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What are the defining characteristics of good psychotherapy? Increasingly, the answers are filtered through the lens of incomplete research or, worse, via buzzwords popularized by wellness websites. Despite what many people are led to believe, “evidence-based” psychotherapeutic approaches have significant limitations for both clinicians and clients. On this episode of Transforming Trauma, Emily welcomes author, consultant, researcher, and clinical educator Jonathan Shedler, PhD, to discuss...

Are you curious about creating a more compassionate and understanding environment in your organization? We've got something exciting for you! We've put together resources and courses to help all organizational staff develop a shared language, understand stress and trauma, connect the role of resilience in response to adversity and trauma, and identify ways everyone in the organization can support trauma-informed care and implement trauma-informed approaches. This collaborative effort between...

Christina Bethell, Ph.D, MBA, MPH, founder of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI), principal author of the groundbreaking study on positive childhood experiences, and creator of the free Well Visit Planner, among other innovations. Two internationally-respected leaders and innovators in complementary aspects of early relational health and childhood and maternal health equity recently launched a partnership they believe will benefit everyone from newborn babies and...

Can empathetic, healing centered workplaces change the entire culture of a community? A nation? What would a healing centered workplace look like, offer, and change? Katherine Manning, author of “The Empathetic Workplace - Five Steps to a Compassionate, Calm, and Confident Response to Trauma on the Job ” joins, Mathew Portell, PACEs Connection director of education and outreach, and Carey Sipp, director of strategic partnerships, to discuss what it would take to create empathetic,...

The Trauma Informed Health Care Education and Research (TIHCER) Collaborative presents, Orientation to the Brain Story and Resilience Scale The Palix Foundation, through the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative, developed the Resilience Scale Metaphor as a means of communicating the key messages of The Brain Story more effectively. Resilience can be defined as the ability to respond positively in the face of adversity. The metaphor depicts how our positive and negative experiences exist in a...

Viewpoint July 31, 2023 Seeking a Balanced View of Child Protective Services Howard Dubowitz, MD, MS 1 ; Richard P. Barth, PhD, MSW 1 Author Affiliations Article Information JAMA Pediatr. 2023;177(10):991-992. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.2578 A s professionals working closely with child protective services (CPS) for many years, we are well aware of its shortcomings, particularly undertrained and overwhelmed staff who may inadequately protect children and serve families as mandated by...

By Tyreasa Washington and Brittany P. Mihalec-Adkins, Photo: from article, Child Trends, September 27, 2023 Children and youth who successfully learn how to read, write, and perform basic math skills are more likely to go to college , find good jobs, and attain financial security in adulthood —all of which support their overall well-being across the lifespan. Unfortunately, many children in out-of-home care (OOHC) have academic difficulties—including with basic elements related to core...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) hugs Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) as they speak at a news conference in September 2023 on the launch of the American Climate Corps outside the U.S. Capitol. Credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images. By Aynsley O'Neill, Inside Climate News, September 30, 2023 AYNSLEY O’NEILL: In the throes of the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps to put more than 3 million men to work. At state and national parks across...

At Rutgers Dental School, Holocaust survivor Yelena Olshansky receives free treatment from professor of restorative dentistry Peter L. DeSciscio and Ivan Alkhwekhi. (courtesy) By Matt Lebovic, The Times of Israel, October 2, 2023 When Holocaust survivors walk into the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine for care, some of them say it feels like spending time with their grandchildren. In October 2020, Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine (RSDM) and Dr.

By Wendy L. Patrick, Photo: Silvia/Pixabay, Psychology Today, September 29, 2023 Most people are familiar with the use of website chatbots to assist customers with questions that arise when navigating online, including activities like booking travel, researching issues, and other common virtual endeavors. But what about when an individual in crisis needs “someone” to talk to? Researchers have already been actively exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots within digital...

Visionary social systems scholar Riane Eisler at her home in Carmel, Calif. Credit: Don Eddy By Madhusree Mukerjee, Scientific American, September 28, 2023 Why are some societies warlike, and why are some peaceable? New scholarship suggests that societies can be arranged in a spectrum ranging from domination-based to partnership-based. Every relationship in a dominator society, whether between parent and child, husband and wife, political leader and citizen or citizen and noncitizen, is...

Do you notice yourself second-guessing most people? Is the lack of trust you feel with others impacting your relationships? Did you know that lack of trusting others can be a trauma response? Do you worry that your trauma responses are getting in the way of healing? Do you feel your inability to trust people is holding you back? Trouble trusting can be a familiar struggle on the road to recovery from complex trauma . And if you’re wondering about this, you’re not alone! Today we’re going to...