The Championing Access to Trauma-informed-treatments to Achieve Lowcountry Youth Services Transformation (CATALYST) project is headquartered at the Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center. The first aim of the CATALYST Project is to reduce the impact of trauma on children's lives by providing and increasing access to effective trauma treatments and services for children and their families. A second aim is to improve the quality of services delivered to children from diverse backgrounds, including racial and sexual minorities, by applying them with improved cultural and racial equity. The project will reduce the impact of trauma and increase access by: 1) providing outreach, engagement and prevention services with children and caregivers, 2) providing screening with children and effective trauma treatments (including TF-CBT, AF-CBT, PCIT, and PSB-CBT) for child victims of child abuse, and their families, in our service area, and 3) improving the quality of trauma treatment and services delivered to children from diverse backgrounds and improve child outcomes. This final goal will be achieved by convening a team that includes both experts in the field of child trauma and consumer consultants to learn more about the specific needs of our community and how to apply evidence-based practices from a cultural and racial equity lens.
Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center
Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families
Department of Child Psychiatry, Boston Medical Center
Expanding access to culturally responsive outpatient treatment of trauma for children from birth to 17 years of age and their families at a safety-net hospital.
Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
The Terrorism and Disaster Coalition for Child and Family Resilience (TDC4) is designed to develop regional coalitions for better preparedness, response, and recovery following disasters and terrorist incidents. The two most active ongoing regional coalitions are in the Gulf South region across five states – Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Texas and in the Northeast regional across 4 states – New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut with other responses across the Northeast region. TDC4 adjusts and adapts our work to reach out to the hardest hit communities taking into consideration the various cultural constraints confronted including racial disparities, discrimination, lack of resources which became very apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic with many communities lacking adequate Wi-Fi and broadband to accommodate to shifts from in-person to virtual communication. The disparities were particularly apparent for children due to both economic stresses for their families as well as limited resources for virtual schooling and all behavioral health support. The TDC4 coalitions especially the NE Coalition started work and conversations about how to support schools planning to reopen in the face of continued COVID 19 threat.TDC4 has provided ongoing support and resources to Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama impacted by tornadoes, and Uvalde, TX, Buffalo, NY and Orange County, CA impacted by mass violence. TDC4 remains available to support those impacted on an ongoing basis until the threat of COVID 19 passes and beyond to meet the unique challenges faced. TDC4 will make note of valuable lessons learned from this pandemic to help guide our work moving forward and welcome requests for training, support, and/or consultation services as we strive to make evidence-based and trauma-informed resources accessible to support children, families, and communities impacted by traumatic events.
DePelchin Children's Center
DePelchin Children's Center (DePelchin), a private, non-profit, nonsectarian United Way agency, has served the greater Houston area for 129 years. In fulfillment of its mission to “strengthen the lives of children by enhancing their mental health and physical well-being,” DePelchin offers interventions designed to empower children, youth, their families, and their communities with the resources necessary for healthy family functioning. Since its inception, DePelchin and its range of services have continued to grow in scope, size, and complexity. Currently, more than 10,000 children, youth, and families are served annually. DePelchin provides clinical interventions, supportive services, child welfare services, training, education, and consultation through a range of programs offered across three primary divisions: Family Care Services, Behavioral Health Services, and Prevention and Early Intervention Services. Through the division of Behavioral Health Services DePelchin seeks to meet the mental health needs of children, youth, and their families. Recognized as a leader in children’s mental health, DePelchin supports children and families struggling with behavioral or emotional issues. Through its expert team of licensed counselors and therapists, DePelchin provides comprehensive care for a broad range of concerns for both children and their family members. DePelchin’s mental health services include a multi-disciplinary treatment approach that offers a full range of services including counseling services (to support children and families struggling with personal, interpersonal or social challenges, including problems in the home, school, or community); and trauma-focused treatment (as a regional leader in trauma-informed treatment, DePelchin provides comprehensive care for children suffering from traumatic stress).
Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services
Since 1942, Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services has served Southern California residents by providing quality, trauma-informed mental health and substance abuse services. As the first non-profit mental health outpatient clinic in Los Angeles, Didi Hirsch was initially founded to help adults cope with the aftermath of the Great Depression. Today, Didi Hirsch primarily serves a diverse population of adults and older adults living with chronic, severe mental illness, as well as children with serious emotional disturbance and their families, recognizing the substantial impact that traumatic experiences can have on the clients we serve. With ten clinical sites and nearly 100 affiliated schools, Didi Hirsch serves more than 90,000 clients annually throughout Southern California. Our services span a continuum of prevention, early intervention, and treatment services for individuals, families, and the community. These services include a nationally recognized 24-hour Suicide Prevention Hotline; outpatient mental health services for children, families, and adults; time-limited crisis counseling; field-based intensive mental health services for children, transition-aged youth and adults; school-based mental health and substance use prevention services; case management; employment services; Wellness Centers; an integrated healthcare clinic; crisis residential care; and residential care for women struggling with substance use and their children. Didi Hirsch also provides unique training opportunities to the broader community of service providers, as well as internship and practicum training opportunities for the next generation of service providers to work with trauma-exposed individuals and communities.
DiDonato, Stephen, PhD, LPC, NCC
Dr. Stephen DiDonato is an Associate Professor in the Jefferson College of Nursing and co-Director of the Jefferson Trauma Education Network (J-TEN). He holds his Master’s Degree in Counseling from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and his Ph.D. in International Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Dr. DiDonato has extensive experience in training and consulting with behavioral health and medical departments to enhance the health and vibrancy of the workforce. Dr. DiDonato’s clinical expertise working with children, families, and communities who have been exposed to potentially traumatic events. Dr. DiDonato’s research is primarily focused on how providers and students adherence to myths and restricted stereotypes influence engagement with clients/patients and families. Dr. DiDonato also focuses his scholarly inquiry on trauma-informed education and training.
Donaldson, Jessica, LCSW
I am a therapist and clinical supervisor with Bright Path Counseling. For the past 10 years, I have worked in the area of childhood trauma and resilience, engaging in counseling, supervision, training, program development and management. For the past 5 years, I have been a part of a NCTSN implementing trauma and resiliency informed care into the schools, courts, and local community along with community organizations. I train and consult on Attachment, Regulation, and Competency. My works focuses on direct clinical work and supervision of upcoming therapists. My areas of expertise related to children and families are: trauma and social injustice, substance use, children in the foster care system, trauma informed care organizational transformation, and policies and practices in children's systems of care.
Donelan, Jill, PsyD
I am a licensed psychologist with expertise in implementing and sustaining evidence-based, trauma-informed practices in real world clinical settings. I have worked on two NCSN Category III Projects, both focused on the implementation of EBPs for childhood trauma; most recently I served as the Project Director for a program focused on early childhood trauma. I am trained in Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), Trauma-Focused CBT (T-FCBT) and Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS). I am also a certified facilitator of the NCTSN (Category II) FORECAST model, a simulation-based Core Concepts in Childhood Trauma training. My current work involves the utilization of Measurement Based Care (MBC), also sometimes referred to as routine outcome measurement, to support improved clinical outcomes for clients. Within this work, I am interested in the ways that MBC supports data-driven decision making at all levels of organizations, while simultaneously centering and empowering client voice and perspectives. I am passionate about trauma-informed suicide prevention, and have expertise in the implementation of MBC and supported decision making models to prevent and treat suicide in youth and adolescents within behavioral and health care settings.
Donovan, Thomas, LCPC
Thomas Donovan is a trainer of Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS) and Psychological First Aid (PFA). Thomas formerly served at Chaddock, a former category 3 site, as the Associate Director of Clinical Services. Currently he is the owner of New Life Counseling in Quincy, IL and Assistant Pastor at Columbus Road Baptist Church.