BREAKOUT SESSIONS

  • PRESENTER: Samantha Farris, LMSW, IECMH-E; Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development

    In a tribute to Infant Mental Health giants Selma Fraiberg and Alicia Lieberman, in this session we will explore the concepts of "ghosts in the nursery" and "angels in the nursery" to help caregivers begin making sense of their own attachment histories (drawing on both the resiliency factors in their early lives, the "angels," as well as being fiercely honest about their adverse experiences, "the ghosts") in order to support healthy attachment development with the children they care for. We will dive into the Attachment Cycle (including infant attachment patterns and adult state-of-mind with respect to attachment), and the development of Mindful Awareness in caregiving.

  • PRESENTER: Jesse Faris; Empowered to Connect

    Relationships with kids aren’t always smooth—misunderstandings, conflict, and tension are inevitable. This session explores how to respond when connections are strained, offering practical ways to repair trust, restore communication, and rebuild closeness. You’ll leave with concrete strategies for turning both big and small ruptures into opportunities for growth, understanding, and stronger bonds.

  • PRESENTER:‍ ‍Cindy R. Lee, LCSW; Halo Project

    Attachment experiences shape how individuals see themselves, relate to others, and navigate the world. In this session, Cindy R. Lee, LCSW provides an overview of attachment theory through the lens of the Making Sense of Your Worth program, a trauma-informed framework designed to help individuals move toward secure attachment. Participants will explore how early relational experiences influence beliefs about worth, safety, and belonging, and how these beliefs show up in behavior, relationships, and emotional regulation across the lifespan. Cindy will outline the core steps of the Making Sense of Your Worth process, highlighting how increased awareness, attunement, and relational safety support healing and growth. This presentation offers a clear, accessible roadmap for understanding attachment styles and the practical pathways toward earned secure attachment. Designed for professionals and caregivers alike, this session emphasizes hope, compassion, and the belief that secure connection is possible—even when early experiences were not.

Attachment & Connection

  • PRESENTER: Dr. Angie Proctor, PhD, LCDC; Trust-Based Counseling and Consulting, LLC

    Are you a caregiver? Do you put others’ needs before your own? You are not alone! What we are learning through neuroscience research is how stress impacts our brains and bodies. This workshop is designed to empower you to discover past wounds and stresses so that you can become emotionally available to others. You are valued! You matter!

  • PRESENTER: Pam Shepard. LCSW; Heard Culture PLLC

    We often hear "breathe deep", "ground yourself", "take care of yourself". But what does that mean? Does it mean something different to each individual? In this breakout, we will identify where anxiety, stress and overwhelm can stem from in a body-based perspective. We will talk about activation within our nervous systems and name ways that we can truly experience a sense of calm on a daily basis. Participants will also learn how they can work through some of these nervous system responses in practical ways. (I am a certified Safe and Sound Protocol Provider as well as trained in Levels 1 and 2 in EMDR and Brainspotting).

  • PRESENTER: Stephen Zedler; The Pearl Project (with Justin Hentschel, John Warren, Tim Price, David Randall)

    The TBRI journey for dads is unique and, often, complicated. Come learn from a panel of experienced TBRI dads about how they have navigated the journey, and ask them questions about your own. TBRI Dads Justin Hentschel, John Warren, Tim Price, Stephen Zedler, and David Randall will be leading the panel.

  • PRESENTER: Ryan North; adoptive & foster parent, co-founder of One Big Happy Home, author

    Effective communication is a necessary component of a healthy culture, within teams and within families. This session explores how the brain processes emotions, memories, and stress, and why communication often breaks down under pressure. Learn to recognize survival-driven reactions, regulate responses, and engage others more effectively to strengthen trust, clarity, and relationships.

