Healing the Mind, Body & Spirit Through the Creative Arts, Education & Advocacy

 

Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health

 

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars”. Kahlil Gibran

 

 

The Surviving Spirit Newsletter April 2025

 

Hi folks,

 

"It shouldn't hurt to be a child." - April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month & National Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month – Still the dilemma, how to get society to recognize the epidemic of child abuse in all of its forms – it still gets swept under the rug by so many...

Live performance [Cable TV show, years ago] of "Brush Away Your Tears" – a song I wrote for those hurt as children.

 

"Brush Away Your Tears" - The song lyrics are posted under the video.

I'm grateful my studio recording [Waitin' For A Train CD] of "Brush Away Your Tears" was used in the documentary Boys and Men Healing from child sexual abuse.
 

John Briere, Ph. D. Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California wrote, If we could somehow end child abuse and neglect, the eight hundred pages of the DSM would be shrunk to a pamphlet in two generations.

 

Newsletter Contents:

 

1] SurvivorSpace - A Safe Place for Survivors of Sexual Abuse to Heal

 

2] Leave the hurt behind! How to let go of a grudge by Emine Saner @ The Guardian

 

3] Chemically Imbalanced: The Making and Unmaking of the Serotonin Myth a book by Joanna Moncrief

 

3a] “Chemically Imbalanced”: A Book Review by Christopher Lane Ph.D. @ Psychology Today

 

4] Braver Collective - By, With, and For Survivors of Sexual Trauma

 

a] Survivor Advisory Committee Members (Reflectors) Job Description

 

b] Survivor Stories – Submit Your Story

 

5] Voices for the Voiceless Advocacy Documentary @ YouTube

 

6] Vesper Moore - Vesper Moore, Indigenous activist and leader.

 

7] Art for Advocacy: Resilience in Bloom –Call for submission - Zero Abuse Project

 

8] New research reports lack of co-ordinated support for sexual abuse victims - University of Suffolk

 

9] Things Are Not Always What They Seem: The Hidden Blessing in Life’s Struggles by Waleuska Lazo

 

10] Revictimized by the System: How Law Enforcement, Prosecutors, and Courts Fail Survivors of Childhood Sex Abuse by Luke Wiersma @ Survivors of Childhood Sex Abuse (SCSA)

 

11] The Survivorship Trafficking and Extreme Abuse Online Conference 2025 – Survivorship.Org

 

12] Health systems using 'Zero Suicide Model' see fewer attempts by Carla K. Johnson @ AP News

 

13] A Trauma History Is No Excuse for Abuse by Kaytee Gillis, LCSW @ Psychology Today

 

14] Exiles in New York City – A Haunting, Necessary Chronicle of the Forgotten By Dan Frey @ City

Voices

 

a] Exiles in New York City - Warehousing the Marginalized on Ward's Island by Phillip Yanos Columbia University Press

 

“You get to the point where your demons, which are terrifying, get smaller and smaller and you get bigger and bigger.” - August Wilson

 

“It takes courage to love, but pain through love is the purifying fire which those who love generously know. We all know people who are so much afraid of pain that they shut themselves up like clams in a shell and, giving out nothing, receive nothing and therefore shrink until life is a mere living death.” Eleanor Roosevelt

 

 

Journey by Nikita Gill

 

Compare your journey to no one else.

You are countries and stories ahead already.

You are a million different words, a million different ways.

You are forests and forest fires alike.

A ship and the sea together.

The only person you must compare yourself with is yourself.

Your journey is your most powerful story.

 

“There is a gorgeous wisdom that can only be gained by surviving and thriving. We must walk through the fire, get burned and scarred, reflect, and heal. When we offer it to the world, real change occurs.” - Cherene Caraco

 

1] SurvivorSpace - A Safe Place for Survivors of Sexual Abuse to Heal

 

SurvivorSpace is home to information and resources related to child sexual abuse. It includes self-care and resiliency strategies for survivors, information about state Statues of Limitations, survivor stories, tips for loved ones of survivors, and news stories. SurvivorSpace is informed by survivors, for survivors.

For many survivors, deciding to learn more about child sexual abuse, disclosing the abuse, and/or pursuing civil litigation can be empowering and meaningful. Decisions like these are often difficult. SurvivorSpace offers resources and self-care and resiliency tips informed by survivors, for survivors.

