Daniel Weintraub
HealthyCal.org EditorVeteran California journalist Daniel Weintraub follows public policy so you don’t have to. Weintraub tracks the latest on public health, land use, community development, violence and more. Read his updates here at least daily.
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Issues
The Power of Validation
By Dave SingletonThe term “validation” means a lot of things to a lot of people. For Naomi Feil, who founded and developed the Validation method in 1982 as a method for communicating with very old people who have certain forms of dementia, it has three distinct elements:
A basic, empathetic attitude
Principles that guide our actions and words
Nonverbal techniques that we use to communicate
In simple terms, it’s a way to move beyond initial conversations so you defuse confused interactions and get to the heart of the matter.
Recently I contacted Feil and her daughter, Validation master teacher Vicki de Klerk, who’s worked with her mother for almost 30 years, to learn more.
Fair Pay in Best Interests of Home Care Consumers
By Dorie Seavey and Eileen BorisCalifornia home care workers and consumers won a major victory when an agreement was reached to limit proposed cuts to service hours in the In-Home Supportive Services program for fiscal year 2014. Yet home care workers in California – and across the nation – still await another critical decision that will affect their paychecks and their dignity: whether a federal labor law will continue to exclude home care workers from minimum wage and overtime protections.
A chronic disease that targets women
By Barbara KasoffImagine being unable to do the things you love to do, like playing sports, writing, or holding hands with someone you love. For most of us, that seems unimaginable, but for those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) it’s a painful reality. That’s because RA systematically attacks the body joint by joint causing inflammation so bad, it’s often tough to even walk.
Futures At Risk: Preventing Children’s Exposure to Violence
By Dr. Nadine Burke Harris and Esta SolerPicture yourself walking through a forest. Now, imagine that you’ve come face to face with a large bear. Instantly, your emergency response system kicks into gear, flooding your body with stress hormones. Your pupils dilate, your heart starts beating fast, and your skin becomes cold and clammy. The executive, cognitive portion of your brain shuts off so you can focus only on two options-fight or flight.
Your body’s emergency response system could save your life-if a bear in the forest really is confronting you. But, what happens if that big bear is waiting for you when you get home every day? Or follows you as you walk down the street to the local store? Or threatens you in the schoolyard? In the face of such extreme and repeated danger, your emergency response can go from saving your life to damaging your health and well-being.
Around the country, this scenario is similar to the reality faced by millions of children who experience violence and trauma at home, in their schools, and in their communities. According to a report by the U.S. Attorney General’s Defending Childhood task force, our children are experiencing and witnessing violence on an alarming scale. The numbers are staggering. Approximately two out of every three children in the U.S. are exposed to violence.