Posts By: Emmelie Pickett

Starting Small: Eye Contact

  by: Amanda Purvis Often times when people first hear about Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®) they can feel overwhelmed. If that’s you, take a deep breath. Just like with learning any new skill, we must start small. In this series, we’ll give easy tips to help you start using TBRI®in your home or with the children… Read more »

TBRI® Animate: Attachment

We are thrilled to introduce our newest video resource, a TBRI® Animate about Attachment! Dr. David Cross narrates this three-minute video which explores the importance of the attachment bond between children and their caregivers.

Family Separation and Trauma

The Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development strives to help children suffering from the effects of early trauma, abuse, and/or neglect. Research tells us these experiences of early harm make children vulnerable to a host of lifelong challenges from behavioral problems to mental illness and chronic health problems. As developmental psychologists, we are painfully aware… Read more »

TBRI® and Autism Spectrum Disorder

  by: Emmelie Pickett We are often asked, “Will TBRI work with my child who has Autism?” Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®) aims to help children from “hard places” of abuse, neglect, and/or trauma. While not every child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has such a history, research shows that children with ASD are at least two…

Free Download: TBRI® Lock Screen Reminders

by: Emmelie Pickett In honor of her birthday, we’ve taken some of our favorite quotes from Dr. Purvis and made them into images for your smart phone’s lock screen. Feel free to download and save these to your smart phone as a quick reminder to connect with the children in your life. 

Talking TBRI® 101 with Dr. David Cross

by: Emmelie Pickett We’ve had an exciting week here at the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development. On May 9 we launched TBRI® 101: A Self-Guided Course in Trust-Based Relationships, a new resource that we’ve had in the works for quite awhile. Although this resource just became available, TBRI® 101 has an interesting history. Dr….

An Open Letter to Parents of Children From Hard Places

by: Amanda Purvis Editors Note: At this year’s Empowered to Connect Conference, Amanda Purvis,Training Specialist, shared this letter she wrote to fellow adoptive and foster parents. We’ve published the letter here in hopes that it letter will encourage parents doing some of the very hardest work of caring for children from hard places.    To… Read more »