The landmark Adverse Childhood Experience Study (ACES) has provided great exposure to the issue and impact of trauma on individuals’ lives. However, current movements for systems to become more “trauma informed” tend to discuss trauma as if there is some segment of our society and we need to know how to work with THOSE individuals when, in fact, the research indicates it’s not THOSE individuals – it’s US! Most of us experienced some form of trauma growing up and those experiences have a significant impact on the way we view the world and how we interact with those around us. The epidemic of trauma is the root cause of all the disconnection and violence we see everywhere.
My Link to Mildred is a personal story about historical trauma, how it has played out through the generations, and how the use of a process called Nonviolent Communication (NVC)has been integral in interrupting the trauma patterns passed down over time. It is a story of hope and possibility with real world application and information about NVC helping the reader connect the dots between trauma, brain research, violence, and how NVC has the potential, if scaled up, to reverse the epidemic of trauma.
The Bigbie Method, a performance-based system to scale Nonviolent Communication, was developed by “Dr. B,” aka “America’s Communications Coach.” Dr. B is a sought-after NVC (Nonviolent Communications) practitioner, trainer and speaker with years of successful experience working with incarcerated youth. She is also a champion of Restorative Practices, and in 2019 won the Dennis Maloney Award for Youth-Based Community and Restorative Justice Programs from the National Association for Community and Restorative Justice.
For 25 years, thanks to her Ph.D. in Instructional Design, she traveled the United States and evaluated hundreds of different educational programs. She saw millions of dollars in grant money being used to support these programs in an attempt to advance our educational systems with little long-term results. And time and time again, she returned to the conclusion that our educational system is not advancing because we are overlooking the social-emotional component that is at the base of all. As a result, she has dedicated her career to bringing restorative practices and Nonviolent Communication (NVC) to all segments of society.
And now she's compiled her 25+ years of institutional teaching experience into an award-winning approach that you can have access to anywhere.