Caregiving & Self-Care

Church & Ministry

  • PRESENTER:‍ ‍Justin Hentschel, Th. M.; Presbyterian Children's Homes and Services

    Most thriving churches have thriving children and student ministries that seek to disciple the next generation. What if the way we instruct our children is more important to their spiritual growth and development than the content of our instruction? This breakout would focus on three areas to help a children's ministry be trauma-informed. In the breakout, we would cover: (1) Why the way we engaging with children is more important than the instructional content; (2) Shifting a focus from viewing a child's behavior from 'Won't' to 'Can't'; and (3) Practical tips on how to balance nurture and structure to meet the needs of the child. The last part would include hands on practice for connecting with children, regulation tools, and setting up the environment to help with structure.

  • PRESENTER:‍ ‍Max McGhee; Saddleback Church

    Miracles often grab the headlines, but Jesus’ methods for building relationship is where the deepest healing occurred. In this workshop, we look at the Gospel through a "TBRI® Lens" to see how Jesus to correct a crowd by deescalating and giving choices John 8:1-11, connecting by mindfulness with a Samaritan woman (John 4:1-30), and empowering through feeding a crowd Matthew 15:32). We will explore the Great Commandment which is a very concise instruction of how to love using TBRI. The Church is all about relationships and could be the most effective instrument for spreading TBRI into the community by providing human relationship opportunities for healing trauma in every sector of society.

  • PRESENTER:‍ ‍Jesse Faris; Empowered to Connect

    Many churches recognize the importance of trauma awareness but struggle to translate it into everyday ministry practice. This interactive workshop helps faith-based leaders move from understanding trauma to implementing trauma-informed systems within their ministries. Participants will explore how trauma-informed principles can shape programming, volunteer training, leadership practices, and policies—creating environments of safety, dignity, and belonging for children, families, volunteers, and staff.

  • PRESENTER: Dr. John Garland, DMin; San Antonio Mennonite Church

    This workshop presents a research-based model of prayer drawn from my doctoral study on the Psalms as a pathway to secure attachment to God. Building on quantitative and qualitative findings from a Psalm-based communal prayer intervention, the session demonstrates how the shape and intentional movements of the Psalms form a coherent spiritual journey that mirrors the developmental movement from insecure to secure attachment. Participants will explore practical models of praying the Psalms to reshape internal working models of God and self. In dialogue with the structure of the Lord’s Prayer, we identify progressive movements: turning toward God, honest lament, relinquishment of control, healthy dependence, forgiveness, and trust amid threat. These movements correspond to core attributes of secure attachment: accessibility, responsiveness, emotional regulation, coherent narrative, and resilient hope. The workshop offers a tangible ritual framework for responding to traumatized individuals or communities. Rather than reinforcing hyper-vigilance, avoidance, or self-reliance, the structured practice of Psalm-based prayer gently disrupts maladaptive survival strategies and replaces them with embodied rhythms of safety, confession, dependence, and praise in order to cultivate a deeper, integrated security in relationship with God and one another.

Clinical Practice

  • PRESENTER:‍ ‍Pam Shepard. LCSW; Heard Culture PLLC

    We get trained in various therapeutic modalities and interventions, but many times we don't know how to incorporate those within our therapy sessions, coaching, ministry settings, classroom, home interventions, camp and more. This breakout will identify various interventions such as TBRI, Theraplay, EMDR, Brainspotting, The Safe and Sound Protocol/Polyvagal Theory, The Adult Attachment Interview and then provide practical ways to implement those into various therapeutic and organizational settings.

  • PRESENTER: Brandie Naylor, CSW & Marc Anson, LCSW; Anson Family Counseling

    "This breakout session will provide clinicians with practical, relationship-centered strategies for integrating Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®) into therapeutic work with children and families in adoption and foster-care contexts. Participants will explore how early adversity and attachment disruptions shape neurodevelopment, behavior, and family dynamics, and how TBRI’s Connecting, Empowering, and Correcting Principles can be applied within clinical practice to promote healing and relational safety. Through case examples, brief experiential activities, and discussion, we will demonstrate how clinicians can:

    • Build attachment through attuned, co-regulated interactions

    • Equip caregivers with trauma-responsive tools that enhance felt-safety

    • Integrate TBRI strategies into individual, family, and group therapy

    • Collaborate with child-welfare teams to maintain consistency across environments Attendees will leave with actionable approaches for strengthening connection, decreasing challenging behaviors, and supporting caregivers as therapeutic agents of change. This session is ideal for therapists, social workers, and child-welfare professionals seeking to deepen their understanding of trauma-informed, attachment-focused clinical practice."

