In September 2023, those who attended the “Churches Healing Children from Trauma” workshop discovered three key takeaways.
First, there are more than 6,000 children in out-of-homecare in the state of Kansas, and in the past 10 years approximately 10,000 children and teens were formally adopted. This means that many of our churches have connections with foster/adoptive or kinship families. In fact, at the 2022 CYF Camp; one out of four campers were not living with their biological parents.
Secondly, the group learned that early trauma, abuse, and neglect overbuilds the “fear center” in children’s brains which can lead to profound anger, sadness, anxiety, impulsivity, school problems and self-harm. These challenging behaviors can overwhelm a family’s financial and emotional resources as well as isolate them from the support of family and friends.
Lastly, participants discovered that although “traditional parenting” is not effective with children/teens who experienced early trauma, the caregivers who learn the principles of “Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI)” realize that their children are not “bad kids” but are simply wounded ones who need healing.
TBRI is an evidence-based framework developed at Texas Christian University, which provides a deep understanding of the results of trauma on children and provides three principles and strategies for care: Connecting, Empowering and Correcting. The principles and strategies of TBRI give caregivers, teachers, and churches a way to meet the needs of hurting children and promote healing in their brains and bodies.
If you are interested in learning more about the resources and methods that your church can use to support these wounded children and their families, please email Greg Rea or Travis Smith McKee.