Healing Connecticut's Children: The Trauma Focused Evidence-Based Practice Conference

This year's Trauma Focused Evidence-Based Practice Conference: Healing Connecticut's Children is being held on National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day.

CHDI's Judith Meyers and Jason Lang and CT DCF Deputy Commissioner Michael Williams welcomed approximately 400 mental health clinicians, administrators and social workers from Connecticut to the conference. Attendees then participated in a variety of workshops related to children’s mental health evidence-based practices. 

Lucy Berliner, a nationally prominent speaker and trauma expert, delivered the keynote address on how to turn trauma awareness into effective practice. Berliner serves as the Director of the Harborview Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress and is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Washington School of Social Work and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Her research centers on the impact of trauma and the effectiveness of clinical and societal interventions.

The conference has been hosted annually (since 2008) by the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut (CHDI) to provide training and support for mental health clinicians as trauma-focused evidence-based practices were disseminated across the State. Funding for the conference comes from the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, the Court Support Services Division, and the Administration for Children and Families.  

Since 2007, CHDI has collaborated with State agencies, provider organizations and families to improve access to effective services for children suffering from exposure to trauma. Together, we have developed a workforce in our state to deliver multiple, evidence-based treatments to thousands of children and families each year; implemented trauma-informed policies, systems and practices in the child welfare, juvenile justice, and children’s mental health systems; developed a brief screen for childhood trauma (The Child Trauma Screen) for use by professionals in child-serving systems (e.g. pediatrics, child welfare, health, juvenile justice, mental health, education), and increased awareness through KidsMentalHealthinfo.com, a website for parents and caregivers.

View our Infographic: Addressing Childhood Trauma in Connecticut.