Are disasters the new normal?

John Holmes, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, argues that global climate change has created a situation where natural disasters are the "new normal," not something unusual. He calls for the world to adapt to this new normal by preparing for these disasters so that a natural disaster is not necessarily a human catastrophe.

Combating PTSD with an identity based on compassion and forgiveness

Soldier's Heart Intensive Training

Led by Dr. Ed Tick and Kate Dahlstedt

June 18-22^nd, 2008

Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center, Craryville, NY

Through study and experience, participants will gain a deeper understanding of Dr. Tick's healing strategies as found in his book, WAR AND THE SOUL. Understanding PTSD as an identity disorder, and discovering ways to nurture a positive identity based on compassion and forgiveness will help those attending discover practical ways of integrating these methodologies into their own relationships and practices.

Please note: This is not a regular Soldier's Heart Healing Retreat. Rather, it is designed for veterans' who have experienced significant healing, as well as families, civilians, clergy and therapists willing to invest in understanding the truth about the effects of war and the process of the warrior's journey home.

EVENT DETAILS

COST? $795 includes tuition, room and board

WHEN? Registration begins at 3 PM, Wed. June 18, opening ceremony at 7 PM

WHERE? Beautiful Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center, Craryville, NY

Arriving by car - directions on Pumpkin Hollow website www.pumpkinhollow.org

By plane - fly into Albany International Airport, volunteers will transport to and from Pumpkin Hollow, which is just over an hour from the airport.

HOW TO REGISTER? Directly on the Soldier's Heart web site www.soldiersheart.net or by requesting a registration form from paula@soldiersheart.net

Capacity is limited to 35, we encourage you to register soon!

For more information contact kate@soldiersheart.net, or paula@soldiersheart.net
or call 518-274-0501.

Institutional vs. Community-based Child Fostering

Post-conflict child fostering in Sierra Leone

There is growing agreement that separated children are best cared for in community settings, rather than in institutions. However, even in a community setting, there is a need for standards of care that allow for monitoring of children’s well-being. This is particularly important in countries such as Sierra Leone which is recovering from a brutal civil war and suffering from poverty, malnutrition, and limited access to adequate medical care. Since the civil war ended in Sierra Leone, child fostering—whether informal or facilitated by humanitarian agencies and the government—has become the preferred solution for the estimated 800,000+ orphaned, abandoned, and vulnerable children.

Interviews with care-givers, foster children, humanitarian agencies, and government officials paint a picture of a formal foster care system that lacks common standards or functioning monitoring mechanisms. These gaps in child protection are also apparent in the kind of informal fostering arrangements found throughout West Africa. This study evaluates the current state of child fostering in Sierra Leone and poses questions for future research which is necessary in order to improve knowledge and develop recommendations for national foster care standards—which could be potentially replicable across West Africa.

Ethnographic Methods for Disaster Mental Health in Low Resource Countries

Laura Murray and Paul Bolton have worked together to develop a model for how to conduct high-quality research (including a randomized and controlled trial) and service delivery in culturally appropriate ways in low-resource countries. Their approach begins with a relatively quick (three weeks or less) ethnographic and qualitative study to help identify culturally specific definitions of distress and inform the selection of measures and interventions. This article describes this ethnographic phase in detail, and discusses the utility of using it in interventions designed to reduce the impact of disasters.

Here is their article:
Bolton, P., & Tang, A.M. (2004). Using ethnographic methods in the selection of post-disaster mental health interventions. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 19(1), 97-101.

Facilitated Conflict Transformation through Interactive Theatre

The United Nations University for Peace Centre for Executive and Professional Education and Dramatic Problem Solving present:
Facilitated Conflict Transformation through Interactive Theatre

June 10-14, 2008

Puriscal, San Jose, Costa Rica

This 30 hour seminar is an experiential exploration of the history,
theories, and methods of the use of theatre as an agent of conflict
transformation.
The cost for this program is US $900 per person. Scholarships are available
for on a need basis. Money should not be a motivation for not doing the
workshop.
This includes the following:
-Ground transportation to and from the San Jose International airport
- Dramatic Problem Solving Training Manual
- Certificate from University for Peace
- Community Presentation at U Peace on Friday night
- Lodging at the Mountain Home Retreat Center in San Rafael de Puriscal
- All meals

