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Cissy's note: As more of us are learning about and sharing information on ACEs, more of us are reading and seeing questions, criticism, commentary, and guidance about if, when, where, how, and who should (or shouldn't) be asking, screening, talking about, using ACEs terminology and framing and how it confuses or expands the more clinical, medical, and traditional concepts of what traumatic stress is and how it's best responded to. I have my own opinions, of course, which is why I joined this...

Trauma – an event, series of events or set of circumstances, such as neglect and abuse, that is experienced by an individual as harmful or life-threatening – is a nearly universal experience. The landmark Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study , conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Kaiser Permanente, revealed that experiences of trauma can impact every area of a person’s functioning. When Brigid McCaw, M.D., first started practicing medicine, research around the...

His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the SEE Learning launch. Photo from businessworld.in His Holiness the Dalai Lama last week presided over a three-day event in New Delhi marking the global launch of the landmark Social, Emotional and Ethical (SEE) Learning program developed by Emory University in collaboration with the Dalai Lama Trust and the Vana Foundation. The 4–6 April gathering in the Indian capital, featuring a host of educational experts and policy leaders from around the world,...

I ran across this message on www.acesconnection.com and not only did it catch my attention, but it also made me want to dig deeper. Could it be true that nurses have a higher ACEs score than other healthcare professionals? It seemed true in this small survey, but was this a representation of a trend? If it was, the implications in nursing practice could be tremendous and concerning. What I found was that there is a grand canyon gap in research. The minimal studies that do exist confirm that...

VICTORVILLE — As the local March for Babies High Desert event nears, the March of Dimes has announced its support of the second annual Black Maternal Health Week, with local events planned to “celebrate black mamas.” Created by the Black Mamas Alliance , the week-long campaign that begins Thursday is designed to bring awareness to the plight of black maternal health and mortality. In California, as in many states, maternal and infant health disparities between the African American community...

Benchmarks' Partnering for Excellence is thrilled to share the Save the Date for this year's conference! The conference will take place September 11th & 12th in Winston-Salem. It is sure to be an exciting couple of days and more details will be forthcoming.

By P. Berman , K. Hecht & A. Hosack Please, please don’t call on me. I don’t want my nightmare to come true! Claire was sitting in the back row of her morning class feeling stupid and unprepared. Just as always, she was two chapters ahead in the assigned reading and had studied hard . S omehow, that didn’t give her any confidence. She had learned everything she knew about how to organize her time and break her assignments into manageable chunks from the Carsons. At dinner time, t hey...

The hypothesis in our book Anna, Age Eight is that if communities ensure that all families have access to ten vital services, we will significantly decrease ACEs and increase health, safety and resilience. One of those sectors is youth mentors. What follows is our book’s segment of the vital role of a mentor in the life of a child. Good youth mentors take on a sort of Obi-Wan Kenobi role, minus all the violence and interstellar travel. They can throw a psychological lifeline to kids in this...

As reported earlier by ACEs Connection , the Oregon legislature is considering a bill, S. 1037, to establish a Transformational Resilience Task Force to make transformational resilience education and skills-training available to all Oregonians by 2025. Under the bill, an 18-member task force would be created to study aspects of psychological, emotional, and psychosocial resilience education and skills training. r to l Bob Doppelt, David Pollak, Mandy Davis Oregon members of the International...

Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks is a study on the intersections between the science of adversity in childhood (ACEs), trauma, and ministry. Suitable for individuals exploring how their faith and the science of brain development, toxic stress, and spiritual formation are connected, this study is best explored by small groups that want to being trauma-informed ministry interventions and outreach within their faith communities. This e-book version doesn't have the videos that are part of the...

“In this life you WILL have trouble,” Jesus said, “but take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). The troubles that come our way are various and sometimes complicated. Physical, mental, emotional, and relational difficulties can intertwine themselves into a big, BIG ball of overwhelming force that threatens to shake our faith at times. So, what can we do to create a supportive community where people can authentically present their difficulties–especially around mental health and...

Is a museum visit just what the doctor ordered? In Montreal, medical professionals can prescribe you a museum visit. There’s also a full-time art therapist on staff. In Canada, an incredible new program allows doctors to prescribe museum visits to their patients. Hyperallergic’s Zachary Small visited the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts to talk with Stephen Legari, the first full-time art therapist on staff at a North American museum (he sees 1,200 patients a year), about his work in the city’s...