Remember the ACEs and PACEs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29173/jafn732Keywords:
ACES, PACES, trauma, asset-based assessmentAbstract
While Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are well‐established risk factors for mental illness, the protective factors that promote resilience often less well known nor, at times, highlighted at all. Protective and Compensatory Experiences (PACEs) are positive experiences that can increase resilience and protect against risk for mental and physical illness. PACEs are powerful elements of everyday life that already exist, or can be engineered, to occur routinely and frequently, and can be leveraged to support treatment goals and activities. Although it might never be possible to prevent ACEs from occurring in the lives of children, nurses can put an emphasis on the value of PACEs, healthy relationships, and resources, to directly minimize the line between adverse childhood experiences and the sequalae of physical and psychological effects into adulthood. PACEs are often overlooked, but powerful tools, that can support therapeutic interventions and mental health throughout the life course.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Paul Thomas Clements, Natalie Evenson, Leah Racheal Helmbrecht
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