Programs

EEG Neurofeedback is a type of biofeedback therapy (also known as EEG Biofeedback) that involves monitoring and regulating brain activity to improve cognitive function, emotional regulation, and overall well-being. It is a noninvasive therapy that helps individuals train their brain to function more efficiently. EEG Neurofeedback is based on the principle that the human brain can adapt and change, a concept known as neuroplasticity. By using technology that provides real-time visual and auditory feedback, individuals ideally learn to regulate their brain activity.

EEG Neurofeedback is a type of biofeedback therapy (also known as EEG Biofeedback) that involves monitoring and regulating brain activity to improve cognitive function, emotional regulation, and overall well-being. It is a noninvasive therapy that helps individuals train their brain to function more efficiently. EEG Neurofeedback is based on the principle that the human brain can adapt and change, a concept known as neuroplasticity. By using technology that provides real-time visual and auditory feedback, individuals ideally learn to regulate their brain activity.

ILF Neurofeedback is a noninvasive form of brain training that is designed to help clients of all ages improve self-regulation of emotional, behavioral, and physical functioning and manage stress more effectively. ILF Neurofeedback targets extremely low frequencies in foundational neural networks. In addition to having experienced trauma, ILF Neurofeedback can be used with clients with high ACE scores, numerous psychosocial stressors, and multiple co-occurring challenges.

A model of online training and clinical support was developed to ensure clinical quality and client safety and an online, HIPAA-compliant Results Tracking System (RTS).

Infra-Low Frequency (ILF) Neurofeedback has been used with populations other than adults and for conditions other than trauma, but the CEBC has not reviewed it for these populations or conditions.

F4C is an individual clinical intervention for fathers who have used violence with their partners and/or children and may have co-occurring substance misuse. F4C addresses 9 individually focused core topics, 4 co-parent communication topics, and 5 father-child focused topics in 60-minute individual therapy sessions over 18-24 weeks. In the context of a strong working alliance developed through focus on fatherhood, F4C employs a continual emphasis on reflective functioning and emotion regulation skills. Improvement in these targets in turn leads to reduced IPV and child maltreatment. F4C motivates the father to change by continually recognizing his desire to be a better parent and facilitating his ability to reflect on the experiences of his co-parent and children and learn skills to manage his emotions to improve outcomes for his family. It offers optional coparent and child participation in some sessions of the intervention when deemed appropriate and safe by the treating therapist.

NTDC, the comprehensive no-cost curriculum, is designed to tackle separation, loss, grief, and trauma in adoption and foster care. This cutting-edge resource offers adoptive, kinship, and foster parents flexible education that aims to empower them over the course of time and at the right time. Training is provided both as a synchronous classroom-based learning experience and through asynchronous “Right-Time” online modules that are available at any time for NTDC participants to build further knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy. While this training originated from key concepts to support children with intense service needs, it is designed to be used in any out-of-home placement, including with kin or adoptive caregivers.

Note: NTDC has also adapted to address the unique needs of indigenous communities; however, this separate manualized version is not part of this program review.

The Developmental Trauma and Attachment Program (DTAP) provides a comprehensive approach for children facing the lasting effects of trauma and attachment disruption. Through a fully integrated model combining attachment-focused therapy with trauma-informed practices, DTAP is designed to address foundational needs for trust, emotional regulation, and resilience.

DTAP also prioritizes caregiver involvement, creating a context for healing that is designed to strengthen the family system and foster lasting change.

Hope Enhancement for Child Welfare Professionals is a 4-hour session within the Hope Centered and Trauma Informed^® training series. It combines theory and practical application, aiming to help participants conceptualize their goals, identify pathways to achieve them, and build strategies to sustain mental energy for goal pursuits. The training consists of four units that cover the research and theory of hope science, explore hope in the context of trauma, stress, and adversity, and develop strategies to nurture and restore hope and skills practice. These strategies are designed to enhance professional well-being and improve practice skills with children and families. Outcomes of the training include a significant reduction in employee burnout and secondary traumatic stress, along with increased positive future expectations.

