Helping Our Kids Process Trauma & Loss
When scary things happen, communities help each other. Some people in our community are helping by checking in on their friends, offering a place for evacuating families to stay, and helping at shelters. Many people outside of California are also thinking of us and hoping that we all stay safe.
Kira Bender, MS OTR/L
Center for Connection, Pasadena, California
We have many camp families, staff, and alumni who live in Pacific Palisades, Altadena/Pasadena, and the greater Los Angeles areas who have suffered the loss of their homes, schools, places of worship, and businesses. We join our entire GAC community from outside of the Southern California area in expressing our deepest condolences for the devastating losses so many of our cabin mates, co-workers, and friends have experienced.
This interview (watch the video here or listen to audio only here) with Dr. William Lacey is a resource for families and other adults who want strategies for helping kids process the trauma and losses many families in our community have experienced.
About Dr. Lacey
Dr. William Lacey is a Licensed Psychologist who specializes in neuropsychological assessment of children, adolescents, and young adults. His clinical expertise for neuropsychological assessment includes diagnosis, academic and treatment planning for individuals with neurodevelopmental concerns (e.g., learning disorders, AD/HD), traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, complex emotional difficulties, and other complex medical conditions. Domains of psychotherapy expertise include depression, anxiety, borderline personality disorder, behavior difficulties/ADHD, trauma and grief, transgender care, and peripartum depression. Dr. Lacey has training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Trauma & Grief Component Therapy for Adolescents, Parent Management Training, Parent Child Interaction Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy.
Dr. Lacey was born and raised in Detroit, MI and lived in Houston, TX and Boston, MA for extended periods of time. He uses a whole child approach and focuses on the context and culture surrounding our children and how that effects the way they interact with the world.
In addition to this interview, here are some additional resources for families who have been impacted by the recent fires:
Here are ways for the families to contact and reach out to Dr. Lacey:
website: https://www.cfcsantabarbara.com/will-lacey
email: william@thecenterforconnection.org
Twitter: DrLaceySB
Instagram: CFC_SantaBarbara
Resources
Tips and scripting to help caregivers navigate conversations with children.
Talking to Children About the Fires, The Center for Connection
Need support? Want to offer support?
If your family has been impacted by the fires or you are interested in supporting others in our GAC community, please fill out this form.
We are grateful for the love and connection that define our community during both the happy times and the difficult ones, and we are committed to helping our campers, staff, and families stay connected and supported during these difficult months ahead.
December Kindness Calendar
Hello all! Can you believe it is the last month of the year already!? Here are 31 ideas to keep your kindness going through December. Have a fabulous month! You can download the printable version here.
November Kindness Calendar
November is a great time to show gratefulness, so make sure we are showing others how thankful we are for them. Enjoy November’s Kindness Calendar and you can print a calendar here.
October Kindness Calendar
The new month means we have new ideas of ways to be kind to those around you! We hope these ideas fill your bucket as you fill others’ buckets. You can download and print out your own October Kindness Calendar here. Happy October!
September Kindness Calendar
Happy September from Gold Arrow Camp! This month, we’re continuing to celebrate kindness with our September Kindness Calendar. Follow the prompts each day and practice kindness wherever you go! You can download and print out your own September Kindness Calendar here.
Manhattan Beach 10k, Here We Come!
It’s that time of year! The GAC Runners are headed to Manhattan Beach on October 5th, 2024 for the 47th annual Manhattan Beach 10k! We love attending this race for so many reasons, but especially because we get to see so many wonderful GAC families. This event only offers a 10k race, so if that is not your cup of tea please come hang out with us at the Gold Arrow booth. We would love to catch up with all of you! There will also be a group photo taken at the GAC booth at 9:00 am. We can’t wait to see you there!
Details and registration information are available here.
Welcome Mini Camp 2!
Counselors are excited and ready to create MAXI fun and friendship during Mini Camp 2.
Some fun statistics about this week’s campers include:
45 first-time campers at GAC!
25 returning campers and
4 3-year campers
We are so excited for this week that will be spent having tons of fun, making new friends, singing songs, playing games, enjoying campfires and so much more! Make sure to keep up with everything going on at camp through our News section.
You can see what we’re eating this week during Mini Camp 2.
Summer 2025 Registration Now Open for Returning GAC Families
Hello GAC Families!
Registration for Summer 2025 is now open for returning GAC campers (and siblings) and families who were wait-listed for 2024. We cannot guarantee or hold space for your camper, and registrations will be processed on a first-come first-served basis. We recommend enrolling as close to August 1 as possible and before September 16 when we open enrollment for new camp families.
Some age groups in our two and three-week sessions fill very quickly, so be sure to check out the 2025 Dates & Rates, 2025 Availability, and contact us if you have any questions. Please enroll your camper through your My GAC Login or the Campanion app.
August Kindness Calendar
Happy August! We have loved spreading kindness and want to keep it going. Enjoy these kindness tips and feel free to download and print the calendar here.
2025 Dates & Rates
Check out our 2025 Dates & Rates and see what session is going to work best for your camper for next summer.
