Jun 12
Trauma often does its greatest harm when it occurs during the impressionable stages of our youth. Losing one’s parents, moving from different schools, living in an unstable environment – all of these are issues that can break into a child’s world and cause difficulties well into adulthood. What can we do? What has research shown to …
Mar 18
As the chaplain at Intermountain’s residential program, I often hear the stories of families parenting children who have experienced trauma and how hard it is for them to find a church that “gets them.” One mother shared with me, “The hard thing was, just as my daughter’s behaviors were getting worse and I needed a …
Nov 13
There is a movement taking shape across the country when it comes to ministry settings: becoming trauma-informed. I am personally invested in this movement and I am intrigued by the ways I see connections between Jesus’ teachings and trauma-informed ministry principles. In the first post in the series, I focused only the first identifier of …
Sep 18
(In this final post in the series, we see where Rachel is after the first nine years of her life. She is a survivor, but she’ll need a lot of help going forward. In case you missed the earlier posts, please go back to the first post, and learn just how much this young lady …
Sep 06
(In a previous post, we met Rachel and followed the first part of her journey. In this second installment, we will continue to look at Rachel as a case study and interject ways in which faith communities can reach out to these precious children that are slipping through the cracks. There is a great deal …
Sep 01
Everything is NOT fine, despite what people in our churches may be telling each other during the coffee social following worship! Montana’s children, youth, and families are in trouble, and we have the ability to do something about it! In an effort to pull together the tremendous resources our faith communities possess, I’ll be facilitating …
Aug 15
Note: Crystal Amundson LCPC, RPT-S runs a private practice in Helena, Montana, where she works as a child play therapist. Crystal specializes in Play Therapy, working with children ages 2-12, alongside their caregivers. She is a previous employee and current board member at Intermountain. Her passion and expertise is in the field of early childhood …
Jul 17
We are so grateful for our ever-expanding network of supporting churches, and are especially thankful for the recent efforts by Our Savior Lutheran Church in Columbia Falls. They held a pie and plant sale where half of the proceeds went to support the work of Intermountain. The other half of the proceeds went to support …
May 03
What is the ACE study and why does it matter in ministry? As to what the ACE Study is, I will let the video do the talking, for the most part. ACEs are “Adverse Childhood Experiences.” Adversity in childhood is much more common than we might care to recognize at first, and it crosses social …
Apr 15
There is a growing trend in education, mental health, social services, and health care: becoming trauma-informed. For those in ministry, “trauma informed” can be a confusing phrase, bringing up images we might not naturally associate with the church and its mission and ministry. Trauma results from something that occurs in a person’s life that is experienced …
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