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This episode continues to explore Matt’s journey into HRV! Conditioned fear responses and learning safety cues are critical components of both the etiology of trauma-related dysfunction and recovery from traumatic experiences. Can inter-individual differences in physiological measures predict our ability to extinguish conditioned fear responses and to learn new safety cues? In this episode, Matt, Jerry & Curt discuss an article describing a study that asked these very questions. ...

Today is Pink Shirt Day, a day to remind us adults of a child's need for safe and nurturing environments , including the children who have difficulty regulating their emotions. Here is a great article to help us understand the needs of children with bullying behaviours. ------------- "One of the most effective ways to increase the vulnerability of a bully and bring down emotional defenses is through the caring relationship with adults. It will fall to these adults to find a way to cultivate...

There is something unfair that happens when you’ve survived traumatic times. Even when the abuse wasn’t in any way your fault, people stop trusting you. You get abused and they don’t trust you. And you might think this is just because they were horrible people who don’t understand — and sometimes they don’t… But when you look a little deeper, there are some very real signals you might be sending. Living through trauma has a way of leaving scars on you that influence your perception, and they...

By Washington Post Live, The Washington Post, February 19, 2021 As California surpasses New York in the number of deaths due to COVID-19, the state continues to grapple with vaccine shortages, disparities in immunizations, and the rapid spread of coronavirus mutations. California Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris, MD, who advises the governor on matters of public health, joins Washington Post Live for a discussion focused on the state of California’s battle with COVID-19. She’ll discuss...

By John Myers and Michael Hendrix, Bloomberg City Lab, February 19, 2021 When Sacramento proposed changing its zoning rules to allow four homes on land that had permitted just one, something remarkable happened: The reform passed city council, unanimously, with little of the outrage over new housing that’s long haunted California politics. The public comments were overwhelmingly supportive. Politicians lined up to praise the measure, which passed this January — even San Francisco Mayor...

By Kate Gonzales, The Imprint, February 17, 2021 California will provide additional cash benefits to low-income residents battered by the pandemic — including working poor families, children and parents on welfare and undocumented immigrants who are elderly, blind or disabled. On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced a deal with top state legislators that will send one-time stimulus payments of $600 and $1,200 to millions of Californians in the coming weeks, residents who “have borne...

By Anna J. Egalite, Education Next, February 23, 2021 On the weekend before the Fourth of July 1966, the U.S. Office of Education quietly released a 737-page report that summarized one of the most comprehensive studies of American education ever conducted. Encompassing some 3,000 schools, nearly 600,000 students, and thousands of teachers, and produced by a team led by Johns Hopkins University sociologist James S. Coleman, “Equality of Educational Opportunity” was met with a palpable...

By Gary W. Harper and Leah C. Neubauer, Pedagogy Health Promot., February 23, 2021 *full article available 1 March2021 Abstract Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) realities have demanded that educators move swiftly to adopt new ways of teaching, advising, and mentoring. We suggest the centering of a trauma-informed approach to education and academic administration during the COVID-19 pandemic using the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) guidance on...

Quite often, young mothers are afraid that any of their careless actions may provoke psychological trauma in the child. So I want to talk today about what trauma is and when it occurs. There are four key signs of childhood trauma. These are numbness, hyperexcitation, constriction, and dissociation. I'll explain what it is so that it is clear when something happens to a child. When a child is injured, he tends to change a lot. Suppose a child was very frightened - a dog rushed at him. And you...

was aware of what experiencing trauma did to my patients’ bodies and minds, but did I understand the impact it had on me? As a medical educator, could I mentor learners if I didn’t understand this myself? Listening to accounts of injury, pain, and societal injustice can be countered by the privilege and joy of accompanying our patients on their often slow, sometimes tortuous journey toward healing.

While Americans agree that child abuse and neglect is unacceptable and are more likely than ever to consider child development an important policy issue, it can be difficult to build the public understanding and political will we need to effectively prevent, identify, and address childhood adversity. As communicators, we still encounter persistent dilemmas in deciding what to say, how to say it, and what to leave unsaid. Understanding the need for fresh, powerful framing strategies, Prevent...

On Feb. 22, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Budget approved legislation that is the product of the work of nine committees to bring the Administration’s American Rescue Plan—the $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package—closer to reality by March 14 when unemployment benefits expire for millions of Americans. The Budget Committee released the text of the 591-page bill and a short report making the case for COVID relief and the economic impact of the pandemic ( click here for...