This presentation will include a review of how adversity gets embedded in neurodevelopment and affects the way our genome may be used and affected. The public health and communitywide implications of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study will be reviewed and specific examples of how this science has shown how ACEs affect the goals and…

Step into the world of client care with Justin, a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor with years of experience working with children and their parents. In this captivating presentation, Justin shares invaluable insights on transcending the conventional view of clients as mere cases. Through compelling anecdotes and the latest trauma research, he unveils the profound impact…

We all have or will experience burnout on the job and the sluggishness, boredom, and frustration that accompany it. One way we can learn to combat burnout is by learning which foods enhance our ability to deal effectively with the challenges life brings to us and indeed rebuild brains damaged by trauma and chronic stress.…

A training for agency staff and service providers who have limited knowledge of tribal cultures and histories, intended to encourage culturally appropriate approaches to supporting Native children and families.

Behavior problems shown by children-in-care can act as a stubborn barrier to the creation of healing relationships to foster, kinship and adoptive caregivers and helping professionals.  This workshop will focus on the “whys” of complex behavioral/emotional challenges.  When these challenges are seen only as “problematic”, and not seen as having purpose for the child, frustration…

This workshop explores the profound impact of trauma on both foster children and caregivers. It provides a compassionate and insightful examination of the unique challenges faced by these groups, emphasizing the importance of a collaborative and empathetic approach to healing. Attendees will gain valuable strategies and practical tools for creating the conditions for resilience and…

In this lecture for parents and professionals,  science journalist and author Donna Jackson Nakazawa will explore the causes of the mental health epidemic facing girls today and revelatory new strategies to help girls thrive. Donna will deftly braid together the latest findings from the annals of neuroscience to show why so many girls today are…

This workshop will introduce tools that support families to have important conversations with their children and young people. Richard will introduce approaches for understanding and communicating attachment schemas. He will present six tools that will help us see through the wall of challenges in caring for complex children and young people so that we can…

“My parents didn’t die, but it felt like that.” When children and teens are separated from their families, they search for belonging while navigating the new contexts and people surrounding them. In this dynamic session, Dr. Monique B. Mitchell reveals the questions children have as they cope with ambiguity and loss in foster care: Why?…