Contact:
Assistant Professor and Coordinator
Justice, Peace and Conflict Studies
Eastern Mennonite University
Harrisonburg, VA 22802

540-432-4270

Dance/Movement Therapy Intensive

The Dance/Movement Therapy Experience: An Introduction

Immerse yourself in the field of dance/movement therapy during our 5-day
intensive. This experiential/ didactic workshop is conducted by faculty of
Antioch University New England's Master's Program in Dance/Movement
Therapy and Counseling. The intensive will expose participants to a range
of approaches currently in use in the field. No previous experience is necessary.

June 9-13, 2008

Sponsored by the Department of Applied Psychology. The intensive will be held at Antioch University New England in Keene, New Hampshire, and each participant will receive a certificate of completion.
Housing information is available upon request. Full fee for the intensive
is $495; a $50 deposit ensures a place in the workshop. Please take
advantage of the undergraduate scholarship discount of $125.
Registration and payment in full is required by May 2, 2008.

For further information contact:
Lucy Marsh, (lmarsh@antiochne.edu)
AP/DMT Administrative Assistant
Antioch University New England
40 Avon Street
Keene, NH 0343l-3516
603.283.2148
www.antiochne.edu/ap

Notes on reshaping your destiny, from Sandy Davis

From Sandy's latest newsletter:
Your destiny derives in large part from your habitual daily behaviors. At any given moment, you are effectively the sum of your daily habits. These are all the routine activities that you do repetitively, every day, for the most part with little or no conscious attention. Taken together, your daily habits have been moving you steadily in a certain direction for a long time. As long as you don’t change any of your daily habits, you will most likely keep going in precisely that direction. So if you want to know where you will end up (i.e., if you want a preview of your destiny), just look at where you are going now.

If you don’t like the direction you’re headed in and want to make a lasting change, the best (and possibly only) way to do this is to make a change in one or more of your daily habits.

This requires that you disrupt your normal way of behaving in order to substitute in a new behavior and to practice that new behavior repetitively over a long period of time. How long? Long enough for the new behavior to become as “wired-in” and invisible as the old one was. This takes at least months of continuous practice. Sometime it takes considerably longer.

Here’s the remarkable payoff: Even a small change in your daily practices has the power to change everything, including your destiny. Here’s the reality that most of us know intuitively and also somehow manage to disavow: The key to successful personal change is continuous daily practice.

The good news is that this reality has another side: When you are willing to practice just about any skill for at least 15 minutes each day, you can develop your mastery of that skill quickly and steadily––no matter how old you are when you start.

Call to Action: Identify one small behavior that you would like to turn into a future habit. Choose one that will make your life more enjoyable or more fulfilling in the long run. Then start practicing this behavior every day. For starters, set yourself a goal of practicing it for at least 90 consecutive days without a single miss.

Tip: If you want to know whether you are keeping your commitment to practice faithfully, you will need to keep a daily log of your practice times. Otherwise, you won’t know for sure in six weeks whether or not you practiced today. Let go of the responsibility of remembering such things. Just write them down and keep moving.

Relevant Quotes:

“If you want to know your future, look at what you are doing in this moment.” --Tibetan Saying

“Whatever you would make habitual, practice it; and if you would not make a thing habitual, do not practice it, but accustom yourself to something else.” -- Epictetus, 1st Century Greek Philosopher

“Be not afraid of growing slowly. Be afraid only of standing still.” -- Chinese Proverb

Saving the world. (Overwhelmed much?)

When you think of all the needs in the world and all the changes that will have to happen, do you feel completely overwhelmed? This inspiring story reminds us that in order to create a world of great beauty, we need only start.

one good blog recommends another

A retired military man runs this blog and dreams of peace, one step at a time. His site "seeks to establish a useful, global dialogue on the roots and far-reaching impact of terrorism and human conflict, and to discover innovative solutions."

Marc's new book

“A Spy's Resume: Confessions of a Maverick Intelligence Professional and Misadventure Capitalist.” Marc's book is "a survival guide for troops leaving the military, written from the perspective of an intelligence officer (aka 'spy'). The book is packed with lessons-learned from the experiences of transitioning from the structure of military life into the unforgiving, sometimes hostile, world of capitalism. The book is also an examination of loss. The military is more than a job for some; it is a way of life. Leaving that life behind requires grieving, and letting go of old dreams. An entire chapter compares leaving the military to a divorce."