 

“People think healing looks like having huge visible breakthroughs when really, it’s just a series of small decisions that reprogram your subconscious mind. One healthy activity at a time is a great starting point.” – Unknown

 

“It shouldn't hurt to be a child.” - Unknown

 

2] Leave the hurt behind! How to let go of a grudge by Emine Saner @ The Guardian

 

Article excerpt - Resentment is natural when you’ve been wronged, but over time it can become bitter and self-defeating. Psychologists explain how to move on.

 

At some point in the late 70s, during a Brownies meeting, something happened to Deborah that she has never been able to forget. Well, she can’t actually remember exactly what the incident was, but she knows the perpetrator – another girl, who still lives in her town. “I think she might have pushed me,” says Deborah. “I think she might have said something mean to me.” Whatever it was, she has held a “deep grudge against her for 46 years”.

 

It affected her deeply at the time. Deborah (not her real name) had been bullied at school, but says she doesn’t hold grudges against those people. Brownies was different – it was supposed to be a safe, happy place, and this girl ruined it for her. It hasn’t had a huge impact on her life, but the grudge – and the negative association – seeps into her mind every time she spots the woman. “It happens quite a lot.” She might bump into her in a shop or drive past her. “She’s always been a shadow in my life.”

 

They still have friends in common. Recently, Deborah went to a birthday party and the woman was there. She says the woman has no idea how Deborah feels about her: “She can’t even remember being in Brownies with me.” This makes things worse, she says. “I think it’s difficult to get over a grudge if they don’t know you have a grudge against them, or why.”

She could confront her, but doesn’t think it would help. “She might apologise, but if she can’t remember then it feels a bit meaningless.” Instead, Deborah is resigned to living with it. “It’s not eating away at me, like it did maybe the first 10 years. I’m pleasant to her – I’m not mean – but there’s always this little thing at the back of your mind, gnawing away.”

 

If you are someone who holds grudges, you may recognise this feeling. I hold many. Every time I go past a shop in my town – a shop that wronged me egregiously in 2016 – I surreptitiously flick them the V-sign, a gesture now so ingrained that I often find myself doing it automatically. I could have exacted revenge with a blistering online review and then moved on, but instead I choose year after year of this futile pettiness. A 2022 survey found that a typical British adult holds six grudges, which seems incredible – I could easily gather six new grudges each week. A small selection: at least one ex, eight local businesses, a Vinted seller, a fox, my old dentist. Not too many past colleagues, but certainly several celebrity interviewees. I harbour animosity towards gulls for countless crimes against me and my loved ones. I have boycotted countless companies for so long, I can no longer remember the reasons. My grudges feel like warm companions, or pets I like to keep close – there is a reason you “hold” one, or “nurse” one – and I have no intention of giving them up.

 

But maybe I should. Grudges, it is fairly well established, are bad for us. People who hold grudges are more likely to have lower levels of mental wellbeing, and even experience depression. Forgiveness is associated with lower stress levels, lower risk of heart disease and mental illness, and may lead to a longer life. You only need look at the worst people in public life, and the way they wield grudges, to want to distance yourself from them.

 

Grudges are deceptive little things. Once they take hold in the heart, they become the guest that doesn’t know how to leave.

“Normalize not bringing up a relatable story about yourself when someone is telling you something about themselves, and just listen.” - Priest

 

“I have learned silence from the talkative; tolerance from the intolerant and kindness from the unkind. I should not be ungratefulto those teachers.” - Kahlil Gibran

 

3] Chemically Imbalanced: The Making and Unmaking of the Serotonin Myth a book by Joanna Moncrief

 

For decades now the public has been told that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance and that antidepressants work by targeting this mechanism. Millions of people have decided to take antidepressants based on this information.
Chemically Imbalanced tells the story of a scientific myth and its consequences. It traces the history of the serotonin theory of depression from its development in the 1960s, through its inculcation into popular culture in the 1990s, to the recent revelations that it is not supported by evidence.

The story illustrates the power of human interests to shape what passes as scientific knowledge, and provides people with essential information about depression and antidepressants they will not readily find elsewhere. Above all else, Chemically Imbalanced is an invitation to better understand and advocate for our mental health.

