Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) is an integral part of Methodist Children’s Home. From the services provided to children, youth and families to the trainings developed and presented to staff, MCH is dedicated to making TBRI practices easy to learn and implement in everyday life.
Created by the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at Texas Christian University, TBRI is an attachment-based, trauma-informed intervention designed to meet the complex needs of vulnerable children. While the work of the Purvis Institute has evolved over the years, the mission remains the same: to improve the lives of children through research, education and outreach. The Institute has trained more than 4,000 professionals worldwide as TBRI Practitioners, individuals who integrate TBRI within their scope of work through training and implementation.
The relationship between MCH and the Institute began in 2010, and an official partnership was formed in 2011 to apply TBRI in the residential and Family Outreach programs. MCH was named as an inaugural TBRI Ambassador Organization by the Institute in 2021.
“This designation is prestigious and rare,” said John Warren, community engagement and training specialist. “It puts MCH in great company with other agencies who are working on behalf of children, youth and families to enact systematic change for the better.”
More than 10 years after receiving Ambassador status, MCH is as dedicated as ever to making advancements in the field.
“Even though the last few years have involved quite a bit of change, MCH’s commitment to TBRI implementation has not waned,” said Warren. “It has taken grit to continue implementing TBRI for more than a decade.”
But the effort has been well worth it. TBRI is now so infused into who MCH is as an agency that staff use the principles without having to think about it.
“Our daily operations, as well as our short- and long-term goals and objectives, are tied to our mission and vision,” said Traci Wagner, vice president for programs. “But they are also put through the lens of TBRI and trauma-informed principles because we are committed to them.”

Staff members believe TBRI has provided countless opportunities to impact the children, families and communities that MCH is called to serve.
“We believe it is our responsibility as a TBRI Ambassador agency to educate and empower all we serve through the lens of trauma,” said Dana Bearden, program and services specialist. “We have the opportunity to show how building safe, trusting relationships assists in becoming facilitators of long-term change.”
In adopting it as the agency’s model of care, MCH made a commitment to reflect TBRI in all residential and Family Outreach programs and services.
“Our staff utilize TBRI as they offer shared power, connection and flexibility in their workspaces,” said Marissa Smith, assistant vice president for programs. “In Family Outreach offices, TBRI is shared through parent education, case management and community presentations. On our residential campuses, TBRI is utilized through regular interactions with youth.”
Today, MCH has approximately 40 practitioners carrying out the mission and principles of TBRI.
“TBRI is talked about and widely accepted in the communities we serve,” said Bearden. “But, more than that, TBRI is now a part of our work culture and agency DNA.”
MCH uses TBRI principles in everyday work, beginning with connection.
“Connection is the foundation of all that we do,” said Bearden. “This includes service delivery across programming, interactions between staff, community engagement and collaborating with our partners in social services.”
One way MCH continues to grow in TBRI practices is through its training department.
“TBRI is a fundamental piece of all the training we offer,” said Kevin Brown, MCH director of training. “At its foundation and core, TBRI is learning how to do relationships well in a very messy, complex world where there are so many layers of trauma.”
In 2023, the department led 65 internal trainings.
“The training department does an excellent job of reinforcing TBRI and its practical application,” said Bearden. “They do this not only through New Hire Orientation, but also through many other training opportunities available to staff.”
The MCH training department offers a monthly three-day TBRI course that enables staff to refine their TBRI skills and practice the strategies.
“We intentionally follow the order of the TBRI principles of connection first, then empowerment, then correction,” said Brown. “If you don’t have the connection foundation, that’s 90 percent of what TBRI is about. We build off of connection. If we build that core well, everything starts to fall in place.”
This course is one of many made available to staff through the training department.
“If they haven’t taken it in the last five years, employees have the opportunity to retake the Caregiver Package of trainings,” said Warren. “I would say a renewed investment in our employees is evidence of MCH giving their employees voice and empowering them to be able to serve our clients to the best of their ability.”
Another way MCH is strengthening and sustaining the principles of TBRI is by maintaining focused and flexible ministries, one of four agency strategic commitments that comprise the ONE MCH culture. In honoring this ONE MCH commitment, the agency is able to thrive and adjust to growing needs. MCH is blessed with expertise and resources that enable a quick response to unanticipated challenges and new opportunities. One such opportunity was to expand the roles of Bearden and Warren.

