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          November 2014 Newsletter
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IN THIS ISSUE
ART OF YOGA PROJECT PUBLISHES OUTCOMES
PACIFIC QUEST BEGINS NMT CERTIFICATION TRAINING
IT TAKES AN 'OHANA BOOK STUDY


As the holidays approach and in the spirit of giving thanks, we'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for the contributions you make to improving the lives of children and families who have experienced trauma, neglect, chaos, and maltreatment.  

A major activity of The ChildTrauma Academy is to "translate emerging findings about the human brain and child development into practical implications for the ways we nurture, protect, enrich, educate and heal children."  We provide a wide range of educational and training opportunities for professionals and caregivers, but it is the "heavy lifting" you do when you work one on one with children and families each day that brings about real change.  We truly appreciate your contributions and know that you are making a difference every time you connect and form meaningful relationships with children in need.  

Please take a moment this month to read about exciting new developments in the CTA community.  We hope that you draw energy and inspiration to continue your work from the updates we share with you. 
Art of Yoga Project Outcomes Highlighted in Yoga Therapy Journal
 

   CTA has worked with San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services as an NMT Partner Site for over three years now, and one of their many successful programs is The Art of Yoga Project (AYP), directed by NMT Trainer Mary Lynn Fitton.  "The AYP provides an integrated curriculum of yoga, mindfulness training, meditation, and creative arts to adolescent girls incarcerated in three California counties...Girls who wish to participate are paired with a yoga mentor. Mentors meet their mentees once a week to participate in yoga and various activities intended to enhance their rehabilitation and ease their transition back into their community" (Harris and Malone 2014).
    
   The Art of Yoga Project's Yoga Mentor Program was recently evaluated in Dr. Danielle Arlanda Harris and Stephanie Malone's article titled "A Process Evaluation of the Art of Yoga Project Mentor Program for Incarcerated Teenage Girls" published the most recent issue of the
International Journal of Yoga Therapy.  Not only is it quite exciting for this program to be featured in this journal, but the findings of the article reiterate the success of the program.
     
   Harris and Malone begin their analysis with research stating how difficult community re-entry is for anyone who has been incarcerated, but that the process is especially difficult to navigate for juvenile girls.  The challenges of re-entry, however, have often been found to be successfully 
mitigated when mentor services are available for juveniles who are transitioning from custody back into their communities. In examining AYP's Mentor Program, the authors found that the program meets or exceeds it programmatic goals in several ways: (1) participants begin to view themselves more positively and hopefully, (2) they often choose more positive behaviors, (3) participants report improved relationships with family members, (4) participants report improved relationships with probation officers and judges, and finally (5) participants report improved relationships with peers. The authors conclude that "girls who participate in the program have achieved substantial improvements."
     
   We applaud Mary Lynn Fitton and her team alongside all those at San Mateo County BHRS for their excellent work and the significant impact that they are making within their community.  

   To learn more about the Art of Yoga Project, click here.  
Hawaii's Pacific Quest Begins Site Certification Training
 

CTA is very pleased to welcome Pacific Quest as our newest group to begin NMT Site Certification Training.  Pacific Quest is a non-traditional therapeutic wilderness program on the Big Island of Hawaii serving adolescents and young adults. Through Pacific Quest's therapeutic program, students are immersed in a tropical garden setting with optimal nutrition, exercise and clinical support for an average of ten to twelve weeks.  Using an integrative approach, Pacific Quest combines whole-person wellness, horticultural therapy, rites of passage, experiential learning, and evidence-based clinical practice to create lasting and meaningful change.

  

     "I am thrilled to work with The ChildTrauma Academy on Site Certification in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT)," says Dr. Lorraine Freedle, Pediatric Neuropsychologist and Clinical Director at Pacific Quest.  "Our Sustainable Growth™ model, sensory-rich environment, and mind-body techniques fit nicely into the NMT paradigm." 


 

     Many teens and young adults come to Pacific Quest because traditional therapy methods have not been successful.  Pacific Quest was drawn to the NMT because it promotes an evidence-based approach to assessment and intervention planning, and therapeutic methods are matched to a child's neurodevelopmental needs.  Pacific Quest is pursuing NMT certification in order to implement its integrative approach more precisely and effectively and to better inform treatment planning when students return home.


 

    Dr. Freedle further states, "NMT is rooted in work with traumatized children; we are seeing tremendous promise in its use with adolescents and young adults who are distressed and emotionally dysregulated.  We are also finding that immersion in nature and interacting with the garden in intentional ways enhances state regulation and brain development.  We look forward to partnering with The ChildTrauma Academy to research these applications of NMT."  


 

   We at CTA look very forward to this partnership as well.  Welcome Pacific Quest!

"It Takes an 'Ohana" Launches Statewide Book Study with The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog
BoyDogNew

"It Takes an 'Ohana" (ITAO) is a program of Family Programs Hawai'i that provides foster and adoption resources throughout the state.  "Since 1971, ITAO has made a difference in the lives of thousands of children in Hawaii by offering resources and information to those in the community concerned with protecting the interests of children and youth in out-of-home care, while providing responsible advocacy"(ittakesanohana.org). Recently, ITAO announced the launch of a statewide, virtual Book Club for Hawaii's resource, adoptive, guardianship, permanency and kinship families. The Book Club will provide support to families and at the same time add to their expertise related to the needs of the children and youth in their home. The CTA is very honored that ITAO has chosen Dr. Perry and Maia Szalavitz's work The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog as their first book.  


 
To learn more about ITAO and their book study model, click here.  

Stay tuned next month for information about our Winter 2015 online training Series!
 
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Sincerely,

Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D.
The ChildTrauma Academy