 

“This is a scholarly and utterly engaging examination of one of the most important health scandals of the last few decades. Privileging the use of anti-depressants over all other individual and structural solutions for the growing crisis of mental health has harmed millions of people – this book is essential reading from one of the most important voices in the psychiatry. It has my enthusiastic support.” Chris Van Tulleken, doctor, TV presenter and author of Ultra-Processed People and Secrets of the Human Body

 

“This is the most important health book written in recent decades. It exposes a medical myth that has misled millions of people into taking powerful psychotropic drugs unnecessarily. It tells the story of how science was abused in the service of money and power, and how we, the public, have been the victims. This is the chilling story of how, in the name of helping, a medical community has caused harm, and how we can put things right again.” James Davies, author, academic and psychotherapist

 

“This essential book debunks one of the greatest misperceptions besetting current medical practice: that what we call mental illness is reducible to biological causes, divorced from people’s life experiences and traumas. Dr. Moncrieff explains both the scientific flaws and the deliberate manipulations underlying much of today’s psychiatric ideology and treatment.” Gabor Maté M.D., author and psychiatrist

 

“Today I live from my heart, not from my hurt.” Svava Brooks

 

3a] “Chemically Imbalanced”: A Book Review by Christopher Lane Ph.D. @ Psychology Today

 

Article excerpt - A new history of antidepressants challenges the evidence supporting their use.

 

Key points

• Almost 20 percent of the adult UK population currently takes antidepressants for depression.

• The serotonin hypothesis remains the principal justification for their use.

• A new history of antidepressants finds over-inflation of their efficacy and repeated myths about how they work.

 

“Depression has acted as the template for the creeping medicalization of a widening array of life problems,” contends Joanna Moncrieff in her startling and insightful new book, Chemically Imbalanced: The Making and Unmaking of the Serotonin Myth, published today in the United Kingdom by Flint Books at The History Press.

 

By carefully unpicking what sociologist Nikolas Rose called the “psychiatric re-shaping of discontent,” a transformation that began in the 1950s but accelerated in the 1970s and late 1980s, Moncrieff shows how the framing of depression and its treatment evolved from a “drug-centered” to a “disease-centered” model, with significant implications for how we think about the condition, even before we set about treating it.

 

“The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love.” Hubert H. Humphrey

 

“Where there is love there is life.” Mahatma Gandhi

 

4] Braver Collective - By, With, and For Survivors of Sexual Trauma

 

Braver Collective is an inclusive healing community of survivors of sexual trauma.

 

Survivor Advisory Committee Members (Reflectors) Job Description -

 

Location: Remote (100% Work from Home)

 

Seeking individuals impacted by sexual violence who are leaders, activists, artists of all backgrounds to join a paid, collaborative feedback forum/group at Braver Collective.

 

Braver Collective is excited to announce the launch of the Reflecting Pool — a group of 6-10 young adult (ages 18 - 34) survivors, called Reflectors, who meet online five times annually to provide feedback on the Braver Collective platform. The Reflecting Pool is a space to dive deep into what is working in the Collective, and to identify new opportunities to evolve and how we can best continue adding value tosurvivors’ lives.

 

Utilizing a trauma-responsive approach, the Reflecting Pool ensures that our site content, marketing materials, and policies remain sensitive, supportive, relevant, and effective in addressing the needs of the survivor community. Members of the Reflecting Pool willcollaborate with our team to provide valuable feedback, advocate for the community's interests, and help us stay accountable to our mission of fostering a safe, inclusive, and empowering digital healing space.

 

Time Commitment: A 6-month long commitment, from June to December 2025. Reflectors commit to attending 5 sessions (2 hours each) over 6 months for  which they may be compensated up to $600.00.

 

Braver Collective creates and shares accessible, reliable, trauma-responsive and shame-free online content dedicated to survivor voices, where we can all find acceptance, hope and our next, best step to heal. This organization is survivor-founded and led.

 

We’re working toward a world where all survivors of sexual trauma can find healing and belonging through mutual support, collective wisdom, and meaningful connection.

 

We can’t achieve our goal of adding value to survivors’ lives and healing journeys without the invaluable feedback and improvements offered by members of our Reflecting Pool. That’s where you come in!

 

Survivor Stories – Submit Your Story - There are as many paths to healing as there are people walking them. We publish stories that showus these unique paths.

