In honor of 25 years of Risking Connection®, this series explores the heart of the Risking Connection Change Model: R.I.C.H. relationships – those that exemplify Respect, Information, Connection, and Hope – and the real challenges of living them out. Join LaVerne Baker Hotep and Patricia Wilcox, LCSW, on November 12th to learn more about how R.I.C.H. relationships are healing relationships.
Now we turn to Connection.

Connection is the central concept in a trauma-informed approach. People heal within relationships. Our programs should offer our clients R.I.C.H. relationships and train staff how to utilize these relationships for the most powerful healing.

In honor of 25 years of Risking Connection®, this series explores the heart of the model: R.I.C.H. relationships – Respect, Information, Connection, and Hope – and the real challenges of living them out. Join LaVerne Baker Hotep and Patricia Wilcox, LCSW, on November 12th to learn more about how R.I.C.H. relationships are healing relationships.

In the first of the series, we discussed the role of Respect in R.I.C.H. relationships. Next, we'll focus on Information.

As part of celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Risking Connection® (RC) training program, we are sharing short RC Sampler Sessions this fall, covering some of its most essential concepts.  One central concept in the Risking Connection Change Model is that the path to healing is through the acronym "R.I.C.H. relationships" – those that embody Respect, Information, Connection and Hope. Over time in our work with client agencies, we have collected many inspiring examples of how staff demonstrate R.I.C.H. with their clients and with each other – but it isn’t easy. Let's explore what is hard about R.I.C.H. in this series of posts.

These are the areas where we struggle, stumble, and sometimes become less than helpful to our clients and each other. Let’s look at each part of R.I.C.H. and discover what is hard about it and how we can overcome the challenges.

Vicarious trauma, a form of secondary trauma, is an inescapable effect of working with trauma survivors. It is an occupational hazard and may be the single most important factor impacting the success or failure of trauma work. Organizations need to address vicarious trauma as an ethical imperative.  

Sign up for our free sampler session on Vicarious Trauma and receive a replay of Trauma-Informed Care basics!

TSI staff participated inDr. Isha Metzger’s insightful webinar entitled, Cultural Considerations for Integrating Racial Socialization in TF-CBT for Black Youth & Families. Dr. Metzger is a trailblazing Licensed Cultural Psychologist, thought leader, and advocate for culturally responsive mental health care. This webinar was of special interest because in 2024, TSI undertook a major revision of the Risking Connection training based on the belief that trauma training and trauma-informed care must address the trauma of racism.

The Traumatic Stress Institute is pleased to share an upcoming event that may be of interest to our community. Origins Training is launching the Resilience Learning Community—a new virtual space focused on exploring resilience practices within organizations and communities.

For 25 years, Risking Connection has been at the forefront of the trauma-informed care movement and the foundation of the Traumatic Stress Institute's work. Over the past decade, the Risking Connection foundational trauma training has evolved into the Risking Connection Change Model, a multi-stage intervention that supports  trauma-informed, organizational culture change.

2024 brought to an end a 19-month initiative by three Connecticut-based Arc organizations to implement systemwide change to trauma-informed care. In contrast to many organizations' approaches to trauma-informed change, The Arc of Litchfield County, CCARC, MidState Arc took to heart the maxim of Dr. Sandra Bloom, one of the grandmothers of the TIC movement:

Please meet Bonnie Spencer, Program Office Manager for Family Ark in Jeffersonville, Indiana. When Family Ark recently adopted the Traumatic Stress Institute's Risking Connection Change Model, Bonnie was tasked with ordering food and other logistics for the Risking Connection Basic Training late last summer. Prior to the training, she had started reading about what it meant to be trauma-informed and was still unsure of what it actually meant. After participating in the training, she really felt like everything came together and made sense.