TCU Institute of Child Development

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The KP Institute of Child Development (ICD) strives to help children overcome the harmful effects of early trauma, abuse or neglect. ICD trains students, parents, caregivers and professionals about the complex needs of these children and promotes research-based interventions to help children overcome social, behavioral and emotional problems stemming from developmental impairments.

ICD is a not-for-profit organization based within the College of Science and Engineering at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. ICD was formed in 2005 by child developmental researchers, Dr. Karyn Purvis and Dr. David Cross. ICD is not a clinic and does not offer counseling services directly to parents. Instead, it offers research and educational resources to help parents and professionals who serve at-risk and high-risk children.

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Findings of the Institute of Child Development

Many children act out with aggression and have difficulty attaching and bonding because of deep-rooted fears. When a child's needs are not met in a consistent, appropriate way, the child views the world as unsafe and trusts no one. This pervasive fear causes profound changes in a child's brain development and biochemistry.
Based on more than a decade of research, ICD developed the Trust-Based Relational Intervention methodology, which has proven effective for children who have suffered developmental impairments due to trauma and abuse, including children who are adopted or fostered and children diagnosed with emotional and behavioral disorders.
ICD's intervention is based on empirical data gathered by measuring stress hormones and neurotransmitter levels commonly linked with violent behavior, depression and other psychological and behavioral problems.
Intervention with children at summer camp resulted in dramatic lowering of the stress hormone, cortisol, that in turn, led to enhanced learning and language.

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ICD Resources

Professional training in ICD's unique, holistic Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) model.
The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family (McGraw-Hill), a book by Karyn B. Purvis, Ph.D., David R. Cross, Ph.D., and Wendy Lyons Sunshine. Available in English, Spanish, and Romanian.
The "Healing Families" video series, which offers practical tips and insights addressing the special needs of these children.
The Hope Connection summer camp, which serves as a research platform and a place where children and their parents learn how to create an environment for healing.