The Impact of Childhood Separation: Parallels Between Children of Parents with Mental Illness and Children of Incarcerated Parents

• By: Cheri A. Bragg Acker, BA, MSW Paul Acker Chyrell D. Bellamy, PhD, MSW Yale School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry
• July 18th, 2025
• child welfare, childhood trauma, family separation, foster care, grief, parental incarceration, parental mental illness, Summer 2025 Issue, systemic bias, trauma-informed care
• 3942    0

Family separation is a traumatic experience for children, regardless of the cause. When separation occurs due to parental mental illness or incarceration, children face unique psychological and systemic challenges that are often overlooked. Both groups experience disenfranchised grief, attachment...

Family Mental Health: How Your Organization Programs and Services Are Helping

• By: Shaniqua Saxon, LCSW Marlene Morris, LMSW Vibrant Emotional Health
• January 17th, 2023
• children, depression, family, foster care, mental health, rehabilitation, substance use disorder, suicide, treatment, Winter 2023 Issue
• 1815    0

For over 50 years, Vibrant Emotional Health (formerly known as The Mental Health Association of NYC) has been fulfilling its mission to help people achieve mental and emotional well-being with dignity and respect. The work of the organization has branched into comprehensive direct service programs...

Youth in Transition

• By: M.T. S.D. T.W. Q.B. T.D. Services for the UnderServed (S:US)
• January 1st, 2017
• aging out of care, foster care, housing instability, independent living, peer support, support systems, trauma, youth advocacy
• 1311    0

This article is the third in a quarterly series giving voice to the perspectives of individuals with lived experiences as they share their opinions on a particular topic. The young authors of this column came together as a focus group of peers to discuss their experiences and collaborate on this...