The information in this program outline is provided by the program representative and edited by the CEBC staff. The Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) program has been reviewed by the CEBC in the area of: Behavioral Management for Adolescents in Child Welfare, but lacks the necessary research evidence to be given a Scientific Rating.

• Types of Maltreatment: Does not target any specific kind of maltreatment
• Target Population: Staff working in residential child care organizations.

At TCI’s core lies the principle that successful resolution of a child’s crisis depends on the environment’s (the care organization) and the individual’s (the care worker) therapeutic and developmentally appropriate response. The TCI system teaches and supports strategies for care workers at all levels of the organization to:

• Assess children’s aggressive behaviors as expressions of needs.
• Monitor their own levels of arousal.
• Use non-coercive, non-aggressive environmental and behavioral strategies and interventions that de-escalate the crisis and that lead to the child’s own emotional self-regulation and growth.
• Use physical interventions only as a safety intervention that contains a child’s acute aggression and violence.

The primary goal of TCI is to provide a crisis prevention and intervention system for residential care organizations that will assist in:

• Preventing crises from occurring by de-escalating potential crises
• Effectively managing acute crises
• Reducing potential and actual injury to children and staff
• Teaching constructive ways to handle stressful situations
• Developing a learning circle within the organization.