One of the most difficult moments for any parent or caregiver is when you first learn about some traumatic event that a child in your care has experienced. It is so hard to know what to say, what not to say and also what to do with your own feelings and sensations about what happened […]
The Challenges of Parenting Teenagers
I thought I used to “worry” a lot when my kids were little. Then I had teenagers. You know what I would give right now to worry about sippy cups and naptime? EVERYTHING. 4Boys Mother I know I’m supposed to be preparing my teenager for life and all, but it’s hard when they already know […]
Expectation of Rejection
For those providing nurture and support to trauma-impacted individuals, it’s important to appreciate that you’re approaching them in a loving, nurturing and supportive way can be filled with doubt, fear, avoidance, confusion and hesitation. Most trauma-impacted individuals deeply believe the message, “I was born bad and I have no worth. I do not deserve to […]
Are We Missing the Real Issue?
As we struggle with so many social ills, we have launched program after program that attempted to deal with individuals who have committed crimes, are addicted, have mental health challenges or even who have attempted suicide. Some of these therapeutic interventions are extremely valuable but often they are less than effective. Listed below are some […]
Reducing Fentanyl Overdose Deaths
According to the CDC there were over 32,000 deaths due to the overdose of the powerful and dangerous drug Fentanyl. This was a 14% increase from 2017. The use of Fentanyl has now become an epidemic in our country. The prevention of this epidemic has received significant attention by our United States government and researchers […]
Does Your Child Feel a Valuable Connection to the Family?
A Wall Street Journal article reports that the CDC confirms that youth suicide rates have increased 56% in a decade. Statistics can be alarming but the horrific reality of a child’s suicide can overwhelm us with sadness and questions about why such a thing happened. The article goes on to say that the probable underlying […]
12 Tips for Raising Confident Kids
As we know from infancy till adulthood children grow and develop rapidly. Their brains are developing in structure and capacity in profound and complex ways. Parents strive to encourage their children to become capable to achieve their developmental tasks particularly at young ages. However, as they encounter the outside world they find that what they […]
Helping our Students With Sleep Deprivation
For some time, the research on the biology of teenagers has informed us that they tend to be sleep deprived and would sleep longer and with more quality if they could wake a bit later in the morning. For years we have opened junior and high schools extremely early which is not in accord with […]
Learned Helplessness as a Side Effect of Trauma
In 1967 a researcher, Martin Seligman from the University of Pennsylvania, did some fascinating experiments to demonstrate a concept called “learned helplessness.” While we would never conduct these experiments today because they are considered inhumane, the results are noteworthy for anyone who is a student of trauma. Basically, in the experiments, dogs who were in […]
How to Reclaim Your Power After Childhood Sexual Abuse
Satine Phoenix is a young woman who was sexually abused as a child. The impact of this nine years of abuse was devastating to her. It is not an uncommon story in our society which is extremely sad. However stories like Satine’s are important to hear as often they inspire others to get the help […]