Greetings, earthlings!

"All things are connected like the blood which unites one family.
Whatever befalls the earth befalls the children of the earth."
Chief Sealth

In honor of Earth Day, check out this exclusive interview with Paul McCartney.

Here are some facts that might surprise you.

For more info on eating and the environment check out this site.

Finally, have you seen the new Smartcar? What a dream...

18 veteran suicides A DAY?!

Story by Paul Elias - The Associated Press, posted : Monday Apr 21, 2008 5:54:11 EDT

(I post these stories not because I criticize the Veteran's Administration or want to go negative in any way, but to make the point that war has terrible costs that are not counted; it should be illegal; it should never be waged. More psychiatrists is not the answer. Eliminating the senseless brutalization of human beings is.)

"An average of 18 military veterans kill themselves each day, and five of them are under VA care when they commit suicide, according to a December e-mail between top VA officials that was filed as part of the federal lawsuit.

'We find that the VA has simply not devoted enough resources,' said Gordon Erspamer, the lawyer representing the veterans groups. 'They don’t have enough psychiatrists.'”

Read more here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24226165/
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-04-20-veterans-lawsuit_N.htm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080420/ap_on_re_us/veterans_care_lawsuit
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/20/national/main4029429.shtml

New Resilience Center in Stockholm

There was a resilience conference in Stockholm! They said:

"This year the public has become aware of a cluster of predicted crises, such as the rise of food prices due to energy market changes and the collapse of the financial market. We see that small instabilities and risks spread to practically all developed countries in the world.

However, globalisation also adds a great positive value because the individual or small groups can have an increasingly global effect."

They recommend "novelty thinking." Not sure what it's all about! Something about "transdisciplinary research for governance of social-ecological systems with a special emphasis on resilience - the ability to deal with change and continue to develop."

How many Iraq and Afghanistan vets suffer symptoms of PTSD?

Can you guess?

A. 1 out of 30
B. 1 out of 15
C. 1 out of 5
D. All of them

Click here for the answer.

Researchers estimate that PTSD and depression among returning service members will cost the nation as much as $6.2 billion in the two years following deployment.

The parts of the brain

Want to learn more about how the parts of the brain make up YOU? Fantastic lecture by a scientist who had a stroke.

Life Expectancy Calculator

This Life Expectancy Calculator can help you figure out how much self-care you're doing!

a movie about reconciliation

Please note that each event has a separate RSVP stipulation.

"As We Forgive"--a movie about reconciliation between pardoned murderers involved in the Rwandan genocide and the surviving family members of their victims.

Friday, April 18th at 7:30 pm
McLean Bible Church, Room 2400
Please RSVP to the evite

Wednesday, April 23rd at 12 noon
Capitol Hill Screening
Cannon Office Building, Room 121
In coordination with the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, International Justice Mission, and the ENOUGH Project.
RSVP to Suzanne@asweforgivemovie.com

Thursday, May 8th at 3 pm
The World Bank, Preston Auditorium
RSVP to: infoshopevents@worldbank.org

other child soldier resources

From another friend:

Dear Atieno and friends,

Thanks for this information about Zion Project and the photo exhibit.

For those interested in other child soldiering organizations, I would recommend two compelling resources:

United Movement to End Child Soldiering( www.endchildsoldiering.org ) is an organization founded by my friend and attorney Art Serota which has been doing some excellent work especially in Uganda. A number of these child soldiers are studying peace. conflict resolution and development at universities!

An extraordinary visual resource is www.rwandaproject.org founded by the late David Jiranek which placed cameras in the hands of child soldiers and captured their realities in a most poignant way.

Take care,
Nazir

girl child soldiers' own photos - gallery opening

A note from a friend:
This event marks the opening of a NEW kind of art gallery....One that wants to help change.

A collection of gripping photographs taken by girl child soldiers of Northern Uganda. Given disposable cameras by Zion Project, these girls photographed their own lives to show us how they live and what is important to them. Come and see what life is like through their eyes. Photographs for sale benefit girl child soldiers.

