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From Emerging Minds, February 2020 This toolkit contains information, advice and practical tools for individuals and professionals who work with, or care for, children who have had adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). ACEs are very stressful events or circumstances that children may experience during their childhood. They can have significant impacts on children’s physical health, mental health and social functioning during childhood, adolescence and later life. The resources in this...

In this set of articles posted in November, we have been exploring several topics related to Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). We have examined how ACEs change our brain structure, cause mental health issues and how they relate to CPTSD. All these “negatives” may have left you feeling despair or even fear. However, in this article, we are going to explore the treatment options available today and how these treatment options can change...

By Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times, February 19, 2020 Back in the 1800s, the expression “pull oneself up by the bootstraps” meant the opposite of what it does now. Then it was used mockingly to describe an impossible act. An 1834 publication ridiculed a claim to have built a perpetual-motion machine by saying that the inventor might next heave himself over a river “by the straps of his boots.” An 1840 citation scoffs that something is “as gross an absurdity as he who attempts to raise...

By Athena Staik, PsychCentral, February 20, 2020 Do you know what makes women vulnerable to unwittingly becoming sources of narcissistic supply? For the most part, it only takes having certain “human” qualities that most would consider exemplary! A narcissist** however views these as weakness, and seeks to use them against women socialized overall to be unsuspecting and unaware. Why? Narcissists are addicts; they stop at nothing to get their fix. [ Please click here to read more .]

By Cory Turner and Anya Kamenetz, National Public Radio, February 11, 2020 Cora Breuner was sitting at home one day about to do a little work on her laptop. "I remember, when I opened my computer, I looked at my son — who shall remain nameless — and I said, 'Why is this porn site on my laptop?'" "I'm an adolescent male, Mom." It would have been an awkward moment for just about any parent. Then again, Breuner isn't just any parent. She's Doctor Cora Breuner, and she works in the adolescent...

By Kimberley Burrowes, Housing Matters, February 19, 2020 The effects of discriminatory policies limit opportunities for people of color and their communities. The lingering effects of redlining and racial covenants have left many historic, once-thriving Black neighborhoods in need of revitalization as hypervacancy, blight, and neighborhood social and economic distress restrict opportunities for residents to build wealth for future generations. New investments can revitalize neighborhoods...

By Andrea Adelson, ESPN, February 14, 2020 Willis May keeps reminders everywhere. A framed team photo sits behind his desk. So does a white mini helmet with an Eagles logo and the number 17 in the center, encased in a plastic cover. Resting on top, a black wristband with bold white letters spelling "Coach Feis." In his phone, a final text message to his best friend, asking, "Where's the shooter?" There are more subtle reminders of the day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that changed...

By Miriam Bevis, Judy Atkinson, Leisa McCarthy, and Michelle Sweet, Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety, February 2020 This report sets out the findings of the research project, “Kungas’ trauma experiences and effects on behaviour in Central Australia”, a pilot project run under the Kunga Stopping Violence Program (KSVP), which is based in Alice Springs. This practitioner-requested research was initiated by the KSVP Manager Miriam Bevis, and is the result of a...

By Madeline Drexler, Harvard Public Health, Winter 2020 In 2007, pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris, MPH ’02, set out on an idealistic mission: to deliver quality medical care to one of San Francisco’s poorest and most underserved neighborhoods—Bayview-Hunters Point, in the isolated southeastern corner of the city. Before Burke Harris arrived on the scene, only one pediatrician was serving the neighborhood’s 10,000 children. The community’s plight was starkly apparent in its ZIP code. In 17 of...

In her practice, Kelly McDaniel, LPC, NCC, CSAT, author and psychotherapist, offers Individual Intensives for women living with the generational legacy of Mother Hunger. Kelly works carefully and confidentially with clients as they navigate the tender, primitive wound that comes from an early broken heart.

Struggling with how to Foster Equity Conversations in Community? Join the national partners of the Building Community Resilience Networks as we share our lessons learned in fostering equity as a strategy to prevent childhood adversity and build community resilience. Wednesday, February 26th 12pm-1:15pm Eastern More info at go.gwu.edu/EquityWebinar As a nation we have agonized over how to approach conversations on race, racism, inequity and racial justice. Too often we have opted to attempt...

By Andrea Schneider, PsychCentral, February 7, 2020 Did you know that the second leading cause of death in people ages 15-22 is suicide (ACHA, 2020)? Those are some sobering statistics. After a recent move from S CA to N Ca, I am currently serving in a new role in which I am the Lead Counselor on a college campus for this age range. Unfortunately, those statistics don’t lie. I am deeply involved in creating new programs, strategies, and direct clinical support for the students my campus...