Dr. Apryl Alexander

With our guest experts, we discuss why we need policies that support trauma-informed training and care and what’s at stake if we don’t. We’ll hear from guest experts speaking to specific policy needs in contexts such as medical care, mental health, and online spaces.

Ultimately, we’ll discuss the foundational need for these laws and policies to be rooted in the community. Whether we’re legislators, policymakers, advocates, or just community members with a voice and a vote, we can work to ensure our laws and policies support the resilience of children in all of our communities.

Communities and collective action are vitally important in maintaining and strengthening our mental health and resilience. In this episode, we hear from several experts on the essential role communities play in fostering resilience in children who experience stress and trauma.

In this episode, we’re focusing on the experiences of youth before, during, and after their interactions with the legal system. We’ll hear from trauma-focused behavioral healthcare professionals who have worked extensively with the legal system: with judges, lawyers, justice-involved youth, and their families. We’ll also hear from a lawyer and a community organizer and their work to reduce and prevent trauma in justice-involved youth.

Now that we’ve examined key concepts to understand the many ways that children experience trauma -- and the many ways that they and their families are resilient, it’s time to get a bit more practical. How can we as mental health providers help foster resilience in children? Plus, hear from trauma-care providers what you can expect if you’re looking for trauma-informed therapy for yourself or your child.

We can’t protect children and support their resilience if we overlook the traumas that are embedded in the fabric of their communities and society. In this episode, we speak to several guest experts about how global and collective traumas such as racism, war, community violence, and pandemics impact children.

No child exists in a vacuum. And the stress or trauma they experience doesn’t either. All of our individual behaviors, mindsets, and experiences are intertwined with our cultural contexts -- that is, the customs, language, geography, politics, and beliefs that shape our lived experiences. In this episode, you’ll hear from several guest experts who speak to the importance of recognizing cultural influences such as mental health stigmas, faith and spirituality, and country of origin when providing trauma-informed care.

Resilience is the main subject of this audio series, but what is it exactly? There are actually a lot of different definitions, and the concept of resilience is a bit controversial among experts in mental health and trauma spaces. In many ways, resilience is just as complex as trauma. So, in this episode, we’ll hear from several experts on their opinions about children’s and families’ resilience, what it is, and where it comes from.