TBRI Exam #1

What does TBRI stand for?

Trust Based Relational Intervention

What is the purpose of TBRI?

It is a trauma informed approach that helps children by meeting their physical/emotional needs, building trusting relationships, and teaching them healthier ways to manage their behavior. It focuses on understanding the whole child instead of just trying to stop unwanted behavior.

What happens when someone “flips their lid”?

It is a stress response trigger that makes you lose access to your upstairs brain and focuses solely on survival

What does the downstairs brain do?

It is responsible for survival, scanning environment for danger and focuses on basic needs and its main job is to keep us safe

What does the upstairs brain do?

It is responsible for planning, learning, language processing, decision making and self control

What are the five B’s?

Brain, Biology, Body, Belief, & Behavior

What are the three TBRI principles?

Connecting, Empowering, Correcting

What are the two connecting strategies?

Mindful Awareness and Engagement Strategies

Connecting strategy definition

relationships & attachment

What are the two empowering strategies?

Physiological and Ecological Strategies

Empowering strategy definition

physical needs & regulation

What are the two correcting strategies?

Proactive and Responsive Strategies

Correcting strategy definition

teaching healthy behaviors & boundaries

If you had to prioritize one TBRI principle, what would it be and why?

Connecting strategy because children need to feel safe and have a trusting relationship with their caregiver and if a child doesn’t feel that way, it can be much harder for them to accept help or learn from correction. Building that relationship first makes it easier to meet their needs and guide their behavior.

What are the four attachment patterns?

Secure, Avoidant, Ambivalent, Disorganized

What are the four skills of a healthy relationship?

Giving care, receiving care, negotiating needs, and being autonomous

What are the five Engagement Strategies?

Healthy touch, eye contact, voice quality, behavior matching and playful interaction

Pick ONE engagement strategy and explain what it is and why it is important for building connection

I would choose voice quality. This means paying attention to your tone, volume, and speed when speaking to a child. A calm, gentle voice can help a child feel safe, while a playful voice can help build connection. How we speak to children can affect how they feel and how they respond to us.

What are the five external senses?

Sight, sound, touch, taste and smell

What are the three internal senses?

Vestibular, proprioception and interoception

What are the four F responses?

Fight, flight, freeze, and fawn

What are the four caregiving styles?

Authoritative, authoritarian, permissive and neglectful

Authoritative

high nurture and high structure

Authoritarian

low nurture and high structure

Permissive

high nurture and low structure

Neglectful

low nurture and low structure

What is the attachment cycle order?

need expressed - need met - trust builds

Example of what one attachment cycle might look like for a child?

A third grader gets upset after losing a soccer game and starts crying. Instead of telling the child to stop crying, the parent sits with them, listens, and helps them work through their feelings. The child feels comforted and learns that they can turn to the parent whenever they are upset, which builds trust.

Survival behavior vs willful disobedience

Survival behavior happens when a child reacts out of fear, stress, or an unmet need, rather than intentionally trying to be difficult and willful disobedience usually means the child knows what is expected but chooses not to follow it. It’s important to recognize the difference because a child who is feeling unsafe or overwhelmed may need connection and help regulating before they can learn from correction.

What are your takeaways from the strange situation videos?

• children can respond to separation and reunion in very different ways depending on their attachment experiences

• a seemingly independent child may still be struggling internally

• their behavior can reflect what they have learned to do to get their needs met, rather than showing how they feel

When considering adult attachment, an infant’s ____________ strategy leads to an adult’s ____________ strategy

behavioral; relational

An infant’s secure strategy leads to an adult’s ___________ strategy

secure

An infant’s avoidant strategy leads to an adult’s ___________ strategy

dismissive

An infant’s ambivalent strategy leads to an adult’s ___________ strategy

entangled

An infant’s disorganized strategy leads to an adult’s ___________ strategy

unresolved

Secure (infant)

Caregiver consistently, warmly responds when infant is upset

Avoidant (infant)

caregiver does not respond in an emotionally warm way when infant is upset

Ambivalent (infant)

caregiver inconsistently responds when infant is upset

Disorganized (infant)

caregiving is frightening

Share one specific way you are being prompted to be mindful of your own history in this course (be specific!) (short answer; short paragraph)

This class has made me think more about my childhood and the arguments I used to have with my parents, especially my dad. Growing up, I became really aware of other people’s emotions and often felt responsible for how other people felt. I think this is part of why I became a people pleaser, which is something I still struggle with today. My family sometimes yelled and slammed doors when we were upset, but we would usually come back and apologize afterwards. In my own future family, I want to create an environment where my children feel safe expressing their emotions without feeling like they have to hide their feelings or be perfect to protect my emotions.

What does the term “earned security” mean in relation to attachment and why is it important when thinking about working with parents and caregivers?

Earned security means developing healthier, more secure ways of relating to others even if your early attachment experiences were difficult. It is important because caregivers do not have to repeat the patterns they grew up with. When adults understand their own history and work through it, they can become more intentional about creating safe and trusting relationships with children.

Becoming “earned secure” (for adults who had an insecure attachment as a child) requires what two things?

Being fiercely honest about the past and letting go of the past with compassion

Felt-safety definition

When a person does not just know logically that they are safe, but actually feel safe inside. A child might be physically safe but still feel afraid or on guard because of past experiences. Caregivers can help build felt-safety by being consistent, nurturing, and responsive to the child’s needs.

What are the three stages of sensory processing? Sensory input is __________. The input is ___________. The brain and body ___________ based on the interpretation.

received; interpreted; respond

Vestibular

balance

Proprioception

helps us know where our body parts are & how much force/muscle pressure to use

Interoception

helps us notice signals like hunger, thirst, going to the bathroom, feeling too hot, etc.

What are the two different ways children respond to sensory input?

Sensory avoiding behaviors and sensory seeking behaviors

Sensory Avoiding Behaviors

The child avoids or reacts strongly to certain sensory experiences. Ex. - they might cover their ears when a room gets too loud or refuse to wear clothes with itchy tags

Sensory Seeking Behaviors

The child actively looks for certain sensory experiences. Ex. - they might constantly jump, spin, crash into cushions or ask for tight hugs

What is a sensory threshold?

How much sensory input a person can handle before they become overwhelmed or need more input

Example of vestibular threshold/how to handle it

A child may constantly spin, rock, or jump because they need more movement or they may become uncomfortable with swinging or activities that involve movement. I could offer safe movement breaks, such as gentle rocking, swinging or jumping and observe which activities help the child feel calmer.

Example of proprioception threshold/how to handle it

A child may crash into furniture, push against people, or constantly seek tight hugs because they want more body-pressure input. I could offer safe activities such as pushing against a wall, carrying appropriate objects, or using a pillow for pressure, if the child finds these helpful

Example of interoception threshold/how to handle it

A child may not notice that they are hungry, thirsty, too hot, or need to use the bathroom until they are already upset. I could offer regular snack and water breaks, remind them to check in with their body, and help them recognize what those signals feel like.