Philadelphia: brotherly love and trauma-informed practice
First in a series of posts about what is being done (a lot) to address trauma and toxic stress in the city.
First in a series of posts about what is being done to address trauma and toxic stress in the city.
Philadelphia is a city of "eds and meds," and many of them happen to be leaders in the field of traumatic stress studies. Three are at Drexel University: Dr. Bloom, who first told me about the ACE Study and is an internationally recognized expert in trauma theory and co-creator of The Sanctuary Model; John Rich, a MacArthur Foundation "Genius Award" recipient for his work on trauma and violence in the lives of African American men; and Theodore Corbin, creator of Healing Hurt People, a trauma-informed hospital-based violence intervention program. Edna Foa and Steven Berkowitz, who have conducted groundbreaking research leading to effective treatments and preventive interventions for trauma-related disorders, are at the University of Pennsylvania. Nancy Kassam-Adams, an injury trauma researcher and current president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and Joel Fein, co-director of the Philadelphia ACE Task Force, are affiliated with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
While academics are great for generating ideas, conducting research, and developing interventions that work, public sector champions are needed to translate what we know into what we do. Dr. Evans has been this city's champion ever since he was appointed behavioral health commissioner 10 years ago. With his team, Evans has spearheaded numerous trauma-focused initiatives, such as the Trauma Transformation Unit and others that I will discuss in a future post.
Government resources can only go so far. Competent and compassionate community partners are essential to the dissemination of trauma-informed practices. To name just a few: the Children's Crisis Treatment Center delivers trauma-focused services to children and families who have been exposed to trauma and toxic stress; Multiplying Connections offers tools and trainings to promote trauma-informed care; and the EMIR (Every Murder is Real) Healing Center provides support to the friends and families of homicide victims to help them heal from the trauma and loss.
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