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The city of Springfield, Massachusetts, has had a serendipitous sequence of events supercharge its preschool-expansion efforts. Federal money came in just as local support for early-childhood education crested, and the closure of an early-childhood center created an opening for the school district to buy an existing facility. The federal money, offered to Springfield and four other Massachusetts communities through the Preschool Expansion Grant program, enabled 195 new seats to go to...

This April 24th article published by the Commonwealth Fund is timely and a must-read. It highlights the challenges of engaging, treating, and supporting persons with multiple, complex, chronic health conditions (defined as three or more health conditions, often including mental health). It supports what the Hogg Foundation believes in: integrated health care, team-based care, care coordination and relationships . In short, treating people with respect, dignity and worth. [For more of this...

A large new study from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium provides the first molecular genetic evidence that genetic influences play a role in the risk of getting Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after trauma. The report extends previous findings that showed that there is some shared genetic overlap between PTSD and other mental disorders such as schizophrenia. It also finds that genetic risk for PTSD is strongest among women . The study was published online April 25, 2017 in Molecular...

In separate, rousing talks Wednesday night, two refugee activists told an audience filled with influential scientists and big thinkers that all the strides in technology have done little to enhance our humanity and that the onus was now on them to help solve the refugee crisis. “I believe the biggest question in the 21st century concerns our duty to strangers,” said David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee. “The world is more connected than ever before, yet the great...

The public life of Rodney King begins on March 3, 1991, when the African-American man was clubbed and kicked relentlessly by a gang of LAPD officers during a traffic stop. It ends on June 17, 2012, when he was found dead in his swimming pool at age 47. The autopsy showed that an “ alcohol and drug-induced delirium ” led to his drowning. Before that point, he had been revolving in and out of rehab for substance abuse, a problem he attributed to trauma from the beating he took from cops. His...

Our local community foundation has awarded me a year-long fellowship to delve into the topics of trauma, trauma-informed communities and resilience. Part of the fellowship includes a 3-week trip I'm currently on to visit agencies and communities that have done some in-depth work to implement trauma-informed care, to learn all I can from them to take back to our own community in Lancaster County, PA. I am blogging about each of the places I visit and thought the ACES Connection community...

Over the last dozen years or so, many pediatricians, astounded by the ramifications of the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on the children they care for, began integrating this science into their practices. The most common approach has been to ask parents about ACEs using a questionnaire, and to use this information to counsel parents and identify resources for the family. Different practices have been using different questionnaires: Some ask parents for their ACE scores...

On November 23, the morning after his home was drawn into a different school zone, Mark Gonsalves slipped out of his office in Midtown Manhattan and rode the subway to the Upper West Side. He met his wife outside a tan-brick building on West 61st Street. It was P.S. 191. Together, they entered the school’s library, a sparse room with butterfly stickers pasted to the wall and wooden shelves full of donated books. A promotional video was playing. It showed children of different races smiling...

Mood swings and sudden changes in behavior can be a normal part of growing up, often starting in the tween years. But they can also signal substance abuse. They're among the signs that parents should look for if they're concerned that their child might be using drugs. Other signs include sudden changes in his or her relationships with family and friends. The child might stop caring about how he or she looks. Parents might notice changes in personal habits, like always locking a bedroom door...

By now, you have probably heard about Kalief Browder. Kalief spent three years in Rikers Island, two of them in solitary confinement, before charges against him were eventually dropped. He was 16 years old. Reports indicate that he was assaulted by correctional officers on camera and denied mental health services. After his release, the depression and flashbacks caused by these experiences led Kalief to take his own life. While his story is tragic, it is not unique. Youth placed in adult...

Teen angst has morphed into epidemic levels of suffering! How might we help our youth transform their pain into potential and go from trauma to growth? The wisdom traditions suggest that we may be most effective in promoting growth and change when we start with ourselves. When you come to this seminar, you'll experience self-compassion practices first hand. You may find that you can be transformed with self-compassion and how to share it with the teens you love and care for. Please join me,...

By Daniel Champer, LCPC, Intermountain Clinical Manager of School Based Service s A quick internet search of the phrase “mushroom cloud” reveals that the technical definition of the phenomena is “a distinctive pyro-cumulus mushroom-shaped cloud of debris and usually condensed water vapor resulting from a large explosion.” The phrase will also conjure up frightening descriptions related to 1950’s nuclear trials and WWII documentaries. The aforementioned imagery is pretty universal. Yet, for...