Our work at the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development is centered around connection. We study attachment between parents/caregivers and children and connections within communities. So much of Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) is based on the idea that we are hardwired to connect. But what happens when connection in the traditional sense is cut off? With… Read more »
Posts By: Emmelie Pickett
On Staying Connected in Crisis
Editors note:This post is from our Founder and Director, Dr. David Cross in light of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). We hope you are all staying healthy, safe, and connected during this strange and uncertain time. Connected in Crisis by: Dr. David Cross When I was a child, we were asked to crouch under our desks during nuclear… Read more »
TBRI® Animate: The IDEAL Response©
When a child from a hard place doesn’t feel safe, the result is often behaviors that appear willful, baffling, and infuriating to caregivers. How we respond is critical. Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®) has developed a guideline to help. Watch as we walk through the IDEAL Response© for dealing with behaviors and building connection between the child…
We are pleased to introduce a new documentary film featuring a TBRI® court in Tyler, Texas. ALL RISE, For the Good of the Children, takes you inside the courtroom of an unconventional East Texas judge who uses a trauma-informed, trust-based approach to healing broken families in the child welfare system. Two families share how they… Read more »ALL RISE: For the Good of the Children
The Benefits of Play in Cognitive Development
Editor’s note: While it may seem like a simple idea, play is fundamental to forming trust-based relationships. Play permeates the TBRI empowering, connecting, and correcting principles and as Dr. Purvis once said: “Play disarms fear, builds connectedness, and teaches social skills and competencies for life.” We’ve recently received a few questions about the benefits of… Read more »
TBRI® Animate: Toxic Stress & The Brain
From the time we are born, our brains have 100 billion neurons and begin to form synaptic connections that make up who we are and how we function. Tragically, severe or prolonged abuse or neglect manifests in toxic stress which derails brain development and can even affect the immune system.
Lessons from Adoptive Siblings
by: Jana Hunsley I have sat down to write these words too many times. It’s hard because you do not know me or my heart. In complete transparency, I worry that you will think I am complaining or having a pity party or believing the plight of siblings is somehow worse than that of children… Read more »
Starting Small: Nutrition and Hydration
by: Amanda Purvis One simple way to start implementing Trust-based Relational Intervention is to empower your child’s body by meeting physical needs. Nutrition and hydration play key factors in a child’s ability to regulate, and we can help set them up for success by making sure they eating and drinking enough.
On Being an Adoptive Sibling
by: Jana Hunsley Not one thing in this life has affected me so deeply or changed me so profoundly as the adoption of my seven siblings. Before adoption, my home was filled with two older sisters, a younger brother, and two parents. Life was simple, comfortable, and uncomplicated. After adoption, everything about life was different. … Read more »
A New Book From Dr. Karyn Purvis
Update: The Connected Parent will be published on July 7, 2020. Read more about the book here or pre-order here. We’re thrilled to announce the release of a new book for parents of children from hard places, co-authored by Dr. Karyn Purvis, the Institute’s late Founder and Director. This book is Dr. Purvis’s last written work,… Read more »