The TBRI® Podcast | Season 3, Episode 4

Today’s guest is Raya Shelashska, a TBRI Practitioner and a PhD candidate and Research Assistant here at our Institute at TCU. Raya currently lives here with her family, in Fort Worth, TX, as she’s completing her PhD, but her home is Ukraine. Since the war broke out in February, Raya’s studies have shifted to helping her people through her clinical experience and trauma research background. Our host, Sarah Mercado, sat down with Raya to talk about the trauma of war and what she’s doing to help.

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Show Notes

Linked References from this episode:

• Raya’s Instagram: @rayashel
• EMDR
• TCU 360 feature on Raya

About our guests:

Raya Shelashska 

Raya Shelashska is a TBRI Practitioner, Research Assistant and PhD Candidate with the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at TCU. Raya has directed multiple nonprofits serving vulnerable children, and has implemented TBRI within various organizations through her leadership and training. Raya holds bachelors degrees in psychology and management and a Masters in Developmental Trauma and multiple advanced training certifications. You can follow Raya’s updates of her work and the war in Ukraine through Instagram, @rayashel. 

About our host:

Sarah Mercado is a Training Specialist with the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development (KPICD). As training specialist, Sarah’s main focus is instructing professionals working with children who have experienced trauma, in Trust-Based Relational Intervention^® (TBRI^®). TBRI^®, a holistic, attachment-based, and trauma-informed intervention designed to meet the complex needs of vulnerable children, offers practical tools for caregivers to help those in their care reach their highest potential.

Sarah earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Sweet Briar College in Virginia. She began her career as a direct care staff working with adolescent boys living in a Residential Treatment Center (RTC). After serving in the RTC for several years, she shifted her focus to foster care, where she was Regional Director for a foster and adoption agency.

Sarah spent 20 years serving youth and families within residential and foster care settings as a direct-care worker and trainer before beginning her work with the Purvis Institute in May 2016. Sarah lives near Austin, TX with her husband, AJ, and their two children.