 

Storytelling comes in many forms. We’re interested in original writing, as well as visual art, videos and audio recordings by survivors thattell us honestly and bravely where they are in their healing. If you are a survivor who tells your story in a different form, we want to include you. Tell us about it.

 

We do not need happy endings or resolution.
We don’t insist you tell us the lesson.
We just know that sharing stories can be healing.

 

“Survivors of abuse show us the strength of their personal spirit every time they smile.” – Jeanne McElvaney

 

“Each time I perform an act of kindness, a part of me heals.” Lupi Ngcayisa

 

5] Voices for the Voiceless Advocacy Documentary @ YouTube

 

Advocates Donna M. Kshir, Lee "Cougardawn" Roberts, Michael Skinner and Laurie Ann Smith came together to speak about their experiences as an Advocate and how they got started in being a public voice for the those whose voices were silenced and in many cases are still being silenced.

 

It is our hope that our voices will continue to be heard for years to come through our video and audio broadcasts, through our books, through our work to promote Child Abuse Prevention and many other causes as well as through our music.

 

“Child abuse casts a shadow the length of a lifetime.” – Herbert Ward

 

“It's not your fault.” - Unknown

 

6] Vesper Moore - Vesper Moore is an Indigenous activist and leader. They are deeply committed to promoting mental health and disability rights through activism, leadership, organizing, public speaking, and education. Their work focuses on cultivating social movements and raising public awareness to foster lasting social change.

 

Vesper has contributed to the establishment of mental health organizations worldwide and has been an advocate for civil rights in the United States. Through their advocacy, they have brought the perspectives of people with mental health challenges and disabilities to both national and international platforms.

 

Collaborating with the United States government and the United Nations, Vesper helps shape strategies around trauma, intersectionality, and disability rights. They have been featured on NBC News, PBS NewsHour, Politico, and at The White House. Vesper is at the forefront of legislative reform, striving to shift the societal paradigm surrounding mental health.

 

Mad Pride & Psychiatric Survivorhood with Vesper Moore – YouTube

 

“Activism is my rent for living on the planet.” Alice Walker

 

“Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows.

Native American Proverb

 

7] Art for Advocacy: Resilience in Bloom – Zero Abuse Project

 

Art has the power to heal, to inspire, and to ignite change.

 

Art for Advocacy: Resilience in Bloom is a virtual art show and fundraiser celebrating the strength, growth, and hope that emerges even in the face of adversity. This unique exhibition will feature works created by children, emerging artists, and professionals from across the country—each piece inspired by the enduring spirit of resilience in youth.

 

From colorful illustrations by young creators to gallery-worthy pieces from seasoned artists, every submission tells a story of courage, creativity, and healing.

 

All proceeds benefit Zero Abuse Project, helping us protect children and support survivors through advocacy, education, and direct services.

 

Submission Categories

 

1. Children & Youth Artists (Ages 5-17)

• Create artwork that reflects resilience, growth, and hope.

• Acceptable Mediums: Drawings, paintings, photography, mixed media, fiber art, and sculpture.

• Size Limit: Maximum dimensions of 24x24 inches and under 50 lbs.

• Suggested Pricing: $25-$200.

 

2. Novice & Emerging Artists (18+)

• Open to amateur artists or hobbyists who are passionate about the theme.

• Acceptable Mediums: All 2D and 3D art forms, including digital art.

• Size Limit: Maximum dimensions of 24x24 inches and under 50 lbs.

• Suggested Pricing: $50-$500.

 

3. Professional Artists

• Professionals are encouraged to submit high-value pieces for inclusion in the "Masterworks of Resilience" year-round online gallery.

• Acceptable Mediums: All professional-level artwork.

• Size Limit: Maximum dimensions of 24x24 inches and under 50 lbs.

• Suggested Pricing: $500 and above.

 

Call for Artists: Art for Advocacy - Resilience in Bloom

 

Join us for "Art for Advocacy: Resilience in Bloom", a virtual art fundraiser hosted by Zero Abuse Project. This event will celebrate resilience, healing, and the enduring spirit of youth through the power of art. We invite both children and adults, from novice creators to professional artists, to submit their work and contribute to this meaningful cause.

 

Artwork Submission Form

 

For questions or further assistance, please contact me.

Thank you for using your creativity to support survivors and advocate for children. Your art is a powerful reflection of resilience and hope.

