Blog

The most common reactions I get when I mention the word "trauma" to other people with chronic illness are shame, fear or rage that stem from having been told - by our society, by a doctor, by a family member or friend or coworker - that it means symptoms are all in their heads. I still regularly read or hear from people with chronic diseases of all kinds that their physicians, nursing staff or other health care professionals have disbelieved or belittled them, or whispered behind their backs...

Chris Warwick worked in the field of domestic violence and victim rights for over 30 years and immediately understood the link between her work and the work of Peace4Tarpon. Chris has been a member of Peace4Tarpon and on the Board from the very beginning. Active on the Marketing and Outreach Team, Chris was also on the Community Outreach Action Team and traveled to Buncombe County North Carolina to experience the trauma-informed work being done there. She is a dedicated and passionate...

Esther Perel has a podcast https://www.estherperel.com/podcast with 19 different one-time sessions with couples. I was impressed with her technique and perceptiveness working with her couples. One of the sessions called "You Need Help to Help Her" with a couple who were dealing with their daughter's mental illness particularly moved me. As good as Esther's skill is, it is a "top down" type of therapy, cognitive. In a session called "Leaving the Shame Behind", she seems to believe that...

Michael Skinner, live performance @ Survivor Knights 3-24-19 video 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1J7llqObqw&feature=youtu.be Live performance of "Pirates" and "When Your Heart Follows A Lie", brand new tune!! for the Survivor Knights Event @ The Rotunda, Philadelphia PA March 2019 More info @ http://www.mskinnermusic.com/home/music/album-pirates/ & http://www.mskinnermusic.com/home/

By USDA, July 16, 2019 WASHINGTON, July 16, 2019 – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced today the award of more than $9 million in USDA Farm to School Program grants that will increase the amount of healthy, local f oods served in school s and c reate economic opportunities for nearby farmers. This year marks an all-time high of funding and projects in the program, with grants supporting 126 selected projects across 42 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. These...

By Aubrey Whelan and Jeremy Roebuck , The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 11, 2019. The top law enforcement officials in seven states and the District of Columbia are saying that states should be allowed to open supervised injection sites to help stop overdose deaths, and that the federal government should not interfere with such public health programs. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed in the federal lawsuit against Safehouse, the nonprofit planning to open a site in Philadelphia, attorneys...

By How Housing Matters, July 17, 2019. Nearly 50 percent of Medicaid costs are driven by only about 4 percent of Medicaid enrollees, primarily adults who are elderly, living in unstable housing, or have a mental illness, chronic medical condition, or substance use disorder. In response to rapidly rising Medicaid expenditures, there has been an increased focus on identifying strategies to better meet the needs and reduce the health care costs of this high-use population. Permanent supportive...

The experience of trauma leads to or exacerbates mental illnesses, substance use, and physical health conditions, making it a vital component of any effective treatment plan. A trauma-informed care framework involves real-time strategies to promote staff and organizational wellness and equip organizations to retain their staff, reduce the number of critical incidents, and increase client engagement in their care. This white paper from Relias discusses the 5 key components in implementing and...

By Kurt Smith, Psych Central, June 11, 2019. Daily we all experience a variety of emotions. Certain things make us happy, others sad. We may see certain people and feel love, or see other people who make us angry. And although most of us don’t go around discussing each emotion we are feeling, we aren’t really thinking about hiding them either. There is, however, one emotion that people sometimes feel and go to great lengths to avoid discussing, showing or admitting. Shame. Shame is a painful...

By K. Hecht, A. Hosack, & P. Berman I must tell Davy the truth. Why did I say it was a surprise? Now he is expecting something like a birthday party. What was I thinking? It had been a regular day to start. Everything had gone smoothly getting Davy off to school. The day at work had been long but Claire hadn’t had any difficult people to work with. She came home tired, ready for dinner and then a bouncy excited Davy had hugged her, looked up and asked, “Do I have a daddy?” Claire had...

By Claudia Rankine, The New York Times, July 18, 2019. In the early days of the run-up to the 2016 election, I was just beginning to prepare a class on whiteness to teach at Yale University, where I had been newly hired. Over the years, I had come to realize that I often did not share historical knowledge with the persons to whom I was speaking. “What’s redlining?” someone would ask. “George Washington freed his slaves?” someone else would inquire. But as I listened to Donald Trump’s...

with Author, Carolyn Rich Curtis, Ph.D. 8:30 AM–5:00 PM $399 for 2-day Intensive Training CEUs are available for an additional charge. Each trainee must have a copy of Mind Matters ($299 plus tax (CA and SD only) plus S/H) As a result of this training , you will learn to teach: Self-soothing skills to manage emotions Ways to analyze stressful thoughts How to deal with intrusive memories Ways to develop a protective lifestyle And you, as an instructor, will learn . . . How to provide a safe...