Posts

The Mental Health Crisis Affecting Black Men & Boys

In “The Invisible Ache”, Courtney B. Vance and psychologist Dr. Robin L. Smith delve deeply into the alarming mental health crisis Black men and boys are experiencing across America. Drawing attention to the CDC’s unsettling findings of the rapid surge in suicide rates among this demographic, Dr. Smith highlights how historical racial trauma alongside the […]

Mentoring Children with Traumatic Experiences

By Dana M. Sox & Helen Min, Reprinted from Youth NEX Highlights: Research suggests there is a potential increase in child adversity exposures, or trauma, post-pandemic. In general, mentoring relationships may help because they can lead to greater self-esteem, stronger connections to school, peers, and family, lower levels of depression, and less involvement in bullying […]

Trauma-responsive Educational Practices: Providing Schools with Tools to Address the Youth Mental Health Crisis

By Anusha Chinthalapale, Reprinted from the American Youth Policy Forum Our youth are facing ever-increasing amounts of trauma and often expected to participate in classroom instruction and interact with educators, administrators, and other students as if none of the trauma exists. And the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem, which was a recent focus of […]

How a developmental relationships outlook can help us face our uncertain future

By Ben Houltberg, Ph.D., LMFT, President and CEO, Reprinted from the Search Institute Promoting resilience for young people is critical in the months ahead. This process begins with a clear definition of what it is and what it is not. Resilience Through Relationships  Let’s start with what resilience is not. Resilience is not a character […]

Mentoring youth in foster care: The impact relationship histories has on the youth trauma symptoms & mental health outcomes

Weiler, L. M., Lee, S.-K., Zhang, J., Ausherbauer, K., Schwartz, S. E. O., Kanchewa, S. S., & Taussig, H. N. (2021). Mentoring Children in Foster Care: Examining Relationship Histories as Moderators of Intervention Impact on Children’s Mental Health and Trauma Symptoms. American Journal of Community Psychology.  https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12549 Summarized by Ariel Ervin   Notes of Interest: Although caring relationships with […]

A Toolkit for Child Welfare Agencies to Help Young People Heal and Thrive During and After Natural Disasters

By Jessica Dym Bartlett, Rebecca L. Vivrette, Akiva Liberman, Allison Hebert, & Margaret Haas, Reprinted from Child Trends The United States is among the top five countries in the world that are most affected by natural disasters, with an average of over 20 natural disasters per year from 2010-2020. Approximately 14 percent of children and […]

How to talk to children about difficult news

Reprinted from the American Psychological Association Assisted by Robin Gurwitch, Ph.D.  Children’s lives are touched by trauma on a regular basis, no matter how much parents or teachers try to keep the “bad things” away. Instead of shielding children from the dangers, violence or tragedies around us, adults should talk to kids about what is […]

New study explores how natural mentoring relationships can benefit survivors of caregiver childhood abuse

Ku, E. B. W., Hagler, M. A., Parnes, M. F., Schwartz, S. E. O., Rhodes, J. E., & Erickson, L. D. (2021). Natural mentoring relationships among survivors of caregiver childhood abuse: Findings from the Add Health Study. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences,  1483(1), 50–66. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14313 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest:  Although social […]

New study explores how resilience impacts posttraumatic growth in African American women

Mushonga, D. R., Rasheem, S., & Anderson, D. (2020). And Still I Rise: Resilience  Factors Contributing to Posttraumatic Growth in African American Women. Journal of Black Psychology, 0095798420979805.  https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798420979805 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest:  Despite mental health professionals’ ongoing interests in studying the effects of trauma and resilience, there is still a limited […]

Non-family relationships can help heal trauma, report says

By Stell Simonton, Youth Today Editor’s Note: Relationship quality is an important aspect of mentoring success and working with youth in general. A new report from the Search Institute finds that relationships outside the family can be highly beneficial to help youth heal and work through trauma. This report also addresses the notion that relationships […]