 

John-Michael Lander

Zero Abuse Project Consultant - Johnmichael.lander@PROTECTED

 

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”

Lao Tzu

 

“A positive future cannot emerge from the mind of anger and despair.” Dalai Lama

 

8] New research reports lack of co-ordinated support for sexual abuse victims - University of Suffolk

 

Families impacted by sexual abuse and sexual violence should be offered a full spectrum of support to help break the cycle of systemic harm, new research from the University of Suffolk has revealed.

The research highlighted that while many parents and carers are struggling to keep victims and survivors safe from suicide and self-harm, there is an added weight of having to manage a raft of other issues such as a lack of communication or understanding complex processes from multiple agencies such as police and social care services while often under financial hardship.

For parents and carers, the impact of the trauma experience can be compounded by dealing with the full range of other issues leading to damaging long-term effects such as poor physical and mental health and managing feelings of isolation, guilt, shame and stigma.

 

In addition, the burden of financial responsibilities can create a significant strain, with many families experiencing loss of income and earnings, and in some cases loss of homes.

The research, commissioned by Restitute and funded by the Home Office via the Support for Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Fund, involved interrogating data sets from over 340 families and interviewing carers and parents to understand how systems can be improved to provide better support and outcomes for families.

 

Restitute, is a small Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise that supports carers and third-party victims of crime was founded in Suffolk but now supports families across the UK.

 

The organisation has evidenced that a more cohesive approach can improve support and care including providing safe, effective interventions for the lead carer who can reduce the impact of abuse and violence while managing the sometimes-conflicting ways in which different agencies work.
 

The research also found that there is a continued high prevalence of sexual abuse and violence within our society which is showing no signs of decreasing and that long delays in police investigation and criminal justice processes, were causing further significant harms, alongside insensitive, and potentially harmful practices by a range of professions.

Professor Jo Finch, who led the research at the University of Suffolk commented: “Our research highlighted that families impacted by sexual abuse and violence often experience prolonged anguish because of the struggle to interact with multiple agencies and manage financial hardships all while supporting the victims through their trauma. By working more cohesively, the stress on these families could be reduced and offer improved outcomes to all those impacted.”

 

“Will power cannot eliminate in a day troubles that have taken root and flourished in my life for decades. Things take time.” Courage To Change

 

“You cannot create a statue by smashing the marble with a hammer, and you cannot by force of arms release the spirit or the soul of a man.” Confucius

 

9] Things Are Not Always What They Seem: The Hidden Blessing in Life’s Struggles by Waleuska Lazo

 

What if everything that feels like misfortune in your life is actually a form of protection? I promise, things aren’t always what they seem. In times of pain and hardship, we often feel abandoned—but what if that’s not the case at all? What if those broken moments are actually saving you from something worse?

 

In this video, I share a powerful analogy and the deeper truth behind life’s toughest moments. By the end, you’ll discover how even the most painful experiences can lead to deeper growth, protection, and love. You won’t want to miss this one.

 

Waleuska Lazo is devoted to educating people about the power of gratitude through transformational storytelling.

 

Join me every Monday morning I will dedicate a new story to you. Get yourself a nice cup of coffee or tea and enjoy the story while learning a valuable lesson. Also every other week I will send you an inspirational lesson to help you prosper and grow.

 

Waleuska's Mission: Empowering people to heal and transform their lives through the power of gratitude so they can live their best lives.

 

“Who then can so softly bind up the wound of another as he who has felt the same wound himself?” Thomas Jefferson

 

“Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.” Maya Angelou

 

10] Revictimized by the System: How Law Enforcement, Prosecutors, and Courts Fail Survivors of Childhood Sex Abuse by Luke Wiersma @ Survivors of Childhood Sex Abuse (SCSA)

 

Article excerpt - In the United States, survivors of childhood sex abuse are told to speak up, to come forward, and to report the crimes committed against them. They are assured by public service announcements, nonprofit organizations, and even law enforcement agencies themselves that justice will be served — that their voices will be heard. But behind the slogans and the sympathetic headlines lies a darker, more disturbing truth: many of these survivors are revictimized not by their abusers, but by the very system that claims to protect them.

 

Across the country, police departments refuse to take formal reports. District attorneys broker plea deals with serial pedophiles. Judges hand down lenient sentences that send predators back into communities where they once hunted children, sometimes within months. Meanwhile, survivors are retraumatized, silenced, and sidelined in a legal process that seems rigged from the start.

