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Tag Archives: children’s ministry
The enduring effects of trauma and abuse in childhood
Christians…and the church can have an enormous impact through helping children to grow up in loving and supportive homes that offer protection (to the degree possible) from toxic stress. Continue reading
Rebecca Hamilton live on Thursday…CM Connect, Blog Talk Radio
Listen to Rebecca and Vangie as they dispel popular “myths” related to training volunteers for disability-related ministries and learn about two amazing resources you can use to train and organize volunteers today.
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Trauma and Kids…a look at the numbers
The National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence was a Federally-funded survey of 4,549 children between the ages of 0-17, conducted during 2008. Here are some of the key findings…
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Posted in Advocacy, Hidden Disabilities, Inclusion, PTSD
Tagged adolescents, children, children's ministry, Key Ministry, NIMH, PTSD, Resources, statistics, trauma, youth ministry
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Why is trauma more traumatizing for some kids?
Today, we’ll take a look at risk factors for PTSD in kids following a potentially traumatic event… Continue reading
Posted in Key Ministry, Mental Health, PTSD, Resources
Tagged AACAP, children's ministry, Facts For Families, Key Ministry, kids, mental health, PTSD, risk factors, trauma, youth ministry
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Church transitions and kids with disabilities
Transition times all too often result in kids and families falling away from church programming. With a little understanding of how transitions may impact kids with specific disabilities and some advance planning, church staff, volunteers and parents can help most have positive experiences as they progress into their age-appropriate ministry environments at the start of the new program year. Continue reading
DSM-5: Recognizing the signs of trauma in kids
Most importantly for the sake of our discussion, the symptom thresholds for establishing a diagnosis in children and teens have been changed to take into account differences in the ways that trauma is manifested in kids, and a unique set of diagnostic criteria have been established for identification of PTSD in kids ages six and under.
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Posted in Controversies, Mental Health, Resources
Tagged AACAP, Adoption, children, children's ministry, diagnostic criteria, dsm-5, Foster Care, Inclusion, Key Ministry, mental health, PTSD
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Key Strategy #3…Expanding the circle
As Key Ministry grows and develops additional partners, we’ll be intentional in cultivating relationships with other leaders throughout the church. Continue reading
If this were your kid, would you give them an antidepressant?
First, I’d point out that the potential benefits of medication appear to outweigh the potential risks, especially for kids with anxiety, but in my experience the risk of an increase in suicidal thoughts/behavior associated with antidepressant medication appears to be greater than zero. In fact, if I had to guess, the risk may be a little higher than what the data has led us to believe up to now. Continue reading
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for kids with depression…pros and cons
The kids I treat are prone to what one of our therapists refers to as “stinking thinking”…automatic, irrational thoughts pop into their heads in the course of day-to- day living that trigger negative emotions and lead to patterns of self-defeating behavior. These patterns of self-defeating behaviors often reinforce their cognitive misperceptions and lead to a downward spiral resulting in symptoms of anxiety, depression, and sometimes, suicidal thoughts or plans. Continue reading
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