Admission is free. We're hoping to raise awareness and interest and inspire people to act.

717 N. St. Asaph St. Alexandria, VA (Old Town) 7-11 pm Friday April 25th.

insights from a gardener

This little blog entry on gardening holds some secrets for sustaining resilience. Namely: 1. letting, not fighting, and 2. remaining present with the task of the moment.

Website especially for returned soldiers

The Soldier's Heart website, run by Ed Tick, PhD, contains education materials, memorials, forums, and a different slant on PTSD as "Post Traumatic Soul disorder."

A blurb on Ed's latest book:
The key to healing post-traumatic stress disorder, says psychotherapist Ed Tick, is in how we understand PTSD. In war’s overwhelming violence, the soul—the true self—flees and can become lost for life. He redefines PTSD as a true identity disorder, with radical implications for therapy. First, Tick establishes the traditional context of war in mythology and religion. Then he describes in depth PTSD in terms of identity issues. Finally, drawing on world spiritual traditions, he presents ways to nurture a positive identity based in compassion and forgiveness. War and the Soul will change the way we think about war, for veterans and for all those who love and want to help them. It shows how to make the wounded soul whole again. When this work is achieved, PTSD vanishes and the veteran can truly return home.

How are we doing in the big picture? - the MDGs

The world is behind on achieving the Millenium Development Goals, measures set some years ago by the international community for reducing the suffering of millions of people in poverty. Success is still possible, but only if the world were to mobilize. Read more here. It appears instead that more energy is being spent on mobilizing for more war, but this, too, could be changed.

Compassion gathering to be webcast

SEEDS OF COMPASSION GATHERING
APRIL 11–15, 2008, SEATTLE, WA

"An unprecedented gathering to engage the hearts and minds of our community by highlighting the vision, science, and programs of early social, emotional, and cognitive learning."

The Dalai Lama, on war

At the end of one of the Dalai Lama's talks someone from the audience asked,
"Why didn't you fight back against the Chinese?"
The Dalai Lama looked down, swung his feet
just a bit, then looked back up at us and said with a gentle smile,
"Well, war is obsolete, you know. "
Then, after a few moments, his face grave, he said,
"Of course the mind can rationalize fighting back... but the
heart, the heart would never understand. Then you would be divided in
yourself, the heart and the mind, and the war would be inside you."

BIBLIOGRAPHY of resources on balance

For a treasure-trove of resources on all the various aspects of leading a balanced life, click here.

tell the DOE what you think of new nukes

Springing off of Siddharth's articles below, which reminded us that preventing damage is easier than repairing it, the below letter might be an easy way to take action on preventing future wars. Apparently we are harking back to the Reagan-era space fiascos. -af

Hey all,

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to recreate a Cold War-esque capability to design, develop and produce new nuclear weapons.

Fortunately, through a required environmental review, you have the opportunity to tell the DOE what you think of the idea.

You can make use of a petition form that the Union of Concerned Scientists has developed, at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/854919676

That allows you to add comments to a statement I helped craft. It's not quite a thing of beauty, but I like it enough to encourage you to sign on and forward it to your friends and colleagues.

Or you can submit your own comments directly to ComplexTransformation@nnsa.doe.gov

More details on the government's (enormous) proposal and process are at: http://www.complextransformationspeis.com/index.html

I'm working on a detailed critique of the DOE's plans that I can send round to anyone who'd like to see it - just let me know. (It probably won't be out until May.)

All the best,

Stephen


Stephen Young
Washington Representative/Senior Analyst
Global Security Program
Union of Concerned Scientists
(202) 331-5429


NEW ADDRESS AS OF MARCH 31, 2008:
Union of Concerned Scientists
1825 K Street NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20006-1232

Self-care a sensible priority

Although we have all heard many times that one needs to prioritize self-care if caring for others is to be sustainable, this piece brings it home in what I think is a very persuasive way. It does, however, state that "we can deal with just about anything!" So bear the previous post in mind! :)

Resilience is Universal… and Not Really

One part of being scientific-minded means being skeptical and contrarian. So I am going to challenge resiliency on our website dedicated to Resiliency.