  • PRESENTER: Cindy R. Lee, LCSW; Halo Project

    Children come to us with a wide range of needs shaped by trauma, adversity, and neurodevelopmental differences. In this session, Cindy R. Lee, LCSW explores how Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®) can be thoughtfully and effectively applied across diverse presentations, including children impacted by big “T” trauma, little “t” trauma, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) and neurodiversity. Drawing from clinical practice, program development, and real-world application, Cindy will highlight how understanding a child’s history, and nervous system functioning allows caregivers and professionals to explore healing strategies to help with behavior and positive-self worth. Participants will learn how the core principles of TBRI—connection, empowerment, and correction—can be flexibly adapted to meet the unique needs of each child while maintaining felt safety, dignity, and trust. This presentation will offer practical insights, examples, and a compassionate framework for supporting children and families with clarity, confidence, and hope.

  • PRESENTER: Sarah Mercado; Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development

    Are you new to TBRI or are you looking for a refresher? This session will provide an introduction and overview of Trust-Based Relational Intervention.

Intro to TBRI

Leadership & Organizational Culture

  • PRESENTER: Leah Gilliam, LCSW; My Health My Resources of Tarrant County

    Leadership is a relational venture. Using Dr. Howard Bath’s three pillars of Trauma Wise practice, the presenters will share their journey of bringing relational practices into a community mental health setting, empowering executives to understand the role of attachment theory in how we see and navigate relationships and the world around us. Learning Objectives:

    1. Audience members will learn about attachment theory and distinguish its role in the workplace.

    2. Explain the three pillars of trauma wise care in the workplace and how to utilize strengths.

    3. Recognize the need for attuned, connected care in the workplace to offer healing.

  • PRESENTER: Justin Myers; Director of Programs at Show Hope

    An integral piece in the expansion of trauma-informed care is donor support and funding. In today's media-saturated marketplace, donors and supporters are bombarded with information, so to get their attention, you must think strategically. This session will explore opportunities you have to connect with donors in their support of trauma-informed care.

  • PRESENTER:‍ ‍Jane Snaith, MSS, LSW; Family for Each Child, Estonia

    Therapeutic "re-parenting" of traumatized child or young person is a very long job. Many people feel frustrated and desperate as the years go by with seemingly no change. But we cannot underestimate how the small steps all add up to the total length of the journey. Living today in "fast food" society, we all - parents, social workes, teachres, donors, church leaders and so on, are eager to see quick result. Of course that would boost also our own worth and contribution. But the work related to trauma is lifelong, often invisible, often unrecognized. But the result is eternal! Reflecions of the practitioner - leader of organization and foster parent same time.

  • PRESENTER: Vanessa Houston, LPC-S; Choices Coordinated Care Solutions & Naomi Strawhorn; CASA of South Mississippi

    "The Trust‑Based Workplace (TBW) presentation introduces supervisors to a trauma‑informed, relationship‑centered leadership model adapted from Trust‑Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI). It emphasizes that the quality of care provided to children and families is directly tied to the care leaders provide to staff. Supervisors learn that trauma affects workplace behaviors and that many “performance problems” may actually be stress or fear responses, such as fight, flight, or freeze. The presentation frames trauma‑wise care around three essential pillars—Felt Safety, Connection, and Regulation—which must be consistently cultivated within staff relationships and organizational culture. Participants explore the impact of adverse workplace experiences and how unmanaged stress leads to burnout, reduced efficacy, and unhealthy workplace dynamics. The training contrasts the Typical Stress Cycle, where adults ignore or deny stress, with the Optimal Stress Cycle, which encourages acknowledging stress, engaging with it, and taking meaningful action to preserve energy and prevent burnout.

    Supervisors are encouraged to adopt positive staff assumptions, approach employees with empathy, ask curious questions, and focus on relational—not transactional—leadership.

