As our students, parents, and school staff adjust back into the school year, our work as mental health advocates and professionals remains as important as ever. Public interest changes with time but the impact of trauma and grief remains. That impact is full of challenges, devastation, and dark emotions, but also can lead to post traumatic growth and resilience. Resilience is a person's ability to regain their footing after a traumatic event. The ability to be resilient is rooted in coping skills, personality traits, support, and past experiences. Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) is a person's ability to actively work to become stronger and to grow as a person following a traumatic event. PTG involves pointed and difficult work on the part of the person who experienced trauma to evolve and change as part of their growth process. Tedeschi and Calhoun identified five key areas measured in their post traumatic growth inventory:
Appreciation of life
Relationships with others
New possibilities in life
Personal strength
Spiritual change
Encouraging the children, teens, and adults we work with to continue the process of actively working to grow in the face of trauma while also honoring their experiences and their ongoing grief process becomes the fundamental focus of guiding and assisting the Parkland community. For more information about PTG, read this article titled Clinical Applications of Posttraumatic Growth
Program Spotlight Safe Schools for Alex
Safe Schools for Alex was organized by Alex's father Max and other committed individuals to actively participate in the conversation about school safety. The mission statement is: "In an effort to protect all our children and teachers, the Safe Schools For Alex campaign will be used to support the efforts of a nationwide school safety commission spearheaded by Alex’s father, Max Schachter. Schachter convened the first commission meeting on Monday, March 5, 2018 in Parkland, Fl. Over 25 school safety experts from across the United States helped identify state of the art school safety guidelines and best practices including training methods that will enable the commission to develop a blueprint to make schools safe nationwide." Click here to learn more about Safe Schools for Alex
PU4P Update
FREE HEALING RETREAT
Sign Up to attend the Healing Retreat What a beautiful day of healing! Thank you to everyone who came. Our sincere gratitude to Faulk Center for Counseling who provided the space, Nicole Davis for the mindfulness practice, Lori Leyden and her team for the healing, and Irene Rodriguez for a fun dancing mindfulness to end the day! Thank you to Addiction Campuses, The Renfrew Center, and Annie Gordon for all your help and gifts! Don't forget to check our Facebook page for the most current events, updates, and information about PU4P! Thank you for your support of PU4P and your dedication to the Parkland community