EQ2: Empowering Staff to Build Trauma-Informed Communities for Youth is a 6-module, workforce self-regulation and support program that integrates cognitive-behavioral skills, mindfulness approaches, and restorative practices including Circles to support the delivery of trauma-informed care. The program is designed to builds staff’s awareness of their triggers, build the self-regulation skills that underlie the capacity to co-regulate with youth, cultivate reparative relationships, and model self-regulation skills for youth. The program also increases staff knowledge of trauma, including its impact on brain structure, behavior, and the brain’s neurobiological capacity to heal through relationships with regulated adults. The content of EQ2 is primarily disseminated and processed through restorative-based Circles which reduce the hierarchical structure implicit in most trainings, amplify the transmission of relational knowledge that many direct care staff possess, increase feelings of belongingness, and provide an opportunity for staff’s experiences to be acknowledged and validated, thereby reducing the impact of secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and turnover. Mindfulness training builds staff’s capacity to identify triggers earlier in the stress-response cycle, while also building distress tolerance and acceptance skills shown to be associated with trauma-responsive behaviors.

The 4 Rs and 2 Ss for Strengthening Families Program is a program where families who have children with behavioral difficulties can participate in a group treatment to help improve family communication, family relationships, and satisfaction with services. Participating families have a child between 7-11 years old with behavioral difficulties and at least one primary caregiver who will participate in the group with the child.

The group topics focus on Rules, Relationships, Respectful Communication, and Responsibilities (4 Rs) and Stress and Social Support (2 Ss). Each session follows a similar format and focuses on the R or S of the day. There are discussions and activities to help caregivers, and their child learn how to use each R or S. Each week, there is also “Roadwork” (i.e., some activities to try at home).

The 4 Rs and 2 Ss has been adapted to be used with individual families, but that version has not been reviewed by the CEBC.

Fatherhood Is Sacred®, Motherhood Is Sacred® (FISMIS) is Native American Fatherhood and Families Association’s foundational program that is designed to help strengthen families by empowering and uplifting fathers and mothers. The program teaches core principles to help strengthen them as parents. Native people believe in the sanctity of many things: animals, mountains, burial grounds, etc., but the most sacred are their roles as fathers and mothers. FIS/MIS is a program for those wanting to improve family relationships, prepare to become responsible parents, reduce recidivism and substance abuse, and improve safety for their children. This course is uniquely designed with culturally relevant material to teach parents the vital impact of being responsibly involved in each child’s life.

Screening and Treatment for Anxiety and Depression (STAND) for All is a free, self-guided, online digital program offered with remote coaching support. Participants are empowered to select what skills and strategies they want to learn to address. Strategies that participants may explore include wellness, low mood, worry, poor sleep, panic, and discomfort with others. STAND for All is appropriate for individuals seeking to build resiliency, reduce anxiety, or address mild to moderate depression. Participants may request coaching support to review specific lessons. This program relies on the digital content (STAND Content Library) that serves as the backbone for comprehensive STAND implementations (known as STAND system of care).

Woebot for Adolescents is a smartphone app intended for adolescents aged 13 to 17 years old. It is available either as a mental health general wellness or a support tool. Woebot for Adolescents is intended to be used alongside clinical care; it does not replace the care of a medical provider or a patients' medication. Woebot for Adolescents has not been evaluated, cleared, or approved by FDA.

Woebot is a fully automated mental health ally teens can chat with through an app called Woebot for Adolescents, on a smartphone or tablet, anytime day or night. Woebot for Adolescents invites teens to monitor and manage their mood using tools such as mood tracking, progress reflection, gratitude journaling, and mindfulness practice. Woebot for Adolescents is intended to help them manage mood and anxiety symptoms and can be used as a mental health support tool to supplement treatments, therapies, or self-care practices.