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square bulletHow Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime

February 18, 2015

From: Nicole Currier, Office of Consumer Activities Coordinator, Addictions and Mental Health, Oregon Health Authority

I found this TED Talk from Nadine Burke Harris to be incredibly informative and eye-opening. As the mental health system is shifting paradigm from disease/medical model to holistic and recovery focused, this is very helpful information to understand the people Addictions and Mental Health serves. Overwhelmingly, people served in the mental health and addictions systems have experienced childhood trauma, and likely have an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) score of 4 or higher, which greatly contributes to the 25-year life expectancy disparity in these communities. Even in the medical field, it is becoming more evident to healthcare that we ask “What happened to you?” versus “What’s wrong with you?”