Trauma-Informed Care Consortium 
of 
Central Texas
"Building a Community of Care for Children, Families and Providers"
Newsletter
October 2015
Table of Contents
Spotlight on Helping Hand Home for Children
The Strong Communities for Children Model
Seeking Safety: An Evidence-Based Treatment for Trauma and Substance Abuse
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy
Register Now for TF-CBT Basics Training at YWCA
TICC Members
    
Spotlight on 
Helping Hand Home
for Children

Helping Hand Home for Children's goal is to maintain a therapeutic home for children and to restore each child to a healthy family setting.  Helping Hand Home RTC is able to provide residential services for up to 41 children and is able to maintain a ratio of one staff per every three children on campus.  This ratio assures that staff will have more time to devote to children individually when needed.
 
Many direct care staff and managers in leadership positions at Helping Hand Home have received Trust Based Relational Intervention� (TBRI�) training directly from the Institute of Child Development team at Texas Christian University.  All direct care staff have received this training from campus leaders who are certified as TBRI� trainers for the facility. Staff are trained to use specific interventions and frequent one-on-one interactions in order to develop strong bonded and trusting relationships with children who enter a new place unsure of their own safety and well-being. Among the clinical team at HHH, four of the five licensed therapists (LPC and LCSW) have received training in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy� (TF-CBT�) as well as TBRI�.  

To learn more, click here.
TICC's Trauma-Informed Organization Readiness Survey Results 
Upcoming Trainings
*Please check our website (www.traumatexas.com) for on-going updates and additions to our trainings calendar!
Add TICC to Your 
List Serve
 
Please notify 
of any upcoming trainings 
your agency is holding in 
order to get them added 
to the website and newsletter! 
The Trauma-Informed Care Consortium is funded by:

St. David's Foundation
In the News
Federal Judge Rules that Trauma Could Qualify as a Disability in Schools

Federal judge Michael W. Fitzgerald recently ruled that complex trauma could potentially qualify as an disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. This ruling represents a major victory in the lawsuit made against Compton Unified School District by five teachers and three students.

To read the full story from LA Times, click here.

Featured Articles
Strengthening Community Bonds to Support Parents:
The Strong Communities for Children Model

Suzanne Hershey
Project HOPES Community Collaboration Facilitator
CommunitySync

The Strong Communities for Children pilot was one of the largest community-wide child safety initiatives ever undertaken in the U.S. This multi-year, comprehensive community-
based initiative engaged hundreds of community members and thousands of families. The initiative measurably reduced child abuse and neglect at the population level, as well as the number of child emergency room visits and hospitalizations for injuries.  How did they engage so many community members, and what did they do to achieve those results?

That is exactly what more than ninety participants wanted to find out when they attended the Strong Communities Forum in Austin on August 25th, sponsored by Project HOPES - Travis County. Dr. Gary Melton, Robin Kimbrough-Melton, JD, and Dr. Jill McLeigh, the design and implementation team behind Strong Communities, shared their experiences and perspectives on implementation.

Forum participants were struck by a number of elements of Strong Communities. For one, it is more of a philosophy and a set of principles. Strong Communities was based on the notion that if community members worked together to ensure that "every child and every parent would know that if they had reason to celebrate, worry, or grieve, someone would notice and someone would care," they could transform their community.  

To read the rest of the article, click here.
Seeking Safety: An Evidence-Based Treatment for Trauma and Substance Abuse

Andrea Ciceri, LMSW
Austin Child Guidance Center

Seeking Safety is an evidence-based treatment for trauma and substance abuse that has been adapted for use in multiple settings and with various populations. The curriculum used in Seeking Safety has a strong focus on psychoeducation and developing coping skills. Seeking Safety differs from other trauma-focused treatments in that it does not require clients to complete a trauma narrative. The key principles of the model include safety; the integrated treatment of both trauma and substance abuse; a focus on ideals; cognitive, behavioral, interpersonal, and case management components; and attention to potential clinician issues such as countertransference and compassion fatigue (Treatment Innovations, 2015).

Several TICC members are currently utilizing the Seeking Safety curriculum in their organizations, with additional members planning to implement the treatment in the coming year. Samaritan Center has been using Seeking Safety since 2013 with military veterans going through the Travis County Veterans Court. The center currently uses the
curriculum with court referrals and within two veteran dorms operated by Samaritan Center within state jails. 

Austin Child Guidance Center started using Seeking Safety during the 2014-2015 school year at Decker Middle School with male and female students in the 7th and 8th grades. According to Sarah Fankhauser, LMSW, who facilitated one of the groups: "After participating in Seeking Safety groups, students have reported an increased understanding of trauma and how it has impacted their lives, and have successfully identified safe and practical coping skills that they can use once group has ended to help them manage their often overwhelming emotions." 

