"The Trauma Resiliency Model training was beautifully organized and presented with very clear PowerPoint presentations and accompanying handouts, integrated with personal field experiences illustrating the application of the model. The experiential and hand-on skills training left me feeling well-prepared to begin working with my clients immediately. It is the best training workshop I have ever attended." Susie Icaza, MFT, RPT, Pasadena, California

Introduction

After a traumatic experience, there can be a cascade of physical, emotional, thinking, behavioral and spiritual responses. TRM explains these common responses from a biological perspective, which reframes the human experience from what is often one of shame and pathology to one of hope and biology. TRM is a comprehensive treatment that offers concrete and practical skills coupled with education about the biology of trauma. TRM's goal is to reduce or eliminate the symptoms of trauma by returning the body and mind back to balance. TRM can be used to treat any person who has experienced or witnessed any event that was perceived as life threatening or posed a serious injury to themselves or to others. It is helpful for workers in the front lines after traumatic events as it can reduce vicarious traumatic reactions and be used for self-care.

TRM is based upon the laws of nature, human anatomy and physiology, current research about the brain and somatic based therapies like Jean Ayres Sensory Integration Theory, Eugene Gendlin’s Focusing and Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing.

TRM skills have been used internationally in projects in Thailand, China, Rwanda, Kenya, Haiti and Japan. TRM has been used domestically within the United States in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, in the Department of Behavioral Health of San Bernardino County following the firestorms in Southern California.

Organizations that have co-sponsored TRM trainings include the World Health Organization, the Unitarian Universalist Service Commitee the Department of Behavioral Health, San Bernardino County, Homeward Bound, California, the Upaya Zen Center, Sierra Tucson Treatment Center, and Canyon Rehab. The Department of Defense named TRM a promising practice in a white paper to congress that was published in March of 2011.