My experience with Office of Head Start programs began in 2015 as an Early Childhood Mental Health consultant. I learned in that role just how vital it is for Early Childhood programs to provide quality early childhood services that promote school readiness, encourage family and community engagement, and – most importantly – build resilience in families, children, and staff.
Setting the Scene
Way back in 2019, I took a series of Improv classes at a place called Happier Valley Comedy where I live in Western Massachusetts. How brave of me, right? On Tuesday nights a group – ages 15 to 65 – that started out as strangers would gather to engage in a smorgasbord of improvisational games and activities.
As we discussed in a previous blog post, the Traumatic Stress Institute recognized that while our curriculum included some discussion of social justice, there was much more we could do to focus on and foster discussion about racism. We understand that it is impossible to separate trauma and racism; racism is a common source of trauma.
Monthly RC Mindfulness: Come Fill Your Cup – June 2022
This month, RC Trainers, Champions and staff participated in mindful listening practices. This blog offers a brief summary of the session and resources to support your own practice. This practice may also be a good introduction to mindfulness practices for those who've not yet tried it.
Monthly RC Mindfulness: Come Fill Your Cup – May 2022
RC Trainers, Champions and staff from Ohio, Connecticut, Massachusetts and beyond, joined us for our May RC Monthly Mindfulness session, including 9 new staff participating in a New Employee Orientation session at TSI’s home agency, Klingberg Family Centers. A recording of each session is available to registrants. This blog offers a brief summary of the session and resources to support your own practice.
The Traumatic Stress Institute of Klingberg Family Centers (TSI) offers a transformation method to help organizations move toward more trauma-informed care. TSI currently serves 86 agencies in North America and our clients include treatment agencies, schools, head start providers, juvenile justice providers, and hospitals, amongst others.
Dr. Karyn Harvey
, noted expert on trauma with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) argues, “Trauma in people with IDD is the elephant in the room.” The statistics are harrowing:
We have reached the halfway point of an innovative TIC initiative in the intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) sector. So, it seemed like a good time to share out some of our achievements, challenges, and lessons learned so far.
The 30-Day Mindfulness Challenge officially ended Wednesday, February 9. During the (optional) weekly Challenge Zoom session we engaged in a guided gratitude practice, and shared reflections on the importance of gratitude in our daily lives. This post includes a brief summary of the event and resources to sustain your personal practice.
Week 4 of the 30-Day Mindfulness Challenge started Wednesday, February 2. During the (optional) weekly Challenge Zoom session we engaged in a body scan meditation practice. This post includes a brief summary of the event and resources to sustain your personal practice.