ACEs Screening

Invited guests:

• Warren Larkin, Consultant Clinical Psych & Univ of Sunderland
• Rena Romano, Sur-THRIVER of child sexual abuse

One of the issues that generates strongest feelings within the UK’s ACES discussions is that of screening.  What are its risks?  Does it have any benefits?  Who should it be done by, if anyone?  Where does power lie?  Please join us to hear from two individuals with considerable experience in thinking about scoring, screening and routine enquiry.  Warren Larkin is a consultant clinical psychologist based in Lancashire who has developed and implemented the REACh approach (Routine Enquiry about Adversity in Childhood) to reducing intergenerational impacts of adversity.  He is also Visiting Professor at the University of Sunderland and a leading voice in the Resilience Task Force, established to help prevent lasting psychological consequences of the COVID pandemic.  Rena Romano is an author and public speaker based in the USA, who uses her voice and personal experience to support recovery from childhood sexual abuse.  Her TEDx talk explores how she was able to shift her perspective from victim to ‘Sur-THRIVER’.  A crucial element in that shift was the opportunity to tell her story to someone who wanted to listen.  The insights offered by these two guests will add to the conversations sparked by ACE-awareness about how our systems and society get better at facing up to childhood pain.