The Council on Recovery has been using Seeking Safety for over five years in both residential and outpatient programs. One residential clinician shared: "My experience has been that clients tend to share deeply personal experiences related to the topics which provides an opportunity for them to process issues that may not come up organically in the standard process group."
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy: A Promising Treatment for Traumatized Children

Andrea Ciceri, LMSW
Austin Child Guidance Center

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an evidence-based treatment for children ages 2.5 to 7 with behavioral and emotional issues. While PCIT was initially developed in the 1970s for children with a primary diagnosis related to disruptive behaviors, such as Oppositional-Defiant Disorder, it has since been adapted to treat children with a history of trauma, as well (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2013). Young children suffering from posttraumatic stress may experience symptoms including inattention, aggression, and frequent tantrums (National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 2015). PCIT has been empirically shown to significantly reduce these types of behaviors (Brinkmeyer & Eyberg, 2003; Gallagher, 2003; McNeil & Hembree-Kigin, 2010; Nixon, Schuhmann, Foote, Eyberg, Boggs, & Algina, 1998). PCIT is recognized as an empirically supported treatment and promising practice by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (2015) and is a well-supported treatment by the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (2013).

To read the rest of the article, click here.

Click here for a free 10-hour PCIT web course from UC Davis.
Featured Training
Register Now 
Healing Trauma in Children & Teens:
Basics of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Friday, November 20th, 2015
9 AM-12:15 PM
YWCA Greater Austin

Presented by 
Seanna Crosbie, LCSW

This training will provide an overview on how trauma impacts brain development and will cover the basic components of TF-CBT, a well-supported treatment for trauma in children in adolescents. No experience with TF-CBT is needed to attend.

Cost:
For YWCA members: $40
Non-members: $60
Students: $25

CEUs available for social workers, LPCs, and LMFTs

To register for this training, click here.
Next TICC Meeting
 
Friday, January 8th, 2016 - 9:00-10:30 am
YWCA Greater Austin 
2015 S IH 35 Frontage Rd #110
Austin, TX 78741
 
Please RSVP to Katie: 
TICC 
Members 

Chair
Seanna Crosbie
Austin Child Guidance Center

Co-Chair
Renee Calder Price
Caring Family Network

Organizational Members
Any Baby Can - Holly Gursslin
Austin Achieve Public School - Kali Fagnant
Austin Child Guidance Center - Seanna Crosbie, Stephen Kolar, Andrea Ciceri, Katie Mitten, Melanie Walter-Mahoney
Austin ISD - Kathy Palomo, Kate Wegler 
Austin Oaks Hospital - Angelica Reyes 
Austin PD Victim Services - Robin Foreman
Austin Shelter for Women and Children - Stacy Schwarz
Austin State Hospital - Jennifer Swinton
Austin Travis County Integral Care - Melody Palmer-Arizola, Amanda Davidson
Behavioral Health Center of Nueces County - Victoria Huerta Rodriguez
Bell/Lampasas County CSCD - Samantha Haynes
Care Options For Kids - Kevin Schoenberger
Caring Family Network - Renee Calder Price
Casey Family Programs - Michael Martinez
Cenpatico - Karen Rogers
Center for Child Protection - Barbara Jefferson, Addie Wieland
Child Inc. - Jerica Owukori
Communities for Recovery - Kate Jones & Kanisha Denmon
Communities in Schools of Central Texas - Kris Downing, Sarah McCafferty
Community Yoga Austin - Shawn Kent
CommunitySync/Project HOPES - Suzanne Hershey
Dell Children's Medical Center - Heather Van Diest and Sara Laney
Eanes ISD - Katie Bryant, LCSW
Easter Seals - Jessica Moore
El Buen Samaritano - Donna Shanor
Helping Hand Home - Micki Marquardt
KIPP Austin Collegiate High School - Vanessa Marie Flores
Lake Travis ISD - Kathleen Hassenfratz
LifeWorks - Rob Thurlow
NAMI Austin - Karen Ranus
OutYouth - Keisha Martinez
People's Community Clinic - David Burrows
Pflugerville ISD - Vicky Esparza-Gregory
Phoenix House - Kyle Withrow
Rock Springs - Kelli Wright, Damien Robinson
SafePlace - Linda Herbert, Barbara Ball
Southwest Key Programs - Hillary England
Spirit Reins - Rhonda Smith
Texas CASA - Sarah Crockett, Adrianna Torres-Garcia
Texas NeuroRehab Center - Cheryl Nickell
The Settlement Home - Bronwyn Seay
YWCA Greater Austin - Laura Gomez-Horton 
    
Website Committee
Stephen Kolar and Katie Mitten - Website Liaison
Kevin Schoenberger, Laura Gomez-Horton, Trish Rivera

Newsletter Committee
Andrea Ciceri - Newsletter Liaison
Bronwyn Seay, Micki Marquardt, Angelica Reyes, Gretchen Johnson

Membership and Marketing Committee
Joe Dias, Barbara Jefferson, Kathy Paloma, Kate Amerson, Cristina Guerrero, Julie Guirguis, Jina Sorensen, Donald "Doc" Shuffield, Kathleen Doherty