Mental Health
Mental health issues are among the most common vulnerabilities we face: in our communities, in our families, in ourselves. My professional work focuses on mental health in a variety of ways, and the articles in this section reflect the diversity of that work. I specialize in the confluence of mental illness, addictions, and trauma – which, for most people who struggle with these issues, are all aspects of one thing and not three different things. I emphasize current research and the many ways we can build resilience and wellbeing both for ourselves and our communities.
When Movement Maintains the Pattern
The Shadow Side of Physical Activity in Recovery
A runner circles the park at dawn, feet striking pavement with metronomic precision. Five miles, then seven, then ten. The endorphins rise, the mind quiets, and for those precious hours the static …
Addressing Mental Health in the Workplace
A Framework for Leaders
Over the past few years, I’ve found myself doing more training with people in leadership positions. Something has shifted. The requests aren’t just about implementing trauma-informed practices or s…
How Early Experiences Shape Who We Become
The Developmental Foundation of Mental Health and Addiction
Pick up a stone from any beach and turn it in your hand. Notice its shape, its smoothness, the way light catches the striations of mineral deposits laid down perhaps millions of years ago. This sto…
Running as Nervous System Medicine
Trauma Responses and the Power of Movement
Trauma is an experience that exceeds our ability to manage stress. It disrupts our emotional containment: we lose our capacity for self-regulation, become drawn into instinctive coping, and often r…
Belonging, Not Steps
What Actually Heals in Recovery
One of the most common conversations in my work is about the pathways of recovery that people choose. Clients in addiction treatment have often participated in a variety of programs, many of which …
Why We Resist What Works
Movement, Mental Health, and the Nervous System's Need for Real Challenge
The research is unequivocal, even monotonous in its consistency: physical activity outperforms pharmaceutical interventions for most mental health conditions. It rivals or exceeds the efficacy of p…
Essentials of Trauma-informed Practice
Considerations for recovery, healing, and well-being
Trauma is an experience that exceeds our ability to manage stress. Clinically, it disrupts containment: we lose our capacity for self-regulation, become drawn into instinctive coping, and often rem…
Working with Grief, Trauma, and Related Challenges
Museums Offer Much Potential for Healing Work — But Safety Must be a Primary Concern
Adapted from Museum Objects, Health and Healing , by Brenda Cowan, Ross Laird, and Jason McKeown. New and powerful museum exhibition trends include a greater focus on emotional engagemen…
Beyond the Alphabet Soup
Trauma Responses, Uncertainty, and the Limits of Models
The Parade of New Models In recent years, trauma terminology has proliferated at an extraordinary rate. What began as the familiar fight-or-flight response has expanded to include freeze, fawn, fl…
Resilience and Well-being in Turbulent Times
A presentation for the Ontario Museums Association
During a time of turbulence and stress, how can we stay emotionally healthy and connected to ourselves and those around us? What kinds of coping are normal and helpful? …
Therapeutic Objects at the 9/11 Museum and Beyond
The Meaning and Use of Personal Objects in Complex Trauma
Tragedy strikes New York on September 11, 2001. Afterwards, survivors, first responders and victims’ relatives experience the healing impact of donating personal objects to what will become the 9/1…
Mental Health Considerations for Museums
An Emerging Field of Practice and Discovery
For information about workshops and training offered by Ross Laird, please visit this page or contact Ross directly. There is a growing trend in museum practice to evo…