Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Holiday Greetings from the Traumatic Stress Institute of Klingberg Family Centers!

We wish you a joyful holiday season rich with connections!


2009 was a very full year for the staff of the Traumatic Stress Institute. We wanted to share some of our 2009 highlights and look forward to working with you in 2010.

Through our sister organization the Trauma Education Research and Training Institute (TREATI) we completedseven Risking Connection® trainings, including teaching in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and California, and five Train the Trainer trainings, as well as two Restorative Approach trainings. We added over a hundred new RC Associate Trainers. Over thirty Risking Connection® trainers were recertified after having been trainers for two years.

A major project was training staff from all Extended Day Treatment programs in Connecticut, as well as training many Extended Day RC Trainers. Our thanks go out to Marilyn Cloud of DCF for all her hard work and excellent coordination for this effort.

We did numerous presentations at conferences including: Healing the Generations Trauma Conference (CT), Child Welfare League of America (Washington DC), Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (TX), Third Annual Peace It Up Violence Prevention and Intervention Conference (CT); Massachusetts Adolescent Sex Offender Conference (MASOC); and Massachusetts Association for Private (MAPPS). Pat Wilcox taught two courses at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work in their continuing education department.

The Klingberg Traumatic Stress Institute and the Foster Care Department launched an exciting new training initiative entitled: Trauma Informed Foster Care- Why are These Kids Doing These Crazy Things and How Can I Help Them while Preserving My Sanity? This is a six session monthly training program based on ideas from the Risking Connection® curriculum and the Restorative Approach®.

We especially enjoy the events where (through TREATI) we can gather our Risking Connection community together. At this year’s Fourth Annual Day of Learning and Sharing, keynote speaker Lynn Sanford, LCSW, spoke in depth about shame. Lynn is a marvelous speaker, warm and human, very knowledgeable about residential populations, and so respectful of both the clients and treaters.

Looking ahead, The Traumatic Stress Institute is co-sponsoring a conference with Devereux MA in February in Worchester MA called From Strategy to Reality: The ‘Nuts and Bolts’ of Implementing Trauma-Informed Care in Child and Adolescent Settings. The date is February 9, 2010 from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm.

We wish everyone a healthy and happy New Year, and look forward to working with you in 2010. As Margaret Mead famously said. "Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has."

Happy holidays,
Pat, Steve and Megan

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