Monthly Archives: June 2015

Can School Heal Children in Pain? Yes, it Can!

June 28, 2015 By in ACE Study, Adverse childhood experiences, Child trauma, Education, Lincoln, School discipline, Solutions 3 Comments

ApaperJames Redford, director of Paper Tigers, a documentary about the journey of students and teachers at a trauma-sensitive alternative high school in Walla Walla, Washington, posed a provocative question in a recent blog: can school heal children in pain?

I believe that it can.

While trauma-sensitive schools can’t erase every source of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), considering how many hours of their lives children spend in school, educators can do much to mitigate the effects of traumatic stress, and help students to build skills for resilience and well-being. At the very least, schools can refrain from further traumatizing children.

Children with disabilities and behavioral problems, in particular children of color, are regularly subjected to practices such as seclusion and restraint in school. The data conclusively prove that “zero tolerance policies” driving the school to prison pipeline disproportionately affect students of color

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Why we need a paradigm shift in mental health care: the case for recovery now!

June 19, 2015 By in Adverse childhood experiences, Solutions 3 Comments

Screen Shot 2015-06-19 at 2.42.00 PM

Another “May is Mental Health Month” has come and gone, and it is time to build on years of awareness campaigns and move into action to promote whole health and recovery. People with serious mental health conditions are dying on average 25 years earlier than the general population, largely due to preventable physical health conditions, so why do we still focus on mental health separately from physical health? And when we know that people with serious mental health conditions face an 80 percent unemployment rate, why do we largely ignore the role of poverty, economic and social inequality, and other environmental factors in mainstream discussions about mental health?

Decades of public health research have clearly shown that access to the social determinants of health — affordable housing, educational and vocational opportunities, and community inclusion — are far more important to mental and physical health than access to health care alone. As one recent article explained: “For many patients, a prescription for housing or food is the most powerful

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Medical community: It’s time to wake up and screen for trauma!

June 10, 2015 By in Adverse childhood experiences, Child trauma, Trauma
Etching by G.M. Mitelli, c. 1700. Wellcome Images.

An international array of physicians. Etching by G.M. Mitelli, c. 1700. Wellcome Images.

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Today was interesting.  I’m on my own with the kids for a few days. I had arranged for some sort of acid-reflux related procedure at the local hospital with my new ENT (all singers have one…ear, nose and throat physicians). Anyway, I carted the kids down to the doctor.

We blithely made our way to the ENT suite and were promptly met by my doc. Kids had to stay in waiting room (anxiety rose).  Nurse took vitals — my blood pressure yesterday at my GP: 102/70. Today at ENT: 118/90. Hmmm. This was BEFORE I knew anything about the procedure. I’d had vocal cord scopes before, so I figured it’d be no big deal. ERROR.

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Can School Heal Children in Pain?

June 3, 2015 By in ACE Study, Adverse childhood experiences, Community prevention programs, Education, Lincoln, Resilience, School discipline, Washington State 6 Comments

Aredford

After learning about the overwhelming effects of childhood trauma, I decided to make a film about a school that’s adopted a “trauma-informed” lens.

Documentaries are no walk in the park. They take a lot of time and money; they have a way of making a mockery out of your narrative plans. They must share the attention of an audience that is increasingly losing more and more of it.

Why bother? It’s a good question. For me, I have one simple bar that all my films must clear: an “oh my God!” moment. If a story does not elicit that reaction from deep within my bones, I don’t do it. I count on that sense of awe, concern, wonder, and alarm to carry me through the long haul of making the film. To do otherwise, well — it just seems stupid.

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