Creating Felt Safety: An Introduction to TBRI®
When children feel safe, connected, and understood, they are better equipped to learn, grow, communicate, and heal. This phenomenon the core foundation of Trust-Based Relational Intervention®, or TBRI®. TBRI was developed via studies conducted by Dr. Karyn Purvis and others at Texas Christian University. The approach is grounded in trauma-informed attachment-based care, with the main initiative being to help caregivers, educators, and counselors support their children through the power of relationships. In short, TBRI aims to challenge the question “What’s wrong with this child?” and to instead ask ourselves “What has this child experienced?” At the heart of TBRI is a concept called “felt safety”. Felt safety refers to the phenomenon in which a child’s nervous system senses that the environment is both safe and secure. Felt safety means the caregiver has provided the child with a sense of safety through the three core principles: Connection, Empowerment, and Correction.
Connecting: “I am with you”
From a TBRI perspective, connection is defined as helping caregivers establish trust with children. Connecting occurs when caregivers initiate small yet intentional cues of safety. For many children, especially those who have undergone trauma, loss, or inconsistent caregiving, an adult’s body language matters. In this sense, a playful tone or smile can help the adult lower the child’s guard and promote a deeper connection.
It is also paramount to understand that connection does not equal permissiveness. Rather, it means that the adult presents themselves as a safe, secure place for the child to express themselves. Before a child can withstand correction from a trusted adult, they must first experience connection.
Empowering: “You matter.”
Principles of TBRI concerning empowerment help both adults and children in meeting physical, sensory, and environmental needs. Oftentimes, strategies for empowerment can be as simple as offering water, movement breaks, or visual schedules. Each of these helps support the child’s physical and emotional regulation.
Correcting: “Let me help you learn.”
Correcting principles help children build skills while maintaining their connection to the adult. Correction works best when it is proactive and brief, which may involve offering choices, using simpler or fewer words, or helping the child regroup after a challenge. Rather than ignoring or enabling challenging behavior from a child, TBRI seeks to better inform adults to respond to the behavior with structure, calm, and compassion.
TBRI and Therapy
In counseling, TBRI can be immensely useful in supporting clinicians in thinking about behavior beyond the surface level and thus attending to the child holistically. For example, using a TBRI-informed approach in the counseling room may involve interpreting a child’s tone, posture, or body language as a means of communication and connection with the counselor. Additionally, TBRI emphasizes slowing down and considering the child’s individual needs during sessions. This concept is especially relevant when engaging in sessions with children experiencing neurodivergence, anxiety, trauma, or attachment disruptions.
At the Therapeutic Studio, we believe children excel when they can both meet and exceed the demands placed on them. In the same way, we believe all children deserve support, compassion, and a high-quality standard of care. TBRI reminds us, as clinicians, that healing begins when a child feels seen, heard, and safe.
