Our Story
A Thousand Joys (ATJ) was founded in 2006 to support individuals and organizations in reaching their highest potential, and to counteract the effects of trauma on children, families and the organizations that serve them.Despite life’s challenges, we are capable of living joy-filled lives with deep connections to others. In fact, trauma can lead to transformation. Because we are better poised to thrive when we feel safe, nurtured and empowered, ATJ supports schools and community organizations in implementing resilience-focused practices and integrating a trauma-informed approach that addresses the whole person.
ATJ’s origin can be traced to a 2005 think tank in which the participants, including experts in mental health and various healing modalities, concluded that existing trauma treatment often failed to incorporate learnings from emerging research about the complexities of trauma and the effectiveness of integrated mind-body approaches. Moreover, organizations too rarely provided sufficient support to enhance staff wellbeing or to counteract vicarious trauma. ATJ was created to act on these powerful lessons with the goal of narrowing those gaps.
ATJ began to serve community organizations by providing training and coaching focused on self-care, organizational wellness, and leadership development as a means to prevent vicarious trauma and burnout. Additionally, we provided direct services at a domestic violence shelter to mothers and children who had experienced trauma. The two-year pilot, which integrated mind-body practices, resulted in accelerated therapeutic progress and significant improvement in coping skills. ATJ concluded that other children living in trauma-exposed environments could also benefit from similar programs. In 2011, ATJ added school-based services and began to envision a future in which all students attend schools that are sensitive to the experiences children have off campus and actively work to bolster their resilience within a trauma-informed environment.
Today, ATJ has two core service areas: School-Based in which we work directly with students, families and educators, and Organizational Wellness focused on community-based organizations. Our team is comprised of mental health, education and well-being professionals who can serve as trainers, facilitators and thought partners to your organization.