Program Goals

The goals of the Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® for the target population are:

• Increase understanding of the biology of stress responses and resilience
• Reduce burnout, turnover, anxiety, depression
• Improve teamwork and increase ability to better serve children and their families
• Learn to discern the difference between sensations of distress and sensations of well-being
• Learn about the autonomic nervous system and how the body responds to stress
• Learn the key concepts of the model that include the definition of the Resilient Zone, High Zone, and Low Zone, creating a common language
• Use the six skills of Tracking, Resourcing, Grounding, Gesturing, Help Now!, and Shift and Stay to help manage stress reactions and restore balance to the nervous system
• Increase understanding about resiliency and the positive, tolerable, and toxic stress spectrum
• Learn basic concepts about the neurobiology of trauma and resiliency, including organizing principles of the brain, survival responses, and memory
• Reduce feelings of shame and stigma in survivors, by reframing conventional understanding of stress responses from pathology to biology

Logic Model

The program representative did not provide information about a Logic Model for Community Resiliency Model (CRM®).

Essential Components

The essential components of the Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® include:

• In general, CRM is a set of six biologically based wellness skills designed for self-care that can be practiced by staff to help stabilize emotions. The aim of the program is to result in more adaptive thinking when facing emotional and physical distress.
• The six wellness skills of CRM are:
• Tracking: Learning to monitor one's own physical sensations
• Resourcing: Bringing to mind anything that brings joy, comfort, strength, peace, or happiness
 
• Grounding: Paying attention to the body, or part of the body, making contact with a surface of support
• Gesturing: Intentionally making a movement or gesture associated with well-being (e.g., joy, happiness, courage, etc.)
• Help Now!: A set of ten strategies that can reset the nervous system when a person is in a hyperaroused or hypoaroused state to help them return to a state of balance
• Shift and Stay: Intentionally shifting from sensations of distress to one of the other CRM skills or to a place in the body that feels less distressing and staying with the neutral, pleasant, or less distressing sensations
• CRM’s body-based (i.e., interoceptive) training involves key concepts such as:
• The Resilient Zone (i.e., “Zone of Well-Being” or “Okay Zone”): one’s bandwidth in which one can think clearly, handle feelings better, and manage the sensations inside the body
• High and Low Zones (i.e., states of hyperarousal and hypoarousal)
• Definitions of Resiliency and Trauma
• Intersectionality
• Stress Response Spectrum (i.e., Positive, Tolerable, and Toxic Stress)
• PACEs: Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences
• Common Stress Reactions
• Common Well-Being Reactions
• The Autonomic Nervous System
• Organizing Principles of the Brain
• Survival Responses
• Explicit and Implicit Memory
• The Trauma Resource Institute (TRI) provides two types of trainings: CRM Workshops and CRM Teacher Training (described in more detail in the Training section below).
• Both are designed to help create trauma-informed and resiliency-informed individuals and communities that share a common understanding of the impact of trauma and chronic stress on the nervous system and how resiliency can be restored or increased using this skills-based approach.
• Trainees learn the key concepts and six wellness skills of CRM.
• CRM Workshops are flexible and can typically range in duration from 1 hour to 2 days, depending on the needs of the organization or community.
• CRM Workshops can be provided directly from TRI or from certified CRM Teachers.
• This program may be taught to groups in-person or online.
• This program is designed to provide a general overview and introduction to the six CRM skills and to provide guidance in how to implement their practice in activities of daily living.
• The content covered in CRM Workshops can be adapted to target audiences depending on particular contexts (e.g., disaster response, school systems, juvenile justice systems, foster care, parenting groups, etc.).
• It is important to underscore that the CRM is not mental health counseling or designed to take the place of mental health counseling.
• CRM also can also be used with ordinary sources of stress and the harsh impact of severe trauma (e.g., shootings or natural disasters for members of the general public).
• Free “iChill” App: TRI has developed a free app called “iChill” that provides basic information about the key concepts and six skills of the CRM, with step-by-step instructions (both written and verbal) for practicing each skill. It is a digital resource for those seeking emotional support, that is currently available in English, Spanish, and Ukrainian online (ichillapp.com) or for download on any iOS or Android device.

Program Delivery

Recommended Intensity:

CRM Workshops are flexible and can typically range in duration from 1 hour to 2 days, depending on the needs of the organization or community.

Recommended Duration:

For individuals having completed a CRM Workshop, it is recommended that the CRM skills are practiced daily and integrated into the activities of daily living including during the workday. For organizations who have received training through a CRM Workshop and/or have representatives who have completed the CRM Teacher Training (see training section below), it is recommended that the CRM Skills be incorporated into usual agency practices.

Delivery Settings

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

• Hospital
• Outpatient Clinic
• Community-based Agency / Organization / Provider
• Group or Residential Care
• Justice Setting (Juvenile Detention, Jail, Prison, Courtroom, etc.)
• Public Child Welfare Agency (Dept. of Social Services, etc.)
• School Setting (Including: Day Care, Day Treatment Programs, etc.)
• Shelter (Domestic Violence, Homeless, etc.)
• Virtual (Online, Telephone, Video, Zoom, etc.)

Homework

This program does not include a homework component.

Languages

Community Resiliency Model (CRM®) has materials available in languages other than English:

Arabic, Cambodian, German, Hebrew, Kinyarwandan, Nepali, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian

For information on which materials are available in these languages, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed at the bottom of this page).

Resources Needed to Run Program

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

For individuals having completed a CRM Workshop, it is recommended that the CRM skills are practiced daily and integrated into the activities of daily living including during the workday.