 

The First Betrayal: Police Refusal to Take Reports - For countless survivors, the journey to justice begins, and ends, at the police station.

 

“I walked into the precinct with every ounce of courage I had,” says Jennifer, a survivor who reported her abuse 20 years after it occurred. “I was prepared to tell everything. But the officer on duty told me it was too long ago. He said it wouldn’t go anywhere.”

 

Jennifer's story is not unique. Advocates report that police officers across multiple jurisdictions routinely dismiss or ignore reports of childhood sex abuse, particularly if the abuse occurred years or decades earlier. Despite changes in statutes of limitations in many states, frontline law enforcement officers often lack training or the will to pursue historical sex abuse claims.

 

“They act like if it’s not a recent crime, it’s not worth their time,” says Carl Dunne, a former detective turned victims’ advocate. “But what they don’t understand is that delayed disclosure is the norm in these cases. Survivors come forward when they’re ready, and when they feel safe. And we’re failing them the moment they do.”

 

Some officers even misinform victims, intentionally or through ignorance, telling them they have no legal recourse or that their cases are too “complicated” to investigate. In many cases, victims are never given the opportunity to file a formal report. The abuse is never documented, the predator never named, and the first door to justice remains locked.

 

The Prosecutors’ Bargain: Justice for Sale - Even when victims manage to get a case on the record, they often find the next gatekeeper, the district attorney, just as unwilling to fight for them.

 

Judges and Light Sentences: The Final Injustice - If the police don’t block the path to justice, and if prosecutors manage to bring a case forward, victims often face their final heartbreak in the courtroom itself.

 

Judges wield extraordinary discretion in sentencing, and when it comes to child sex crimes, their decisions are often shockingly lenient. In many cases, convicted pedophiles receive suspended sentences, short county jail terms, or even house arrest, often under the justification that the offender “shows remorse” or “has no prior criminal record.”

 

One high-profile example: In 2021, a Louisiana man was convicted of sexually abusing two minors over the course of four years. The judge sentenced him to five years — then immediately suspended all but six months of the sentence, citing the defendant’s "good standing in the community."

 

Survivors of Childhood Sex Abuse (SCSA) - SCSA is an advocacy and support organization for victims and survivors of childhood sex abuse. SCSA is a Nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. We offer resources and support free of charge to victims and survivors. We formed in January 6th, 2021 and was born out of a single crisis that affected 40 people at the same time. The organization became official on February11th, 2021, and we now have members throughout the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

 

All of our services to victims and survivors are free, and you can join our organization by clicking Join or contact us voice or text at 469-275-1439. If you would like to reach out to us in email, our email address is contact@PROTECTED. We are always interested in any feedback or questions you might have, and you do that by visiting our Contact page.

 

We welcome you to our organization!

 

“Strength doesn't come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn't do.” Rikki Rogers

 

“I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.” Albert Schweitzer

 

11] The Survivorship Trafficking and Extreme Abuse Online Conference 2025 – Survivorship.Org

 

Survivorship Announces Its 14th Annual Weekend Conference Fighting Child Abuse

 

Survivorship is proud to announce that this May 16 – 18, 2025, we will be having an online conference.Our Survivorship Trafficking and Extreme Abuse Online Conference 2025 will have presentations for survivors and clinicians. We will be celebrating the gains fighting ritual

Presentations will include:

 

“Progress made against Ritual Abuse in Scotland since 1980” by Laurie Matthew. Dr. Laurie Matthew OBE is the founder and Manager of Eighteen And Under an award winning charity providing confidential support services to young people who have been abused. She is a founding member of MAIRSINN (formerly the Ritual Abuse Network Forum – RANS).https://www.mairsinn.org.uk/ https://www.18u.org.uk

 

“Researching, Writing and Publishing about Masonic Ritual Abuse – What are the issues?” by Lynn Brunet. Lynn Brunet (PhD) is an Australian art historian whose research examines the coupling of trauma and ritual in modern and contemporary western art and literature. It traces the connection between Masonic and other fraternal initiation rites and complex trauma in the work of so-called ‘tortured’ artists and writers.

 

“People Who Identify as Plural” by Randy Noblitt PhD. This presentation discusses the variety of circumstances where people may have the experience of multiple identities or selves. Randy Noblitt is a professor of Clinical Psychology at Alliant International University, Los Angeles and a licensed psychologist in Texas. He has evaluated and treated extreme abuse survivors clinically since 1979.

