I spend a great deal of time speaking with organizations, programs and individuals who have experienced a variety of types of trauma. I recognize that trauma is complicated and there is no one expression of it that is more common than another. It is defined as any “deeply disturbing experience.” We know that it has […]
How Can We Cultivate Better Friendships?
Some of us may be familiar with the song often sung by Girl Scouts: “Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other gold.” This is a lovably adage but nowhere does it explain how one is supposed to make new friends or keep the ones they have. It turns out […]
Non-Profit Leadership: The Traumatic State of Systems of Care Organizations
One of the realities of those who have serious mental health needs, drug addiction needs, health needs and an array of other issues is that they are largely dependent on our systems of care for support and guidance. I know from a variety of sources of feedback that it is difficult to gain the support […]
A Tragic Story of Gun Violence By a 6-Year-Old
As I was watching the news several nights ago, I saw the story of a toddler walking on a deck with his dad’s firearm. This child was treating the gun as a toy. I think most who saw it were as appalled as I was. We may think that it was an isolated incident. However […]
Taking Inventory – What Kinds of Friends Do You Have?
As we move into the New Year I thought it might be helpful to invite you to pause to consider the friends you have and how healthy those relationships are. Questions to Ponder: Previously I wrote a blog post about membership circles, a concept that can help us explore this topic. To briefly recap, we […]
The Passion of Martin Luther King Jr.
We have been honoring Martin Luther King Jr. – one of the great civil rights leaders for approximately 37 years – with a national holiday. A number of years ago I was able to visit Memphis, Tennessee and saw the exact spot where he was assassinated. I remember that in the aftermath of that murder […]
How Are Virtual Meetings Depersonalizing Client Relationships?
Recently, I was in a discussion with our Vice President of Student Services. We were working through how we might better serve our school district clients. He expressed his frustration that it is difficult to even gain access to our clients to have meaningful discussions. When we do there is this sense of needing to […]
How Popular Movies Can Influence Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors
Over the holidays I had the pleasure of going to see Avatar with my son-in-law and three grandsons, ages 16, 13 and 9. The animation was out of this world and the many themes of the movie were powerful. I loved one of the ending messages: “Protecting their family gives men a purpose.” I thought about […]
Where are We in the Fight Against Drug Overdose?
With so many issues like COVID and the mental health crisis flooding our media we can easily find that we have ignored other significant issues like the prevalence of drug overdoses. Many of these overdoses are in our youth community. Statistics like this are not just numbers. They are tragedies, traumas and devastation to those […]
When Trauma Interrupts Normalcy on the Football Field
Many of us watched Buffalo Bills Damar Hamlin tackle a receiver on Monday Night Football and then after standing up, collapsed with a sudden cardiac arrest. As we watched the officials, players and coaches witness what was perceived as a typical football injury to a life-threatening episode we quickly grasped the intense level of fear, […]
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