  • PRESENTER: Ryan North; adoptive & foster parent, co-founder of One Big Happy Home, author

    Effective communication is a necessary component of a healthy culture, within teams and within families. This session explores how the brain processes emotions, memories, and stress, and why communication often breaks down under pressure. Learn to recognize survival-driven reactions, regulate responses, and engage others more effectively to strengthen trust, clarity, and relationships.

Measurement & Evaluation

  • PRESENTER:‍ ‍Samantha Cahill; All God's Children International

    This breakout session, led by AGCI’s Measurement & Evaluation team, will explore how to gather meaningful data in ways that are both trauma-informed and grounded in local voice. Participants will examine how traditional evaluation methods can unintentionally reinforce power imbalances or overlook lived experience, and how to design data collection processes that prioritize dignity, cultural context, and relational safety. The session will highlight practical strategies for engaging local partners as co-creators in evaluation, elevating community-defined indicators of success, and translating qualitative and quantitative insights into credible reporting for donors and stakeholders — without compromising the integrity or agency of those closest to the work.

  • PRESENTER: Dr. Angie Proctor, PhD, LCDC; Trust-Based Counseling and Consulting, LLC

    Learn the importance of sensory integration through a hands on tutorial in how to run a Crash & Bump Course and other sensory activities.

  • PRESENTER: Samantha Farris, LMSW, IECMH-E; Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development

    In this session, participants will gain an understanding of how to support children's needs through a neurodevelopmental lens combined with TBRI® Principles. The goal is to equip participants with the skills to see beyond surface behaviors and connect more deeply with children, ultimately fostering their growth and well-being. This training is designed for individuals who work with children, including (but not limited to) caregivers, clinicians, educators, advocates, and juvenile justice professionals, and provides practical insights and strategies for enhancing practice.

  • PRESENTER: Lucinda Miles; Volunteers for Youth Justice & Carl Dollar; Holistic Justice Initiative

    This session invites participants to explore how trauma shapes the adult nervous system, relationships, and sense of self. Adults are often seen as fixed, but Neuroscience tells a different story: we are wired by experience, and that wiring can be reshaped. Drawing from TBRI principles and neuroplasticity, this session unpacks how early adversity - whether from childhood, systemic injustice, or relational betrayal- leaves lasting imprints on the brain and body. It explains how trauma influences adult responses to stress, intimacy, authority, and even self-worth. Participants will learn how survival strategies like avoidance, aggression, or hyper-independence are not signs of dysfunction, but evidence of adaptation. The session also offers hope: healing is possible when adults experience safety, connection, and empowerment. Through stories, science, and practical tools, Wired by Experience equips attendees to recognize trauma's fingerprints in themselves and others, and to respond with compassion and curiosity. Whether working in corrections, education, or community care, this session affirms that adults are not beyond repair-they are resilient, and with the right support , they can rewire toward healing, purpose, and connection.

  • PRESENTER: Marti Smith, OTR/L; Creative Therapies

    "Children who have experienced adversity often struggle to feel safe, even in loving homes. Their bodies remember what their minds may not, and traditional approaches to connection don't always reach them. This session introduces caregivers to a sensory-informed framework for building felt safety and genuine connection. Drawing from occupational therapy principles and attachment research, participants will learn how everyday environments, including lighting, textures, sounds, movement, and routines, can either dysregulate a child or become powerful tools for healing.

    Attendees will explore practical strategies for transforming their homes and church spaces into sensory-supportive environments. We'll examine how to read a child's sensory cues, why some children seek intense input while others withdraw, and how caregivers can use their own regulated presence as a co-regulating force.

    Whether you're a foster parent navigating early placement days, an adoptive family building trust over time, or a church volunteer creating welcoming spaces, you'll leave with concrete, affordable ideas you can implement immediately.

    When we understand how children experience the world through their senses, we unlock new pathways to their hearts."

