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I had a tremendous amount of response from many of you to my blog post last week about TRE (tension, stress & trauma release exercise) . So I’ve decided to continue with that theme this week! There are lots of benefits to TRE, but the main reason I love it is because it helped me realize the complex relationship between my muscles, brain, and nervous system. These three kept me safe as a child, and they have continued to protect me during the dark, messy parts of my healing journey. TRE...

Every medicine has the possibility of harmful side effects, but for painkillers like OxyContin and Percocet, that potential is perhaps more dramatic than most. So you might think that, when prescribing such drugs, doctors select their patients carefully. But, according to new research, that’s not the case. A growing body of studies finds that those with mental-health diagnoses such as anxiety, depression, alcohol and other drug addictions, and even opioid addictions are far more likely than...

Every day an estimated 1,500 family members and friends of those incarcerated on New York’s Rikers Island visit their loved ones. The only way on and off the island for visitors is to take the Q100 bus across the bridge. For several months, Queen-based photographer Salvador Espinoza rode the bus back and forth, documenting the stories of the people, mostly women and children, who visit the more than 10,000 people who are detained each day at the jail. He recently exhibited his photography,...

[Scroll down to see English translation]. National Council colaboró con el Fondo Nacional de Beneficio Comunitario de Kaiser Permanente para producir "Hay esperanza después del sufrimiento", un póster promocional que alienta a los sobrevivientes de traumas a buscar servicios de terapia y apoyo a fin de llevar una vida más plena y más saludable. Hoy, estamos felices de anunciar que el póster está disponible en español . Los proveedores de atención de las comunidades Latinos pueden enfrentar...

The US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) should be commended for its attempt to provide a basic understanding of recovery-oriented care, and its attempt to bring recovery-oriented practice into the mainstream of professional practice. To that end, it has produced a series of online training modules for peers, social workers, nurses, psychologists and psychiatrists. It has done this in collaboration with related national professional and peer organizations. I...

Henry Soto worked for Microsoft’s online-safety team, in Seattle, for eight years. He reviewed objectionable material on Microsoft’s products—Bing, the cloud-storage service OneDrive, and Xbox Live among them—and decided whether to delete it or report it to the police. Each day, Soto looked at thousands of disturbing images and videos, which included depictions of killings and child abuse. Particularly traumatic was a video of a girl being sexually abused and then murdered. The work took a...

Another meeting is coming up at work, and you’re dreading it. Like so many professionals — probably many more than you realize  —  it’s not a comfortable environment for you. Maybe you’re shy, introverted, or you genuinely enjoy listening to others’ ideas. Perhaps it’s important to you to show respect by deferring to the leaders at the table. Situational factors can play a part, too. Certain co-workers may dominate the discussion, not allowing you to get a word in edgewise. Whatever the...

His radio debut may have been only a few months ago, but in that time Philip, a young man with a broad grin and a genial delivery that holds your attention, has come a long way. “When I listen [to my early shows], I can hear that I was a bit overexuberant. Now, I take my time and make sure that my recording levels are right, that things fade in and out correctly,” he says. Philip’s progress from novice to accomplished broadcaster is exactly what you would expect of a keen intern on a...

A tally across L.A. County's public and charter schools counted nearly 63,000 homeless students last school year, 2015-2016. That’s about a 17 percent jump from the prior school year's count of 54,000 kids. "Even though we're supposed to be in a better place, financially as a country, that hasn't really rolled down to our families," said Melissa Schoonmaker, homeless liaison with the L.A. County Office of Education, which collects the numbers. A fraction of the rise, she said, could be...

Many reasons have been offered for the increasing polarization of political attitudes . Now, a new study uncovers a different, more personal catalyst for moving to the far left or right. It finds people who have experienced significant adversity in their lives are more likely to gravitate toward an extreme spot on the ideological spectrum. This appears to be an example of “ compensatory affirmation ” — the widely reported tendency of people to respond to uncertainty or fear by clinging more...

Excerpt from this blog post, which I wrote earlier today: "This past week has been brutal, in terms of what has been coming across my newsfeed. And 2016 wasn't exactly a picnic either. So lately I've been thinking a lot about the mental health impact of a steady avalanche of Really Bad News. Many of us (myself included) deal with mental health challenges on a daily basis and being fed a steady diet of devastating world events only serves to make that harder. So I've decided to share a few...

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and Diana Rauner, President of Ounce of Prevention Fund _____________________________________________ Consistent with being the first state to adopt standards for social emotional learning (SEL) in the country, Illinois recently passed legislation (SB 565, Public Act 99-0927 ) to require social and emotional screenings for children as part of the their school entry examinations. Governor Rauner (R) signed the bill on January 20. It goes into effect June 1 of...