In lieu of our blog, I am instead linking to the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies COVID-19 Resource page. This will be continually updated; please bookmark and return for future updates. 

Stay safe, stay home, stay healthy!

Melanie 

ISTSS COVID-19 Resour...

We are fortunate to be going through this pandemic in the age of electronic communication that provides us with information, connection, productivity and entertainment. We are equally fortunate that we have decades of psychological research to guide us in getting throu...

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), COVID-19, often referred to as the coronavirus, is a respiratory illness that can spread from person to person. The virus that causes COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that was first identified during an investigation in...

In the 21st century, dissociative identity disorder is one of the most controversial DSM-V diagnosis, especially in comparison to diagnoses like anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, even somatic and sleep disorders. When I worked on my Masters’ degree at Edinboro Univer...

How to Raise a Black Son in America

From TED:"As kids, we all get advice from parents and teachers that seems strange, even confusing. This was crystallized one night for a young Clint Smith, who was playing with water guns in a dark parking lot with his white friends....

For teens, going to a movie, concert, or restaurant, or just hanging out together as a couple is supposed to be fun. But for many young people, dating relationships that begin innocently enough turn into encounters with fear and violence. One in three young people wil...

I have struggled with Valentine’s Day for the last 12 years. While I love celebrating the holiday with my spouse, it holds a more somber tone for me. This Friday marks the 12th anniversary of the fatal shooting at Northern Illinois University, my Alma Mater. On Februar...

In the United States, approximately 1.6 million people are incarcerated in federal, state and county prisons. Ninety-five percent (95%) o these people will be released back into our communities. Nationwide, 68% of released offenders were rearrested for a new crime with...

From TED:

"Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris noticed a disturbing trend as she treated children in an underserved neighborhood in San Francisco: that many of the kids who came to see her had experienced childhood trauma. She began studying how childhood exposure to adver...

At some point in our past, we all have been guilty of responding in an insensitive manner. Our spoken words were not intended to hurt or criticize, and yet were hurtful and critical, nonetheless. In these moments, we often react defensively, not understanding how our s...