Trauma and Resiliency

REACH is committed to advancing the safety, healing, and empowerment of those who experience domestic or relationship violence, through direct services and education while promoting social justice for individuals and families of all backgrounds. Teens P.A.V.E. the Way is a statewide summit to train teens as peer educators, helping to break the cycle of relationship abuse.

The Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts provides support services to brain injury survivors and their families, offers programs to prevent brain injuries, educates the public on the risks and impact of brain injury, and advocates for legislation and improved community services.

BRIK (Building Resilience in Kids) is a non-profit that runs programs in schools combining arts, education, and social skills.

The Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative's (TLPI) mission is to ensure that children traumatized by exposure to family violence and other adverse childhood experiences succeed in school. To accomplish this mission, TLPI engages in a host of advocacy strategies including: legislative advocacy, administrative advocacy, coalition building, outreach and education, research and report writing, and limited individual case representation in special education where a child's traumatic experiences are interfacing with his or her disabilities.

The Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance (MOVA) was established in 1984 with the enactment of the Commonwealth's first Victim Bill of Rights. Its purpose is to advocate for and assist victims of crime. MOVA's activities are governed by the Victim and Witness Assistance Board, chaired by the Attorney General. MOVA works with crime victims and the agencies that serve them, through: Victim Services Programs, Funding & Grant Opportunities, Legislative and Policy Work and Training & Outreach. MOVA's website includes lists of resources statewide applicable to various crimes, including how to seek support for those affected by the Boston Marathon Bombings.

The Center is investigating the efficacy of treatments for Panic Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Complicated Grief, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder, while seeking to learn more about the underlying causes and course of Anxiety Disorders.

Riverside Trauma Center, a service of Riverside Community Care, helps people in many Massachusetts communities recover from the overwhelming stress caused by traumatic events, including natural disasters, serious accidents, suicides, homicides, and terrorism by providing community outreach and counseling. We also educate communities and organizations about suicide prevention, psychological trauma, and the emotional needs of returning veterans. We serve communities, schools, health and human services providers, organizations, government agencies, workplaces, and individuals.

The American Trauma Society (ATS) is a leading spokes-organization for trauma care and trauma prevention in the United States. The ATS has been the foremost advocate for trauma victims and their families for the past 30 years and continues to seek optimal care for all trauma victims. The ATS has dedicated its time and resources to the formation and operation of trauma systems across this country. Many members of the ATS are members of trauma teams in communities across the country. They are active in their communities and often are politically active, advocating trauma systems to their governments; federal, state and local. The ATS strongly supports national and state legislation that creates and maintains trauma systems. It works closely with the U.S. Congress, various federal agencies and with the office of the President, supporting legislative and administrative efforts that address the financial and legal issues surrounding trauma. The ATS provides critical information on trauma to its members, to policy makers, and to the public. It supports the needs of families. It is also a strong supporter of injury prevention, creating and producing programs and providing these programs to its members.

Authentic Happiness is the homepage of Dr. Martin Seligman, Director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania and founder of positive psychology, a branch of psychology which focuses on the empirical study of such things as positive emotions, strengths-based character, and healthy institutions.Positive psychology theory and research has been applied across many domains, from education to health to neuroscience. Now on Authentic Happiness you can read overviews of some of the largest initiatives currently underway, including: positive health, positive education, comprehensive soldier fitness, positive psychotherapy, and positive neuroscience.

BrainLine is a national multimedia project offering information and resources about preventing, treating, and living with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). BrainLine includes a series of webcasts, an electronic newsletter, and an extensive outreach campaign in partnership with national organizations concerned about traumatic brain injury. BrainLine serves anyone whose life has been affected by TBI. That includes people with brain injury, their families, professionals in the field, and anyone else in a position to help prevent or ameliorate the toll of TBI.

ISTSS is an international organization that promotes advancement and exchange of knowledge about severe stress and trauma. This knowledge includes understanding the scope and consequences of traumatic exposure, preventing traumatic events and ameliorating their consequences, and advocating for the field of traumatic stress. ISTSS is dedicated to the discovery and dissemination of knowledge about policy, program and service initiatives that seek to reduce traumatic stressors and their immediate and long-term consequences. ISTSS provides a forum for the sharing of research, clinical strategies, public policy concerns and theoretical formulations on trauma in the United States and around the world. The ISTSS website provides multimedia information and resources for the general public on traumatic stress.

It is the mission of the National Center for Children Exposed to Violence (NCCEV) to increase the capacity of individuals and communities to reduce the incidence and impact of violence on children and families; to train and support the professionals who provide intervention and treatment to children and families affected by violence; and, to increase professional and public awareness of the effects of violence on children, families, communities and society. The NCCEV serves as a national forum for exploring issues surrounding children's exposure to violence and a partner in national collaborations across the country in urban, suburban and rural areas. The NCCEV offers training, technical assistance and consultation to a variety of collaborative community programs. It also provides a wide range of specialized interventions and services. The NCCEV website includes comprehensive information on children and violence.

Established by Congress in 2000, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) is a unique collaboration of academic and community-based service centers whose mission is to raise the standard of care and increase access to services for traumatized children and their families across the United States. Combining knowledge of child development, expertise in the full range of child traumatic experiences, and attention to cultural perspectives, the NCTSN serves as a national resource for developing and disseminating evidence-based interventions, trauma-informed services, and public and professional education. The website includes information on the types of traumatic stress and resources for parents and caregivers whose children are experiencing traumatic stress.

The mission of the National Native Childhood Trauma Center is to address high rates of traumatic stress amongst American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) children by working under the guidance of U.S. tribal nations in implementing, adapting and evaluating trauma interventions. This work requires understanding, respect and honoring of tribal sovereignty, specific community needs and the use of traditional healing practices. The goals of the Center are to significantly increase and disseminate the number of culturally-relevant, evidence-based interventions for use with AI/AN children (particularly interventions to be delivered in schools) and disseminate these interventions nationally, both on and off reservations and within NCTSN; develop a network of culturally competent, trained educators, mental health providers, and law enforcement personnel who can meet the needs of AI/AN children who experience traumatic stress; and increase the amount of research detailing the processes through which AI/AN children experience and cope with traumatic stress.

The Raising Resilient Children Foundation through the Resilience Project is dedicated to disseminating information to assist adults to raise, support and develop stress hardy children. The Foundation's cornerstone is to help children develop the capacity to cope and feel competent, a process known as resilience.

The Resilience Solutions Group is an interdisciplinary team of researchers, educators and public health-minded citizens united in their commitment to helping individuals and communities become more resilient.

Search Institute is a leading global innovator in discovering what children and adolescents need to become caring, healthy, and responsible adults. Drawing on extensive research, Search Institute brings hopeful solutions to pressing challenges in the lives of young people and their communities.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Resilience and Stress Management Resource Collection can be utilized during any situation, whether it is dealing with financial stress, recovering from a natural disaster, or coping with the loss of a family member or friend. The collection provides a knowledge base for understanding the concept of resilience, as well as the concept of stress and stress management. It emphasizes stress management as a promoter of resilience and the importance of fostering resilience to be psychologically prepared when stressful life events occur.

The Trauma Survivors Network (TSN) is a community of patients and families who are looking to connect with one another and rebuild their lives after a serious injury. The TSN is committed to providing valuable, practical information and referral; connecting survivors with peer mentors and support groups; enhancing survivor skills to manage day to day challenges; developing on-line communities of support and hope for trauma survivors and their families and friends; and training health care providers to deliver the best care and support to patients and their families and friends. Membership in the TSN is free for trauma survivors and their friends and families.