  • PRESENTER: Marti Smith, OTR/L; Creative Therapies

    Sometimes the most effective therapeutic tools are the simplest. Lycra, an affordable and versatile stretchy fabric, offers caregivers a portable way to engage a child's proprioceptive system and promote calm, focused connection. In this hands-on session, participants will experience firsthand how resistive, stretchy input speaks directly to the body's deep pressure receptors. We'll explore the science behind proprioception and why this often overlooked sense plays such a critical role in helping children feel grounded, organized, and safe. Through guided activities, attendees will learn multiple ways to use Lycra with children of all ages, whether for active play, quiet calming, or co-regulation during moments of dysregulation. We'll practice techniques for one-on-one connection as well as group settings like Sunday school classrooms or family game nights. In this hands-on session, participants will experience firsthand how resistive, stretchy input speaks directly to the body's deep pressure receptors. We'll explore the science behind proprioception and why this often overlooked sense plays such a critical role in helping children feel grounded, organized, and safe. Participants will leave with a toolkit of creative, adaptable activities they can use immediately in their homes, churches, and communities. No special training or expensive equipment required, just a simple piece of fabric and a willingness to meet children where they are. Come Ready to move, stretch, and discover a new way to help children feel held.

Neurodevelopment & Sensory

Organizational Culture
& Programming

  • PRESENTER: Shelby Baird, Crossroads NOLA

    Case-based exploration with short scenarios representing community, family, and faith settings. Small groups propose interventions, reflect, and compare approaches.

  • PRESENTER: Otto Berdiel, LPC-S, LCDC; Applied Intellect

    This breakout session will share our organization’s experience implementing Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) as an organization-wide framework when serving unaccompanied minors and the professionals who support them. Rather than functioning as a TBRI training, this session offers a reflective and practical overview of what it looks like to embed TBRI principles across systems, leadership, and workforce culture while providing home study and post-release services. The presentation will highlight how applying TBRI at the staff level is essential to sustaining ethical, trauma-informed services for children and families impacted by displacement and trauma. We will discuss how Empowering, Connecting, and Correcting principles have informed supervision, team support, communication, and decision-making, ultimately strengthening staff capacity, consistency, and retention.

    Participants will hear lessons learned, challenges encountered, and strategies used to align organizational values, policies, and practice with TBRI in complex, compliance-driven environments. The session will emphasize the reciprocal relationship between staff well-being and quality of care for unaccompanied minors, illustrating how a relational approach across all levels of an organization supports safety, trust, and long-term healing. Attendees will leave with insights and considerations they can adapt within their own organizations, regardless of size or service model.

  • PRESENTER: Dereje Zeleke, PhD Candidate, MSW, MA; All God's Children International

    Dereje Zeleke serves as the Country Director of AGCI Ethiopia, where he leads one of Africa’s most successful reunification programs. With decades of experience in child protection, social work, and community-based care, Dereje has dedicated his career to helping children safely transition from street situations, exploitation, and institutional care back into the loving care of families whenever possible. Under his leadership, AGCI Ethiopia has demonstrated exceptional long-term reunification outcomes by pairing evidence-based, trauma-wise practices with culturally relevant, locally led solutions.

    In this breakout session, Dereje will share how AGCI has reimagined reunification through a trauma-wise lens by prioritizing permanency over placement, strengthening families rather than simply returning children home, and empowering local professionals to walk alongside caregivers throughout the reunification journey. Drawing on principles of TBRI® and years of practical implementation, participants will gain insight into building a sustainable reunification model that promotes healing, resilience, and lasting family stability.

  • PRESENTER:Cameron Talbot; Oak Life

    Whether we realize it or not, we bring our personal culture into every interaction. For those working with vulnerable populations across diverse communities, that inward perspective isn't neutral. It shapes how we ask questions, assign meaning to behavior, and how we design care.

    In this breakout session, we'll explore Geert Hofstede's framework for understanding cultural differences, and examine how a person's cultural background directly impacts their experience of trauma, their relationship to authority and their context for trusting support systems. We'll look honestly at what happens when helpers bring the wrong cultural assumptions into the room, and what it costs the people they're trying to serve.

