TRUST-BASED RELATIONAL INTERVENTION^®

Trust-Based Relational Intervention^® (TBRI) was developed by the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at Texas Christian University. TBRI^® is a form of intervention that focuses on meeting the physical and emotional needs of children from “hard places,” such as abuse, neglect or other trauma. We know that children who have suffered trauma have changes in their bodies, brains, behaviors and belief systems.

The principles of TBRI^®: Empowerment, Connection and Correction are all centered around the concept that it is not WHAT a child is doing but WHY he or she is doing it. If we can meet those needs behind WHY a child is behaving a certain way, we can help mitigate some of the effects from trauma.

“When you connect to the heart of a child, everything is possible.” – Dr. Karyn Purvis

At Alliance For Children we see the value and need for this kind of intervention. As the late Karyn Purvis said, “When we connect to the heart of a child, everything is possible.” Our entire agency operates from the view that this isn’t a “bad kid who is acting out,” this is a child who has experienced trauma and needs our every effort.

We work on first, meeting physical needs of children as they walk through our centers by offering them snacks and juice. Our Family Advocates provide snacks and waters to caregivers during meetings. Physical needs also include the need for movement, so we provide a basket of various fidget toys and stress balls that our children can use during a forensic interview or counseling session. Beyond that, the Trust-Based Relational Intervention^® model helps our staff members reframe how they view a child’s or caregiver’s behavior. This in turn helps us meet families where they are emotionally, allowing for us to serve each family with all of our efforts.

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