Distraught, she said that she and her colleagues are not trained to meet these children’s needs, and there are not enough services in the schools to help. This phenomenon is sadly not unique. The New York Council of School Superintendents recently issued the results of its annual survey. In 2017, for the...
Do you ever wish you could be less affected when difficult things happen in your life? Challenging life circumstances, like a lay-off, marital problems, or severe financial difficulties, can take their toll on anyone. But if you grew up with parents who weren’t able to provide you with the emotional attention and validation you needed (Childhood Emotional Neglect, or CEN), you may struggle even more. And there are some very good reasons for that. First I want to tell you about an important...
Sunday, October 8th, 9:30 p.m., Santa Rosa, California. My wife Janet and I are at the home of two longtime friends, watching television and chatting, when we all hear a powerful gust of wind and a weird popping, like power transformers exploding somewhere in the distance. Janet and I drive home, smelling smoke. Tree branches litter the roads. Janet calls the fire department; she is told there is fire in the hills outside of town and that she should hang up the phone unless she has an...
The day Dr. Roberto Montenegro finished his Ph.D. was memorable. But not for the right reasons. "I still cringe when I think about it," says Montenegro. It had started well. His colleagues at UCLA had taken him and his girlfriend (now wife) out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate. "I was dressed up in the fanciest suit I had at the time and my wife looked beautiful, like always," he says. "We laughed and we ate and we were excited we didn't have to pay for this." For related stories, please...
Charterhouse School (UMFS - Richmond), is seeking a PRN therapist. 15hours per week - (November-April) Candidate must have experience working with high school youth affected by trauma. Email me fore more information. Apply online @www.umfs.org
Cissy's note: I will always think of my father on Veteran's Day. My feelings and thoughts will probably always be complex and that's just how life after ACEs can be. I've made peace with that. It's not only grief either, it's just the reality of being human and the texture and details that going along with that which are both unique and universal at the same time. I wrote this piece two years ago and before I found out that he died. The photo of my actual father is not from the article. It's...
Addressing the long term affects of trauma has staggering implications. An emerging body of approaches showing success for working with the long term psychological and physical effects of adverse events continue to offer hope. One of those therapeutic interventions that is showing great promise and has been growing in use for the past decade is something called Matrix Reimprinting (MR).
After successfully reducing expulsions in its K-12 schools , California is now moving to restrict the practice with even younger children — at the preschool level. To that end, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation last month that bars state-subsidized preschool programs from expelling kids unless an exhaustive process aimed at supporting the child and family is followed first. Children can be expelled from preschool as a result of any number of aggressive behaviors that could jeopardize the...
The sexual harassment began in 1994, Paula Purdy says, shortly after she started work as a corrections officer at the Denver County Jail. Colleagues made demeaning comments about her body. One male captain made her so uncomfortable she avoided him. But the worst abuse came from inmates, who would make sexual remarks and masturbate at her as she did rounds in their housing areas. Purdy says she reported the behavior to her bosses, but there were few consequences. “I would get emotional at...
It’s been a terrible week. You barely checked off any tasks on your to-do list, and nothing went the way you wanted it to. You’re finally able to sit on the couch and savor a tall glass of wine—or three. Your toddler finally fell asleep after yelling nonstop for 30 minutes about…you can’t recall. You have some peace and quiet—and can drink your wine. After all, you deserve it after the day you’ve had. You’ve been worrying about so many things lately, so you jump at the chance to meet your...
“Things get broken, and sometimes they get repaired, and in most cases, you realize no matter what gets damaged, life rearranges itself to compensate for your loss, sometimes wonderfully.” – Hanya Yanagihar Post-traumatic growth is the recognition that however horrific our experiences, we as human beings have incredible ability to adapt, survive and integrate, to grow stronger… and then turn around and use that experience to help others. This has caused Echo to change the way we teach about...