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Setting healthy boundaries is one of the most popular and important topics that clients and readers ask me about. Stefanie Flores, of The Focus on You , is equally passionate about healthy boundaries. We know boundaries are important, but why do we need strong boundaries? What happens when you don’t establish boundaries? In her guest post, Stefanie explains the long-term consequences of weak or inconsistent boundaries. [For more of this story, written by Sharon Martin, go to ...

Adrian Silva, 52, is a sober addict who spent most of his adulthood getting high and cycling through jails in Southern California. We recently met in a Santa Ana Starbucks to talk about his drug use—which continued even while he was in jail —his criminal past, and the redemption he found at the Orange County Community Court’s drug program. An edited version of our conversation follows. [For more of this story, written by Juleyka Lantigua-Williams, go to ...

It’s an understatement to say that Jennifer Roberts has had a tumultuous time since her election last November as mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina. When Republican Governor Pat McCrory (ironically a former Charlotte mayor) and the Republican-controlled state legislature passed HB2, a measure to overturn a Charlotte city-council ordinance that added gays and transgender people to the city’s anti-discrimination laws, a battle ensued—one that has riveted national attention, polarized the...

I love the healing power of yoga for easing trauma symptoms. My first moments of pleasure while present happened in a yoga class. I've written lots on this healing modality for trauma survivors. Unfortunately, not all yoga classes are taught by those who are trauma-informed. Some great yoga teachers are doing great and teaching others to use use trauma-informed teaching styles. However, lots of yoga teachers still touch students, during class, without asking. Some to do to help with postures...

Many LGBTQ people are feeling vulnerable in light of the mass shooting in Orlando, ongoing battles for equity in laws and culture, and mental health and other supports that are not always sensitive to their life experience and needs; however, many LGTBQ people, including people of color facing multiple intersecting forms of oppression and toxic stress are also creating and living creative resilience, wellness, and self-care practices to keep going. Here is a series of brief interviews on...

“You can go to medical school in Iceland or Canada or the United States or Britain, and never hear the word ‘trauma,’” he says. “We just learn about diseases, as if they were the problem.” Writer, Isaac Würmann's full article.

A new study from Japan shows that children who receive positive attention and care from their parents have high incomes, high happiness levels, academic success, and a strong sense of morality. Researchers, led by Dr. Kazuo Nishimura, a project professor at the Kobe University Center for Social Systems Innovation, and Dr. Tadashi Yagi, a professor at the Doshisha University Faculty of Economics, conducted an online survey in January 2016 to discover the effects of parenting methods in Japan.

The idea that new babies are empty vessels waiting to be filled with knowledge of the world around them doesn’t sound unreasonable. With their unfocused eyes and wrinkly skin, tiny humans sometimes look more like amoebas than complex beings. Yet scientists have built a body of evidence, particularly over the last three decades, that suggests this is patently untrue. “When kids are born, they’re already little scientists exploring the world,” said the filmmaker Estela Renner via a video...

When someone decides to embark on healing from adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and/or when concerned loved ones of a survivor want to help that person begin to heal, it can be confusing to know how to start. This last article in the series focuses on finding the best healing resources. It is a slice of all the resources available to someone and does not represent either endorsement or rejection of any particular source. Many of the resources listed here provide links to still other...

This state has a reputation for experimentation. It often leads the United States in adopting practices that profoundly change the country’s approach to public policy. It is also a national leader in restorative-justice practices, thanks to its numerous specialty courts, where offenders avoid prison time and earn second chances if they commit to an intensive rehabilitation program. I recently spent a week at the Orange County Community Court , which houses multiple specialty courts. The...

[Photo by danna § curious tangles ] The brains of teenagers with serious antisocial behaviour problems differ significantly in structure to those of their peers, providing the clearest evidence to date that their behaviour stems from changes in brain development in early life, according to new research led by the University of Cambridge and the University of Southampton, in collaboration with the University of Rome "Tor Vergata" in Italy. In a study published in the Journal of Child...

A strong and prosperous Tennessee depends on the health and well-being of all children. Science shows brain development begins before birth, with the first three years serving as an especially intense period of brain development. Experiences in this critical early period literally shape the architecture of the brain and establish a sturdy or fragile foundation for all of the development and behavior that follows. Quality early childhood programs like evidence-based home visiting provide...