Entries by Andi Fetzner

Healing and Hope – A Day at Folsom Prison

Written by: Andi Fetzner PsyD You may have heard the phrase “hurt people hurt people” and thought that it’s just some fluffy way for people to avoid accountability for their actions. But what if this is the foundation for doing just that? When I know I have an injury, I can work to heal it […]

Bringing Out The Trainer In You

Sharing Skills, Shaping Communities Many of you have attended trainings on the ACE Study, trauma-informed principles, and resilience and have been left wanting guidance on how to put these concepts into action. That’s what our Basics, Resilience Champion, and Principles to Action training workshops offer. We often also hear, “How can I spread this approach […]

Beyond the Checklist: Implementing a Trauma-Informed Culture

Defining a trauma-informed approach and figuring out how to put it into action has been a struggle since the inception of the term. At Origins, our answer to this predicament is simple (but not always easy)–a trauma-informed approach is a culture, not a checklist. In other words, this approach is less about what you do […]

Language Matters: The Case for “Humaning”

The other day I was at the gym and someone asked me what I do for work. I really love what I do, but I have to admit that I sometimes dread this question and often try to avoid it. When I tell people about the work we do at Origins to support leaders implementing […]

Trauma-Informed Principles Rebooted

One of the biggest questions that Andi and I get whenever we talk about a trauma-informed approach is something along the lines of “Ok I get ACEs and toxic stress, but what can I do about it in my organization?” We get it–this approach can seem overwhelming because it is literally a lens through which you see everything. We often say that a trauma-informed approach is less about what you do and more about how you do it. So how in the world do we even begin the work of operationalizing our understanding of the science behind stress, trauma, and resilience?

Some things change, some things stay the same

Since 2017, Origins has been a leader in the trauma-informed movement, working to support champions who are implementing this work across a range of organizations and sectors. Since that time, the movement has exploded, particularly in California, where the ACEs Aware initiative, led by the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and the Office of the California Surgeon General (CA-OSG) has created even more opportunities for activation and expansion of this work.

How Healthy Is Your Health Center?

More and more organizations are seeing the value of integrating a trauma-informed approach into their organizational culture! At the 2022 National Association of Community Health Clinic (NACHC) Conference in Chicago, Andi Fetzner, PsyD, and Lori Chelius MBA/MPH presented a poster highlighting Eisner Health’s Journey Through Implementing Trauma Informed Care. It went so well that in […]

Going Down the Mountain Together

I learned to ski as an adult so I will never be great, but I absolutely love it and can hold my own. As my two older kids have long surpassed me in terms of skill level, one of the things I now do when I go on a hard run with them is to […]