Blog

Davis, CA Mayor (and ACN member), Robb Davis writes about attending a recent trauma-informed law enforcement forum. I participated in a fascinating forum about “trauma-informed law enforcement” and before it began I wondered whose trauma we would be discussing: victims of crime, police, or other community members? It turns out the conversation was about all three, and I left wondering if trauma-based analysis might, perhaps, point to a way out of the mutual fear, and the attendant hostility...

Review: The Influential Mind: What the Brain Reveals About Our Power to Change Others. By Tali Sharot. Henry Holt. 231 pages. 978-1627792653 Facts alone don’t change people’s minds or behavior. Emotions do. That’s the basic takeaway from cognitive neuroscientist Tali Sharot’s highly accessible exploration of why and how we succeed, or fail, in our quest to influence, persuade, or alter the opinions and actions of others. Understand how the brain works, she argues in The Influential Mind:...

I t’s the age old question (pun intended), and one that has given rise to an anti-ageing industry that is estimated to grow to $216.52 billion by 2021: how can we, mere mortals that we are, live longer? According to recent studies, the answer could well lie in Japan. The Japanese top the global table for life expectancy: on average, they can expect to live for 83.7 years (the UK comes 20th, with an average of 81.2 years). And this week, they hit another milestone, as it was revealed that the...

Yosimar Reyes, a poet and artist, reflects on the guidance the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas has given him. Well before Jose Antonio Vargas became a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and filmmaker, he was told he couldn’t get an internship at The Seattle Times because he was an undocumented immigrant. At the time he feared that his immigration status would threaten both his ability to build a career in journalism as well as his ability to stay in the United States.

Tonier Cain spoke at the Benchmarks' Partnering for Excellence conference last month in North Carolina. If you don't know her name you might recognize her as the woman featured in the Healing Neen documentary ( which is must see). I am just starting to recover from her speech. Seriously. It was hard to stand after she spoke. When I did, I went right to a yoga mat in the self-care calm room for a while. I took off my high heels and curled up in a ball for a bit. I'm still digesting her words.

September is Recovery Month. With more than a quarter of those participating in the ACE study detailing addiction in the family, and addiction commonly co-occuring with numerous additional ACEs, it is important to raise the awareness in the general community about the impact of parental addiction, and how family recovery can be celebrated during this important month. SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ) and many agencies, treatment centers and organizations...

Until recently, health care professionals and educators would look at an unruly or seemingly unteachable child as the problem, said Dr. Heather C. Forkey. “We would’ve asked the question, ‘what’s wrong with them?’” said Dr. Forkey, chief of the Division of Child Protection at UMass Memorial Medical Center. “It turns out, we were asking the wrong question.” The right question, which she said has a lead to a “revolution” in pediatric care and education, is not what’s wrong with those kids, but...

The United States spent an estimated $201 billion on mental disorders in 2013, which made it the costliest medical condition in the country, according to a study published in the journal Health Affairs. The analysis found mental health care surpassed both heart conditions and trauma and injury by almost $60 billion, which includes the general and institutionalized populations. Mental disorder spending is typically underestimated because it excludes institutionalized populations, according to...

The U.S. has gotten better at saving people with heart disease, cancer, and strokes, but early drug overdose, Alzheimer's, and suicide deaths are increasing. The drug overdose problem has become so severe in the United States, it's now bringing down the country's average life expectancy, according to a new analysis . For more than two decades, Americans' life expectancy had only gone up every year. But while analyzing the data for 2015, scientist Deborah Dowell and her team saw a drop. "It...

Think about these questions: Where do people learn that it is okay to call someone fat? Where do kids learn that calling someone fat is tacitly acceptable bullying? Can you think of another health condition for which kids are so easily ridiculed? Somehow, being overweight creates an open season for merciless taunting. This is national childhood obesity awareness month. There will be all sorts of blogs and public service announcements about the problems of obesity in this nation, and special...

Mental health is at the heart many of the challenges we face, including trauma and adverse childhood experiences, social isolation, institutionalized bias and discrimination, and ‘diseases of despair’ that manifest in depression, suicide, and substance misuse. Addressing social determinants of health is key to helping communities navigate adversity, heal, and flourish. PI’s new report, Back to Our Roots: Catalyzing Community Action for Mental Health and Wellbeing , illustrates how improving...

September is Suicide Awareness Month, and conversations regarding mental health have, naturally, spiked. It’s an aspect of every college student’s life that is often ignored, but lately, mental health has become the hottest topic in social circles and academia. Still, some communities are failing to bring a seat to the table. According to Emory University, more than 1,000 students die by suicide on campuses throughout the United States on average every year. While this number may be...