Six CASA Staff Members Now Recognized as TBRI® Practitioners
recognized casa staff members
CASA Child Advocates of Montgomery County is pleased to announce that six staff members – Jennifer Engel, Marilyn McQueeney, Oluchi Nwankwo, Jennifer Reitmeyer, Barb Robertson, and Ann Marie Ronsman – have completed training and received certification as TBRI® Practitioners by the Karyn Purvis Institute of Childhood Development at TCU. Each individual completed five units of online coursework followed by five days of on-site, intensive training that focused on application and implementation of TBRI® to receive this prestigious certification.
McQueeney became a practitioner in 2016 while Reitmeyer, Robertson and Ronsman completed training in 2018. Engel is the newest TBRI Practitioner on the CASA staff; the case supervisor completed the certification process in June of 2019.
What is TBRI®?
Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®) is an attachment-based, evidence-based, and trauma-informed intervention that is designed to meet the complex needs of vulnerable children. TBRI® uses Empowering Principles to address physical needs, Connecting Principles for attachment needs, and Correcting Principles to disarm “fear-based behaviors” in children.
TBRI® Practitioner Training
The TBRI® Practitioner training is intended for practitioners who want to learn about TBRI® and use it within their professional capacity (e.g., therapists, caseworkers, foster and adoption care specialists, occupational therapists, medical professionals, counselors, CASA representatives, early childhood & development specialists). This core training experience is designed to prepare practitioners for working with children from hard places and their families.
“For children who have experienced trauma, their brains have become wired differently,” explains TBRI® Practitioner and CASA Program Director, Marilyn McQueeney, “They lack the instinct to trust and naturally resort to fight, flight, or freeze when stressed or upset.” McQueeney continues, “With the right interactions and situations where trust is built, there is renewed hope to heal these children and give them brighter futures.”
As TBRI® Practitioners, Engel, McQueeney, Nwankwo, Robertson, Reitmeyer and Ronsman will be able to apply TBRI® principles and strategies within CASA to train Advocates, CPS workers and attorneys – all in an effort to help children who have experienced trauma.
Questions or more information
CASA Child Advocates of Montgomery County will host multiple TBRI® Trainings in the coming months. For more information about TBRI® or becoming a TBRI® Practitioner, please contact Ann Marie Ronsman at Barb@CASASpeaks4Kids.com or (936) 441-5437, ext. 218.