For organizations who have received training through a CRM Workshop and/or have representatives who have completed the CRM Teacher Training (see training section below), it is recommended that the CRM Skills be incorporated into usual agency practices.

Manuals and Training

Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications

For CRM Teacher Trainings, it is recommended – not required -- that participants have some familiarity with the CRM Skills (e.g., have participated in a CRM Workshop, etc.) and are able to sense neutral or pleasant sensations. Natural leaders of communities (e.g., lay persons, ministers, teachers, first responders, and more) as well as mental health therapists and medical practitioners are good candidates.

Manual Information

There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Program Manual(s)

Manual details:

• Miller-Karas, E. (2023). Building resilience to trauma: The Trauma and Community Resiliency Models (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Building-Resilience-to-Trauma-The-Trauma-and-Community-Resiliency-Models/Miller-Karas/p/book/9780367681708

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Training Contact:

• Kevin McLeod
  www.traumaresourceinstitute.com/crm-trainings
  kmcleod@communitytri.com
  phone: (909) 788-3428

Training Type/Location:

CRM Teacher Trainings consists of a 5-day (40 hour) live training and follow-up consultations.

• This program is designed to create certified “CRM Teachers” who are equipped to bring CRM into their communities through CRM Workshops imbued with their unique cultural lens.
• This training is for natural leaders of communities as well as mental health therapists and medical practitioners (see CRM Workshops above).
• The 5-day (40 hour) training is a combination of lecture, discussion, practice, and student teaching.
• Upon successful completion of the training, participants will be provisionally certified as CRM Teachers, for a period of 6-months, while they complete the post-training certification requirements:
• Attend monthly follow-up group consultation sessions during the first three months following the training -- quarterly group consultation sessions are offered for the three remaining quarters of the year.
• Complete the take-home self-evaluation within 60 days of the training.
• Provide an outline of one projected CRM Workshop.
• Provide one set of CRM Workshop evaluations.
• Prepare a referral list of local mental health practitioners and clinics.
• Full certification will be granted upon the completion and approval of the components listed above.
• Ongoing access to the TRI Learning Portal (i.e., learning management system) will be granted for an additional two years as long as the participant’s certification remains in good standing.
• Upon completion of certification, CRM Teachers can use the skills for both self- care and to teach individuals within their organization and community in formal or informal presentations within the scope of their job and/or work in the community.
• CRM Teachers may use TRI materials in their CRM Workshops through their payment of the yearly use fee which is incorporated into the training fees for the first two years.
• This approach promotes capacity-building and sustainability in regions of the world where CRM Workshops are conducted.
• Only the Trauma Resource Institute can certify CRM Teachers.

Number of days/hours:

CRM Teacher Trainings are a 5-day (40-hour) live training with follow-up consultation.

Implementation Information

Pre-Implementation Materials

There are no pre-implementation materials to measure organizational or provider readiness for Community Resiliency Model (CRM®).

Formal Support for Implementation

There is formal support available for implementation of Community Resiliency Model (CRM®) as listed below:

Upon completion of the 5-day (40-hour) CRM Teacher Training, provisionally certified CRM Teachers must complete the following posttraining requirements which are designed to help enhance confidence, ensure fidelity to the model, and encourage best practices for providing CRM Workshops:

• Attend two of three-monthly online follow-up sessions during the first three months following the training
• In addition to follow-up sessions, technical assistance in implementing CRM trainings is offered by phone, Zoom, as well as by email.
• Complete a take-home self-evaluation within 60 days of completing the training.
• Provide an outline of one projected CRM Workshop.
• Provide evaluations from one CRM Workshop.
• Prepare a referral list of local mental health practitioners and clinics.

Provisionally certified CRM Teachers, receive access to a cloud-based learning management system, to deliver, monitor, and record the certification and re-certification process for provisionally certified CRM Teachers online. A library of resources (e.g., PowerPoint (PPT) slide decks, videos, activities, etc.) are also available in this learning management system to help support their efforts in providing quality CRM Workshops.

Free “iChill” App: While there are is no formal support for participants who complete CRM Workshops, TRI has developed a free app called “iChill” that provides basic information about the key concepts and six skills of the Community Resiliency Model, with step-by-step instructions (both written and verbal) for practicing each skill. It is a digital resource for those seeking emotional support, that is currently available in English, Spanish, and Ukrainian online (ichillapp.com) or for download on any iOS or Android device.

Fidelity Measures

There are fidelity measures for Community Resiliency Model (CRM®) as listed below:

During the 5-day (40 hour) CRM Teacher Training, trainees practice the skills under supervision of trained observers in small group formats daily. In addition, trainees spend time creating teaching plans in pairs or in groups of three, and then teaching the material back to other participants and trained observers. In both cases, real-time verbal and written feedback is given regarding fidelity to the model. In addition, trainees must complete a take-home self-evaluation to measure fidelity within 60 days of completing the training.

On a case-by-case basis, individualized plans are created to help the motivated trainee increase their competency if more time is needed to develop their skills toward becoming a CRM Teacher. Trained staff will work closely with trainees who are having difficulty with the skills to help them develop proficiency.

There are no fidelity measures required for participants who have completed a CRM Workshop.

Implementation Guides or Manuals

There are no implementation guides or manuals for Community Resiliency Model (CRM®).

Implementation Cost

There are no studies of the costs of Community Resiliency Model (CRM®).

Research on How to Implement the Program

Research has not been conducted on how to implement Community Resiliency Model (CRM®).

Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research

Additional References