A subtle premise of many unscientific resiliency workshops and trainings is that “Everyone is Resilient.” This myth finds itself in crisis against the real finding that some damage strikes very deep.

Childhood Trauma, the Neurobiology of Adaptation & Use-dependent Development of the Brain is a field-changing article in which Bruce Perry, et. al. argues that our brains (particularly young brains) cannot always be resilient. Brains can be malleable -- adapting to trauma in ways that only make sense in the context of horror. This malleability can account for the inexplicable and sometimes unsavory behavior of people who have been secretly affected by trauma.

The non-scientist (layperson) will enjoy reading paragraphs #2, #3 and then review the “Key Points” at the end of the article.

Resilience is Universal… and Not Really, Part II

Bruce Perry, MD, PhD, the lead author of the Childhood Trauma article referenced earlier, is a child psychiatrist and brain scientist at Baylor College of Medicine. I attended medical school at Baylor, and when Perry taught, his passion for preventing trauma and safeguarding children made a deep impression on us.

While resiliency should be bolstered in all reasonable and rational ways, we must keep another eye towards preventing traumatic stimuli; because bouncing back from every trauma may not be neuro-biologically possible. It is useful to know that traumatic stimuli -- even in the absence of a physical blow or injury -- induce a cascade of neurotoxic insults to brain tissue. Sometimes we can clear the toxin, and sometimes our coping skills are overwhelmed.

Equally important, if we believe that resiliency is possible for everyone, then we secretly judge those who do not demonstrate resiliency as weak or “not trying hard enough.” While resilience is of the utmost importance to pursue, we in the field should never confuse non-recovery from trauma as evidence of failed resilience.

Our duty in trauma work is to temper the discourse of resilience with the reality that some people do not recover. Prevention being the best medicine is why those of us who work in trauma recovery are indebted not only to appropriate law enforcement, but also to the champions of human, civil, and children rights.

This month it is 40 years since the MLK assassination

... but the Reverend Doctor's message lives on.

This month's edition of the Peace and Conflict Monitor www.monitor.upeace.org includes articles about the massive non-violent protests in Columbia and around the world last month (four million people), as well as a discussion of pacifism after 9/11, when war dissenters were accused of siding with the terrorists.

PLAYBACK THEATER PERFORMANCE

There will be a playback theater performance on the community's relationship to the formerly incarcerated this Thursday, April 10 at 7:30 pm at All Souls Unitarian Church, 1500 Harvard Street, NW, Washington, DC.
Playback is an improv theater form. I am excited not only about the topic but because it has been so long since I performed as an actor in Playback, which I love. If you are unfamiliar, join - chances are you will love it too! The Conductor for the evening is Gregory Ford.
-Atieno

conference on the use of story in organizations

I recommend this conference on the use of story and narrative in organizational settings.

Definitions of resilience

This piece on resilience describes it as having abundant reserves of centeredness, stamina, and creativity!

War resisters

The case for and against conformity and obeying orders can be seen in the juxtaposition of these two articles, which provide interesting windows into what people face when asked to behave inhumanely. This kind of demand is its own kind of trauma, and legitimate responses vary.

Nurses explain their resilience

What thoughts can you choose that will help you best cope with the stress you face on your job? Read what Dr. Creagan learned from nurses' experience.

What is resilience?

The qualities that make some people respond differently to adversity - a description is here.

Why care for the caregivers?

A little explanation of the way that those who care for the traumatized need extra resilience too.

Where does stress live?

This little piece discusses the way that stress is not so much what happens to us as what happens between our ears!

Social workers convene to discuss vet needs

This article describes a conference in Virginia convened to prepare civilian providers for a military clientele and to get the message out that people will need to be linked to providers. The Veterans Administration is not handling all the cases and as numerous returnees face symptoms; they will likely seek help sought in quarters more civilian than military.

Discussion on child soldiers Apr 9 - DC

Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and Georgetown University present
Scars and Stripes: Liberian Youth After the War
A multimedia presentation and discussion of child soldiers
both in Liberia and around the world

Wednesday, April 9, 2008
5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Discussion and documentary screening
Hors d’oeuvres will be available

Georgetown University campus
Walsh Building, Room 395
6th Street between Prospect and N Streets
Washington, DC