It begins with systemic change where all people in America have equal opportunity. It begins by breaking the cycle of poverty. By breaking the cycle of violence. The cycle of sex trafficking. It begins by stopping systemic racism and the oppression of black and brown women. By addressing the trauma and healing the scars of the girls and women who are so easily pushed into a life of prison. It begins with providing free mental and physical health care services. With not turning a blind eye. With a willingness to listen. A desire for change. A spark of hope. It…
Several studies report increased brain volumes, efficiency of processing in brain networks, and utilization of different brain networks of high IQ (gifted) individuals as a core feature of their being. These increased brain volumes and efficiency networks play a critical role in the overexcitabilities of gifted individuals including the intensity of intellectual, emotional, motor, and sensory processing. Many molecular studies show associations of high IQ and giftedness with genetics, specifically genes involved in neurotransmission, neural plasticity, and development…
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” ― Maya Angelou
In the middle of March 2020, life changed as each of us faced the COVID-19 global pandemic. Slowly, emails filled my inbox: stores closing, news reports of people on ventilators, and the death toll swarmed the airwaves as we reached record levels of unemployment. Each of us under lockdown in our homes facing a future with many unknowns.
A week prior to the Safer at Home measure, I completed a trauma informed yoga training. While I was preparing to pilot the Beyond the Cell program with my first group of young women at Victor Treatment Center, I received the email…
In this turbulent time of a pandemic, we are experiencing a span of anxiety and turmoil. Families, communities, and nations are thrust into commotion. The “healthy” practices of social distancing may cause or exacerbate painful feelings of social isolation. Know this, you are not alone. You have community and we have each other. Right now, self-care and safety are paramount. While we make a conscious effort to care for ourselves, we can also increase our awareness and compassion for others. In this challenging time, be gentle with yourself. Be kind with yourself. Be patient with yourself, even as anxieties and…
Nicole Tetreault (PhD ‘13)
“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” — Mother Teresa
Every January, I kick off the year with a vision board that maps out my goals and intentions. In 2019, I taped clippings of the Milton & Rosalind Chang Career Exploration Prize in the lower left corner of my vision board. Just beside those clippings was a large post-it note with the manifestation:
Beyond the Cell — teach meditation, neuroscience,
and creative writing to incarcerated women
In my wildest dreams for 2020, this all came true with the launch of the Beyond the Cell program made possible through the Chang Prize. And each step of this manifestation has been…
Learn more at https://www.beyondthecell.org/
I am excited to announce the launch of Beyond the Cell!
Beyond the Cell is a transformative program dedicated to educating and empowering incarcerated women.
Beyond the Cell aims to heal the scars of trauma, stigma, bullying, social isolation, and exclusion by employing specific education strategies supported by neuroscience.
Participants connect with themselves and their community, building a bridge to greater self-awareness and metacognition to understand oneself and others.
Insights from guided meditation, neuroscience, literature, and creative writing bring forth healing and redemption.
“No single moment of tragedy or glory defines a person. …
*Previously published on 2e News and Variations Magazine at https://www.2enews.com
“You are capable of more than you know.” — Glinda from The Wizard of Oz
To understand why twice-exceptional kids sometimes can struggle to master new skills, one might first examine how our brains work. The human mind is comprised of knowledge and energy flow. Our knowledge is our perception of the present, made tangible through our five senses and our memories. Energy flow is electrical pulses that fire across neural paths and transfer information. The way we perceive information is directly related to the attention and intention of how…
by Nicole A. Tetreault, PhD
*Previously published on 2e News and Variations Magazine at https://www.2enews.com and at www.nicoletetreault.com
“If you are always trying to be normal you may never know how amazing you can be.”
- Maya Angelou
There is a great body of evidence in neuroscience indicating that our individuality originates within our unique brains.
Recent studies illuminate that each of our brains is as distinctive as a fingerprint. With advances in brain mapping and imaging software, we know no two brains are identical — which makes sense. We each have our own genetic makeup, process information from our environment through our five senses, express unique ways of emotional processing, and are composed of our specific autobiographical memories. As…
by Nicole A. Tetreault PhD
In college, I read an article in the San Francisco Chronicle that forever changed the way that I interact with humanity. If I could tell the author thank you a million times I would, but sadly, I do not know the author and the article clippings are packed away somewhere in my college boxes.
The story was about a man who had committed suicide by jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge. Strikingly, in the suicide letter, the man wrote that his letter would not be found if at least one person smiled at him as…
by Nicole A. Tetreault, PhD
(Originally published at www.nicoletetreault.com on February 15, 2019.)
William Shakespeare wrote, “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings.” It is important to remember, when one’s mind tends to drift, imagining can be positive, negative, or neutral. It is the state of our reactions to our emotions and bodily sensations, whether we attach or detach to our fears and anxiety.
Ultimately, the stories we tell ourselves can dictate our state of mind and well-being.
Psychologist Kazimierz Dabrowski proposed that bright individuals have greater imaginations, intensities in five domains (intellectual, emotional, sensory, psychomotor, and imaginative), and elevated experiences in the world. Bright…
Dr. Nicole Tetreault
Dedicated to providing the most promising neuroscience and medical breakthroughs to individuals so they can live their best quality of life
