Description of Presentation:

This presentation is about the early childhood of Anna, a young woman sexually abused in early childhood, who spent 17 years in the mental health system diagnosed as schizophrenic, and who took her life at the age of 32. The presentation is given by Anna’s mother, Dr. Ann Jennings, and includes photographs and artwork along with a narrative of Anna’s childhood story based on Anna’s memories, and the memories of her parents, brothers and sisters, and the many people who knew and interacted with her as a young child. Current research findings are presented on the damaging consequences that can occur over the lifetime to children who suffer from traumatic experiences and who are not recognized or helped. The presentation ends with an open discussion. For formal trainings, the presentation is followed by review of a matrix of strategies for prevention, recognition and early intervention in childhood trauma which can be implemented on a grass roots level in collaboration with community organizations and people. Participants compose preliminary action plans to create trauma-informed communities involving local neighborhoods and organizations.

About the presenter:

Ann Jennings, Ph.D, has been involved for over 20 years in raising public awareness and influencing fundamental change in the way public health and mental health systems view and treat people with histories of unaddressed sexual and physical abuse trauma.

She initiated and for 8 years directed the first state system Office of Trauma Services in the country for Maine’s Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services.

She consults nationally with SAMHSA (Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration) and NASMHPD (National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors), and with numerous state health and mental health systems across the country.

She is a keynote speaker and presenter at national and state conferences and has authored and co-authored several published articles and documents, including

• “In Their Own Words”, first-person accounts of trauma survivors and professionals in Maine, selected by the National Journal of Government Information as one of the most notable state documents of 1997;

• “What Can Happen To Abused Children When They Grow Up – If No One Notices, Listens or Helps”, selected for publication in Resources in Education (RIE) by U.S. Department of Education, Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC);

• “The Damaging Consequences of Violence and Trauma”, published by NASMHPD

• “Models for Developing Trauma-Informed Behavioral Health Systems and Trauma-Specific Services”, to be published by SAMHSA;

• “Blueprints for Action”, on multiple state strategies to address trauma, to be published by SAMHSA

• “Women’s Mental Health Services: A Public Health Perspective”, published by SAGE, recipient of 1998 Book of the Year Award by The American Journal of Nursing (co-editor)

• Her article describing her daughter’s experience in the mental health system “On Being Invisible in the Mental Health System” has been published in numerous journals and three books, in the United States, Canada, and England.

• Her powerpoint presentation “A Child’s Path to Mental Illness and Suicide” is published by the Missouri Institute on Mental Health educational website and can be viewed at www.TheAnnaInstitute.org.

Dr. Jennings is also the founder and president of The Anna Institute, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to speaking truth about the effects of childhood trauma, promoting prevention and early intervention, and providing resources for professional, community, and survivor use.