 

“Successful Investigations of Extreme Abuse Cases – The Role of Mental Health Professionals in Family Courts” by Dr. Rainer Hermann Kurz. Rainer Kurz is a Chartered Psychologist based in London. Since 1990 Rainer has worked in Research & Development roles for leading test publishers. His PhD dissertation was on enhancing the validity and utility of ability testing.

 

“Ritualistic Abuse Survivors Difficulties Obtaining Services” by Neil Brick. Ritualistic abuse survivors have struggled to obtain adequate mental health and social support services for over twenty years. Neil Brick is a survivor of ritualistic abuse. His child abuse and ritualistic abuse newsletter S.M.A.R.T. http://ritualabuse.us has been published for 30 years. http://neilbrick.com

 

We will be having discussion groups at both conferences.

 

Ritual Abuse Evidence https://survivorship.org/ritual-abuse-evidence/

 

Child Abuse Wiki – Ritual Abuse http://childabusewiki.org/index.php?title=Ritual_Abuse

 

None of the material on this page, on linked pages or at the conference is meant as therapy, or to take the place of therapy.

 

“Sometimes it is necessary to reteach a thing its loveliness...until it flowers again.” Galway Kinnell

 

“Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart” Eleanor Roosevelt

 

12] Health systems using 'Zero Suicide Model' see fewer attempts by Carla K. Johnson @ AP News

 

Article excerpt - Health care systems can reduce suicides through patient screening, safety planning and mental health counseling, a new study suggests, an important finding as the U.S. confronts it 11th leading cause of death.

 

The “Zero Suicide Model” was developed in 2001 at Detroit-based Henry Ford Health, where the focus on people considering suicide included collaborating with patients to reduce their access to lethal means such as firearms and then following up with treatment.

 

The approach made a difference, and for all of 2009, the health system saw no suicides among patients. The researchers then studied what happened when a different health system, Kaiser Permanente, adopted the program in four locations from 2012 through 2019.

 

Suicides and suicide attempts fell in three of the locations, while the fourth maintained a low rate of suicides and attempts. Suicide attempts were tracked in electronic health records and insurance claims data. Suicides were measured using government death records.

 

Reductions varied and reached up to 25%, said lead author Brian Ahmedani, of Henry Ford Health.

 

“Over the course of the year, that’s up to 165 to 170 suicide attempts that were prevented at these participating health care systems,” Ahmedani said.

 

The study, published Monday in JAMA Network Open, shows the model works, said Katherine Keyes, a Columbia University public health professor who studies suicide.

 

Prior research has shown that nearly everyone who dies by suicide is seen by a health care provider in the year before their death, Keyes said. Many doctor’s offices have started asking patients whether they’ve thought about harming themselves.

 

“We are coming into contact with people who are at high risk for suicide. If we don’t ask them, we don’t know,” said Keyes who was not involved in the new study.

 

Grants from the National Institute of Mental Health funded the research.

 

“You can't hold a man down without staying down with him.” Booker T. Washington

 

“We do not have to visit a madhouse to find disordered minds; our planet is the mental institution of the Universe.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 

13] A Trauma History Is No Excuse for Abuse by Kaytee Gillis, LCSW @ Psychology Today

 

Article excerpt - We can hold empathy for abusers with trauma, while recognizing bad behavior.

 

Key points

• Having a trauma history does not excuse bad or even abusive behavior towards others.

• It's possible to hold space for their trauma while recognizing wrongs and abuse.

• Systemic changes could help improve support and quality of life for all survivors of abuse.

“Maybe he wouldn’t act like this if I hadn’t made him angry,” Maliah said. “He’s had a lot of trauma in his childhood. I should have known this would upset him.”

“You’re making the same excuses that you did for your parents’ behavior,” I said.

My client stared at me, eyes wide. “Oh my... you’re right,” she said, never breaking my gaze.

As a therapist who works with survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence, as well as a survivor myself, I notice that many of us repeat the same excuses for those who harmed us, justifying abuse with phrases like, “They’re just stressed,” or “Maybe if I hadn’t made them mad.” These rationalizations often mirror the ones we were conditioned to use as children in dysfunctional homes: “Dad yells because he works so hard,” or “Mom left us because we’re too difficult.”