With the recent launch of the MCH Family Outreach office in Permian Basin, Bearden’s position was extended to give her more flexibility to lead additional community trainings.
“MCH has become the agency that others know they can depend on,” said Bearden. “Permian Basin has been hungry for TBRI. We were given the opportunity to train 80 professionals from many of our community partners at the beginning of the year. The need continues to grow, not only there but in many other locations.”
Bearden finds it refreshing to step back into the role of a practitioner and educate others on the effects of trauma and the hope TBRI provides.
“It’s an amazing feeling when someone has that light bulb moment and it all comes together for them,” said Bearden. “They begin to see people through that lens of trauma and are able to show the grace, empathy and patience it takes to build connection with another person. It’s inspiring to hear stories of how their perspectives have changed.”
Bearden also leads CETIP, the Committee on Evidence-based Trauma Informed Practice. Bearden believes being trauma-informed gives the committee a better perspective for all they do.
“TBRI gives us a consistent language to use and the principles give us a way to do things,” said Bearden. “TBRI helps us review, develop and implement all we are asked to do. We believe we provide quality work because of it.”
The Committee on Evidence-based Trauma Informed Practice ensures the fidelity of programs and services across MCH.
“The committee is incredibly important,” said Wagner. “One of our commitments is to protect the fidelity of TBRI. We can learn all of these principles, and that’s really good, but if we don’t sustain it, we’ve wasted our time. We must always evaluate how we are reinforcing and teaching it.”
After a decade as director of the training department, Warren transitioned into a newly-created role as community engagement and training specialist in July 2021.
“The transition was invigorating,” said Warren. “The opportunity to fulfill requests for training that I had to turn down during my time in the training department was exciting. I love the programs we utilize at MCH, and I always wanted to be free to share this teaching with other agencies and organizations.”
Beginning in July 2021, MCH was open to having outside agencies visit and participate in trainings provided on campus. Since Warren’s transition, MCH shares TBRI outside of the agency in a multitude of ways.
“One of the most impactful ways was opening our TBRI trainings to the Waco community,” said Warren. “We have had many representatives from local agencies attend these trainings as new hires for their agency, or just because they were interested in learning more about TBRI.”
However, MCH’s reach now goes beyond local partners. Warren hosts trainings on campus for agencies not based in Waco when needed. Due to scheduling conflicts and sometimes great distances in geographic locations, MCH is also equipped to send staff members to other agencies for trainings. Most recently, Warren and Marissa Smith spent two separate weeks teaching TBRI principles to Reach 907, a nonprofit organization in Wasilla, Alaska. MCH conducted 239 touchpoints and external trainings with other like-minded organizations in 2023. Touchpoints include phone consultations, document sharing and other connection measures.
Warren is also certified to serve as a TBRI mentor during weeks of TBRI Practitioner training. Through these trainings, he prepares participants for TBRI implementation at their agencies across the country, and sometimes the globe. Warren has hosted groups from New Zealand, South Korea, Guatemala and Ethiopia. These training groups often grow close during the week, and Warren facilitates an active email thread to keep members in contact with each other.

MCH is committed to sharing expertise and training through opportunities like the TBRI Caregiver Package and the Connected Curricula, which was developed by MCH in 2017-2018 and approved by the Purvis Institute.
“We created three curricula: Connected Classrooms, Connected Churches and Connected Caregivers,” said Wagner. “A lot of these TBRI concepts are very ‘academic,’ if you will. Developing the Connected Curricula was our way to give practical, bite-sized pieces of what TBRI is and how you can implement it into your life today.”
As the world rapidly changes around them, staff at MCH are constantly striving to keep courses as current as possible.
“We revamped the Connected Curricula a couple of years ago to include up-to-date information, illustrations and examples,” said Smith. “Staff became better equipped to teach these principles to our community partners, but also better equipped to model TBRI within the homes of clients they serve every day.”
TBRI has grown into more than just trainings, however.
“Training is a big part of it,” said Wagner, “but we are also encountering many requests from co-laborers in ministry who are doing similar work. Partners are seeking consultation on what this looks like in the hiring process and in policies and procedures. They want to know how we weave this into the foundation of who we are in addition to our mission, vision and values.”
Whatever the future may hold for MCH, TBRI is sure to be a large part of it.
“I hope to see TBRI training opportunities regularly offered in more creative or specialized ways,” said Smith. “I hope staff will enthusiastically engage in these opportunities as this would increase our implementation of TBRI across campuses and Family Outreach. I hope all staff feel comfortable and confident in implementing TBRI into each of their daily job roles, whatever that may look like.”
But one thing is clear: a future built on TBRI principles is a bright one.
“TBRI is a great system of strategies that can make a huge difference for clients,” said Warren, “but it also helps to show me a better way to be human with other humans. I hope TBRI continues to call us to higher levels of mindful awareness as individuals so we can more effectively come together to serve the children, youth and families of Texas and New Mexico and beyond.”
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