Mission, Vision and Values

The Institute for Trauma and Resilience was established in September 2002, precipitated by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The values of the Institute focus on service to traumatized and bereaved children and the systematic study of assessment and interventions which are effective in reaching these goals. The broad missions of the Institute are as follows:

• To assess the psychological, social and biological impact of traumatic events on children across the developmental stages from the toddler years to young adulthood.
• To develop effective treatments and interventions which ameliorate these effects and understand the role of individual resiliency and community support in the process of recovery.
• To advance the field of trauma studies by educating and training future clinicians and researchers.
• To enhance the awareness and understanding of trauma and its effects through public education and outreach to the community.

The Institute mission is currently realized in the form of four distinct programs, each focused on treatment and service research in a particular venue or population. They are identified below.

School-Based Intervention Program

This program has provided an estimated 4,500 children and their families in the New York City downtown community public schools with a range of mental health services in response to the events of 9/11 and now continues to provide prevention and intervention programs related to ongoing exposure to community and other forms of violence to which children are commonly exposed. Programs are skills-based with a focus on developing and enhancing resiliency in meeting various common life stressors and adversities. The program also provides workshops to parents and families, consultation and problem solving strategies for principals, and psycho-education on the effects of trauma and its management to teachers and guidance counselors.

Director: Elizabeth Mullett, Ph.D.

Foster Care and Child Mental Health Program

This program serves preschool children placed in foster care who have experienced neglect or abuse. The goal of the program is to identify factors that facilitate social and emotional adjustment, such as sibling placement and the quality of relationships between the biological parent, agency and foster parent. A comprehensive intervention program that integrates parenting skills development and family therapy for the biological parent and foster parent is being evaluated. This program has links to over 20 foster care agencies and is the foundation for future prevention and early intervention to ameliorate the effects of interpersonal violence and other traumas on preschool children.

Director: L. Oriana Linares, Ph.D.

Families Forward Program

This program was developed to serve the continuing needs of the children and families of those whose lives were lost as a result of 9/11. The scope and outreach efforts have been expanded to include a wider range of families all sharing the common task of raising healthy children who have lost a parent. The program offers comprehensive assessment and empirically-based treatment for bereaved children and parents, as well as the provision of ongoing services aimed at improving coping skills and resiliency. In addition, parents and caregivers are offered wellness programming and educational workshops, which cover a wide range of topics related to their children, as well as their own mental health.

Executive Director: Marylene Cloitre, Ph.D.

Trauma, Life Skills and Resilience in Adult Years

The program includes assessment and treatment of adults who experienced sexual or physical abuse in childhood or physical/sexual assault in adulthood. The program provides 16 session psychotherapy with a focus on developing skills emotion regulation and interpersonal relationships to enhance the quality of day-to-day life, which are often derailed in childhood as a result of abuse. MRI scans are included both before and after treatment to identify brain activity during standard tasks reflecting emotion regulation capacities before treatment and potential changes brought about by treatment.

Director: Marylene Cloitre, Ph.D.

Completed 9/11 Projects

Silver Shield Bereavement Program

This program was established within the first few months following 9/11 to provide psycho-education and social services to the families who had a parent in the uniformed services whose lives were lost. Services included outreach and education about how to tell children about the death of a parent, how to watch children for signs of normal distress as well as signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other psychiatric disturbances, and how to maintain family functioning and good coping in the aftermath of tragedy. Prevention and intervention services were available to children and family members. Currently, long-term services are still available, through our Families Forward Program, focusing on enhancing resilience.

Healthy Kids, Happy Futures

This campaign provided education and outreach to more than 3,000 pediatricians in the metropolitan New York City area about evidenced-based treatment and assessment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression to help identify at-risk children and teenagers, and assist in their referral for appropriate treatment. The campaign was comprised of a brochure, video and lecture series for pediatricians, and tip sheets for pediatricians to give to parents and family members.

For more information, contact services@AboutOurKids.org.

Oral History "Telling Lives" Project

This project developed and employed an oral history curriculum in which children from four Chinatown schools, served by the Institute's School-Based Intervention Program, were given concrete opportunities to explore genres of storytelling in multigenerational and multicultural contexts using a variety of media to address the multiple layers of the impact of 9/11 on individual lives, neighborhoods, communities and the educational system. Stories, artifacts and other memorabilia collected for the project were preserved and stored at the Museum of Chinese in the Americas. The oral histories were conducted on audio and videotape, in Chinese and in English. The project was a collaborative effort of the Institute, the Columbia University Oral History Research Office, Downtown Community Television, the Museum of Chinese in the Americas and PS/IS 126, PS 2 and Manhattan Academy of Technology.

Director: Elizabeth Mullett, Ph.D.

For more information, contact services@AboutOurKids.org.