    Participants will leave with practical tools for cultural self-assessment and a framework for meeting people where they are.

  • PRESENTER:‍ ‍Dr. Jamie Tanner, D.Ed.Min; Simple Sparrow Care Farm

    Trauma-Informed Creation Stewardship: Improving Mental Health and Quality of Life Outcomes Through Nature presents an overview of traumatology, explores research on nature based interventions, and gives practical tools for how to apply creation stewardship theology for improved outcomes in personal and professional fields. Material presented is from evidence based and evidence supported sources including Dr. Tanner's research dissertation for Dallas Theological Seminary "A Development and Evaluation of Simple Sparrow Care Farm's Executive Training Program" (2025). Animals are a part of this presentation, so be aware of potential allergies to fur and hay.

Systems & Justice

  • PRESENTER: Lucinda Miles; Volunteers for Youth Justice & Carl Dollar; Holistic Justice Initiative

    This session introduces a bold reimagining of correctional environments through the lens of Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), a trauma-informed model rooted in connection, empowerment, and healing. At its core is TBRI on the Inside, a curriculum written specifically for incarcerated individuals-designed not to fix people, but to honor their stories and offer tools for transformation. Recognizing that many incarcerated adults have histories of complex trauma, this session reframes behavior as survival, not defiance. It challenges traditional punitive systems by offering a relational approach that fosters safety, trust, and emotional regulation. Participants will explore how TBRI on the Inside equips individuals with language for their experiences, strategies for self-regulations, and pathways to rebuild relationships. The curriculum is not just educational-it's restorative. It invites adults to understand how their brains and bodies were wired by trauma, and how healing begins with connection. Reimagining Systems of Care will explore how TBRI principles can reduce conflict, increase cooperation, and create environments where dignity is restored. This session is a call to action: to see incarceration not as the end of the road, but as a place where relational repair can begin. When systems of care are built on trust, even the most wounded individuals can rediscover their worth.

  • PRESENTER:‍ ‍Max McGhee; Saddleback Church

    If we work in the same social spaces but don’t intentionally collaborate we will unintentionally compete. Learn how to convene government agencies, non-profits, and churches to provide families a relational path forward based on compassion rather than eligibility. The word CARE is an acrostic, C stands for Connection- Bridge events that prevent isolation by connecting families to a church community. A stands for Assistance – Resources that connect families to volunteers who want to support them. R stands for Resilience – Programs that connect families to their peers for support and understanding. E stands for Education – classes and training that connect families to developmental programs. Many of these programs already exist in every community but don’t often work together.

  • PRESENTER:‍ ‍Scott Waters, MS, LPC; My Health My Resources of Tarrant County

    Parenting teens and young adults can be one of the most challenging seasons of a parenting journey. Scott Watters takes an attachment perspective to navigating the relational needs of young people in the adolescent phases of life (ages 10-30) and how we might best support them as they form new and independent attachments. Questions are most welcome in this session!

  • PRESENTER: Katie Renaudo-Duarte; Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development

    This breakout session will explore adolescence through a Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®) lens, with particular focus on the “5 B’s” of puberty and the neurological, emotional, and relational shifts that shape the teenage years. Participants will examine common challenges — including romance, friendships, identity development, substance use, and self-harm — through an attachment-informed, trauma-aware framework that moves beyond behavior management to deeper understanding. The session will also provide practical Do’s and Don’ts for caregivers, professionals, and leaders seeking to support teens with clarity, connection, and appropriate structure.

  • PRESENTER: Audris Jordan; Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development

    Survivors of trafficking often experience complex trauma that disrupts brain development, emotional regulation, and relationships. This session explores how adolescent brain development and adverse childhood experiences increase vulnerability to trafficking, and how the trafficking experience further impairs a survivor’s ability to regulate emotions and behavior. Grounded in the principles of Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®), developed at the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at Texas Christian University, participants will learn practical, relationship-based strategies using the three TBRI Principles — Connection, Empowering, and Correcting — to support survivors’ healing and long-term resilience.

Teens & Young Adults

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