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Category » Trauma
Psychedelics and Trauma Healing in 2023
Humans have been using psychedelic drugs since the dawn of human civilization. However, only recently has Western culture and science begun to understand the potential mental health benefits of psychedelics for trauma healing. This is the first of a two-part series on psychedelics and trauma. The discussion will focus on changing how the West thinks…
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Am I a Unicorn? A Therapist & Child of Holocaust Survivors On the Israel-Hamas War
On October 7, 2023, Hamas carried out a coordinated terrorist attack on innocent Israeli citizens and even took hostages. In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, and The Israel Defense Force vowed to “destroy Hamas.” Like everyone else, CFR Clinicians were horrified by Hamas’s brutality and have been processing the recent events like most people….
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Advocating for Humanity During War
Many of us have been overwhelmed by the tragic, unspeakable events that have resulted in the escalating Israel-Hamas War. We may experience a variety of emotions and hold our own narratives as we are exposed to horrific images and news stories. Undoubtedly some of Council for Relationships’ clients, along with our colleagues and family members…
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Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2023
Many believe that the effects of domestic violence are limited to the abuser and the victim, but as the U.S. Department of Justice’s own Office on Violence Against Women states, “domestic violence not only affects those who are abused, but also has a substantial effect on family members, friends, co-workers, other witnesses, and the community…
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Therapy That Can Teach You Forgiveness
We all know that the ability to forgive someone is a valued human trait. But dang is it hard to do. If you’re a human, then you’ve experienced a situation where you’ve been wronged by someone else (and vice versa). Most people want to be known as “forgiving,” but there are few manuals on how…
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3 Alarming Takeaways for Parents of Teens in Age Discrepant Relationships
Age-discrepant relationships are relationships where partners have a sizeable gap between the ages of those in the relationship. While there is no hard and fast number to define what is considered “sizeable,” when it comes to relationships between teenagers and adults, laws define the age of consent. Mainstream pop stars like Demi Lovato are driving…
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TBI: Meaning, Importance, and Hope
The Philadelphia Phillies‘ partnership with Team Foster and Warrior Canine Connection to bring a new service pup to the Phillies for training reminds us of the importance of learning about and addressing treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Veterans. TBI was the signature war wound of the Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan (OEF) and Operation…
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Neurodivergent: Meaning & Comorbidities
What it means to be neurodivergent is often misunderstood. The term is an umbrella for many more contemporarily familiar disorders, such as autism. You will learn more about the following in this article: The meaning of neurodivergent Depression and being neurodivergent Anxiety and neurodivergent people The intersection between trauma and neurodivergence Neurodivergent Meaning In the 1990s, autistic…
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Notes from the 2023 Drexel MCH Symposium
On June 1, 2023, Drexel University held the 2023 Drexel Maternal and Child Health Symposium: Gun Violence: Impacts & Solutions from an MCH Perspective. The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) conference, “highlight[ed] the work of communities and programs seeking to reduce the impact of gun violence on maternal and child health populations, including women, children,…
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Racial Justice Through Tragic Optimism
The time between the conclusion of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI Heritage Month) and the celebration of Juneteenth is a great opportunity to reflect on the complexities of racial justice. CFR Staff Psychiatrist Dr. Maura Dunfey shares how her experience raising biracial children, having a grandfather who fought the Japanese in World…
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Understanding Trauma: Poland & the Holocaust
Holocaust Remembrance Day, colloquially called Yom HaShoah in Israel, is an annual day of reflection and commemoration marking the date of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Bea Hollander-Goldfein, PhD, LMFT, is a Co-Director of CFR’s Transcending Trauma Project and a Staff Therapist. Here, Dr. Hollander-Goldfein, the child of a Holocaust survivor, shares her story of visiting…
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Combatting Rising Antisemitism & Racism this International Holocaust Memorial Day
Commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day January 27, 2023, is International Holocaust Memorial Day, commemorating the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland. The Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp is a stark symbol of a 14-year campaign by the Nazis and their collaborators to murder all the Jews in Europe. The day also commemorates…
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Reflections on the Holocaust and the War in Ukraine from the Perspective of a Grandchild of Holocaust Survivors
Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, is Thursday, April 28, 2022. For several decades, the Transcending Trauma Project (TTP) has been researching the effects of the Holocaust on survivor families. A qualitative research project at Council for Relationships, TTP has interviewed 307 survivors, spouses, children, and grandchildren. TTP’s first book, Transcending Trauma, focused on the…
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What Is Racial Trauma and How to Practice Radical Self-Care
Dr. Charles Muorah has successfully helped clients resolve shame and sexual abuse trauma, cultural, racial, and other kinds of trauma. He uses brain-spotting (BSP) therapy, narrative approach, relational attunements, mindfulness, and empowering language to process with the client coping strategies, adaptation, and resiliency before, during, and after the experience. Recent instances of police brutality and anti-police brutality…
Read MoreHope and Healing After Loss by Suicide
Staff Therapist Sarah Bauer, MS, MFT specializes in helping clients who are experiencing domestic violence, trauma, grief and loss, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. Sarah uses a systemic approach to help people reach their goals and reconnect with the people in their lives. In this blog post, Sarah offers hope and healing for people whose lives…
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