2025 Peer-to-Peer Training: The Epidemic of Loneliness
We’re connected everywhere all the time on our phones and other devices, but research shows that many people are feeling more disconnected from others than ever. In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General released a report on “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,” which found that isolation can have serious long-term effects on our mental, emotional, and physical well-being. In the U.S. from 2003 to 2020, time spent alone increased, while time spent on in-person social engagement decreased.
To help home visiting staff identify the signs of loneliness and provide meaningful support to families, on February 12, 2025, LA Best Babies Network hosted an in-person training on The Epidemic of Loneliness. Gabrielle Kaufman, a licensed professional clinical and certified perinatal mental health specialist, led this training for all staff in our network’s home visiting organizations and Welcome Baby hospitals. She covered these issues:
- Factors that contribute to feelings of isolation and depression
- Ways that isolation increases risks of child abuse and intimate violence
- Benefits of building community to improve mental health outcomes
- Trauma-informed care strategies to reduce isolation
- How provider self-care impacts the ability to serve program participants
- Ways to utilize compassion to help reach isolated communities
Watch a quick recap of the event here, and don’t miss the links to related resources below the video:
About the presenter:
Gabrielle Kaufman, MA, LPCC, BC-DMT, NCC, PMH-C, (she/her/ella) is a licensed professional clinical and certified perinatal mental health specialist. For over 10 years, she was clinical director of Maternal Mental Health NOW. Prior to this, she was director of the New Moms Connect Program of Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles, providing services to new parents, particularly those suffering from symptoms of postpartum depression. She is bilingual in Spanish. Kaufman has worked extensively with new families and aided in providing solutions for many parenting concerns. She has run several programs for high-risk children and teens, taught classes to parents of newborns and toddlers, and has run support groups for single parents and women with postpartum depression. She developed a manual for clinicians on screening and treatment of perinatal depression and a web-based application for expectant and new parents. Gabrielle is on faculty with Postpartum Support International, the Arts and Healing Initiative and Drexel University. She served on the advisory boards for Hasidah (an organization helping families struggling with fertility) and Love, Dad (a nonprofit supporting fatherhood) and was Los Angeles coordinator for Postpartum Support International. Kaufman has provided clinical training to over 15,000 healthcare professionals, doctors, policymakers and child-welfare professionals. She has published articles, been interviewed on various media outlets, and served as a consultant in the fields of education and healthcare. A dynamic and engaging speaker, Kaufman has given presentations on crisis intervention, clinical supervision, conflict resolution, parenting challenges, workplace burnout, and mental health interventions. Her approach to learning is based on trauma-informed, culturally humble practices using creative and mind/body interventions.
Related Resources:
- “Take What You Need” worksheet
- Social Connection Fact Cards (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
- Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation Advisory (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
- Key takeaways from the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
- Health Effects of Social Isolation and Loneliness (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- America has a loneliness epidemic. Here are 6 steps to address it (National Public Radio)