How Jamie Forbes is Helping Schools Think Proactively to Reduce Incidents of Sexual Misconduct

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Jamie Forbes was sexually abused by a male teacher at Milton Academy, his boarding school in Massachusetts, associated with the wealthy in the 1980s. He wasn’t very vocal about the abuse back then, but decided to in 2016, when the Boston Globe spotlight team started researching about sexual abuse in independent schools. The Milton Academy themselves rolled out letters to all their ex-students asking if they'd faced similar incidents during their time there. And as it turned out, the school had several people openly share their stories of abuse and trauma. After this, Jamie decided to speak up against sexual abuse - not just for himself but for the many others who need his help to prevent it from happening in the future. In this episode, Jamie joins us to speak about centralizing issues like sexual abuse in schools, getting over the trauma faced, and the need to openly discuss them. We also have Adele and Tracy join in as special guests for the show to collectively share their views about confronting social conditioning and fighting trauma. You’ll also learn: How to turn your tale of trauma into a story of learning The psychology of trauma - why it’s sticky, challenging and uncomfortable and how to get over it Why you need to openly share your story of trauma, especially is it’s sexual abuse The role of movement in overcoming trauma Meet The Guests... Jamie Forbes is the CEO at Learning Courage, where they provide leading resources for K-12 schools for reducing and responding to sexual violence. He’s also the Founder at Forbes Legacy Advisors, where they focus on the human side of a family's balance sheet, aligning their values and their resources by clarifying purpose and meaning. Adele Meyers is a professor, producer, director, dancer-choreographer, artist, writer, coach, and collaborator. She’s the Founder and Artistic Director at the Miami-based Adele Myers and Dancers (AMD), a national touring contemporary dance theater company for female athletes. Adele finds her purpose in creating communities of like-minded thinkers, helping spark new ideas and blurring existing lines. Tracy Alloway is an award-winning psychologist whose research on memory and the brain was highlighted in Newsweek as a big idea. She’s also the author of 15 books and over 100 scientific articles and is the Associate Editor of the Educational and Developmental Psychologist journal. Time Stamps... [01:36] What led Jamie into founding his nonprofit that reduces incidents and improves responses to sexual misconduct? [05:15] On reconnecting with his school for the cause of preventing sexual abuse in independent schools [08:40] How do you centralize decentralized issues like abuse? [12:31] Why adults need to make progress in discussing sensitive topics like sexual abuse and how they're keeping the younger generation too from opening up with their problems [17:03] Meet Dr. Tracy Alloway, our special guest for today's episode [17:40] Meet Adele Meyers, our special guest for today's episode [19:24] Jamie shares how 'Learning Courage' helps survivors of sexual abuse [21:28] How do you confront trauma and start healing? Listen to Adele's take on the same. [26:23] Jamie shares how they're engaging different modalities to teach children about boundary violations [28:31] Jamie explains why 'Learning Courage' is survivor founded, led and focused and is aimed purely at helping prevent and address sexual abuse in schools [34:35] Tracy talks about developing the world's first working memory test designed for use by educators. [35:20] Why self-critical attitudes are the number one predictors of an unwell mental health [37:04] Why traumatic experiences hit us so hard always [38:24] Adele talks about the mind-body connection and her upcoming Dance Theatre Project [39:13] Adele talks about social conditioning, trying to not inconvenience someone because of being female, and why women need to navigate and occupy space and time like others....