 

That script of excusing and self-blame that we adopt in childhood doesn’t disappear; it instead replays in adult relationships, making it harder to recognize and acknowledge abuse when it happens to us in adulthood. I notice survivors making the same excuses for those who cause harm to them in adulthood as they did in childhood.

 

Much like Maliah, when we are conditioned to excuse bad behaviors, this conditioning does not end when we reach adulthood. I understand, because I lived it, and I made these same excuses when abusive partners treated me disrespectfully or even cruelly, behaviors that felt all too familiar for me as a young survivor.

 

Our nervous systems become wired to seek out familiar dynamics, even when those dynamics are harmful. Some go on to endure similar abuse as adults. Others, without intervention, may adopt abusive behaviors themselves, not because trauma forces them to, but because it shapes their understanding of how relationships work. When violence or manipulation is all you’ve known, it can become a default response—especially in moments of fear, anger, or emotional overload.

 

“The human heart has a way of making itself large again even after it's been broken into a million pieces.” Robert James Waller

 

“The highest form of wisdom is kindness.” The Talmud

 

14] City Voices: Bringing Smiles to People with Mental Health and Addiction Challenges

 

Exiles in New York City – A Haunting, Necessary Chronicle of the Forgotten By Dan Frey @ City Voices

 

Phillip Yanos’ Exiles in New York City (published March 2025) is more than a book—it’s an unflinching mirror held up to a city that prides itself on progress, yet has systematically exiled its most vulnerable for over a century. As the second of Yanos’ works I’ve devoured on mental health stigma, this volume cements his reputation as a scholar who wields rigor and empathy in equal measure.

Yanos guides readers through the shadowed corridors of Ward’s Island, a place where New York’s "undesirables" have been hidden away like dirty secrets. His excavation of the island’s history—laced with bureaucratic indifference and political maneuvering—reads like a slow-burn thriller, except the tragedy is real, and the victims are those society refuses to see.

 

For native New Yorkers, this book is a revelation. It peels back the glossy veneer of the city to expose a geography of abandonment, where policies have often been crueler than the illnesses they purport to treat. But for those with lived experience—especially peer specialists and people in recovery—Exiles is something sharper: a gut-punch reminder that the stigma faced today is not new, only repackaged. Yanos doesn’t just recount history; he draws blood with the parallels to modern neglect.

Yet there’s hope here, too. By naming the exile, Yanos arms his readers with the knowledge to challenge it. This isn’t just a book; it’s a call to witness.

 

Verdict: A must-read for advocates, survivors, and anyone who believes a city’s soul is measured by how it treats its outcasts. Yanos delivers again—with precision, passion, and a quiet fury that lingers long after the last page.

 

Exiles in New York City - Warehousing the Marginalized on Ward's Island by Phillip Yanos Columbia University Press

 

Ward’s Island in the East River sits just a short distance from Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx, yet it has been cordoned off from the rest of New York City. For nearly two centuries, it has been treated as a dumping ground for society’s most marginalized—the unhoused, recent immigrants, and people diagnosed with mental illnesses. Even today, its two psychiatric hospitals, homeless shelters, and residential substance-use treatment program house more than one thousand people, but these institutions are fenced off from the athletic fields and green space of the adjoining Randall’s Island Park.

 

Exiles in New York City shares untold stories from Ward’s Island, offering a new lens on the city’s past and present from the perspective of the marginalized. Philip T. Yanos—a clinical psychologist who grew up on Ward’s Island—explores the history of the island alongside the history of urban mental health systems in the United States. Drawing on archival documents and interviews with current residents and staff while weaving in recollections of his own childhood, he traces how the island became a place of exile and brings to life the failings of the approach to mental illness that it represents. This incisive and timely book reveals a part of New York City that has long been hidden in plain sight, and it also considers how to transform Ward’s Island for a new era.

 

Philip T. Yanos is professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Graduate Center, City University of New York. He is the author of Written Off: Mental Health Stigma and the Loss of Human Potential (2018). During his childhood in the 1970s, Yanos lived on the grounds of Manhattan State Hospital on Ward’s Island, where his father was a psychiatrist.

 

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” Maya Angelou

 

“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.” Kurt Vonnegut

 

 

Thank you & Take care, Michael

 

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