A practical approach to trauma and behavior
Sometimes we meet people—children or adults—whose behavior seems difficult, unpredictable or just hard to understand. We might see defiance, withdrawal or emotional outbursts and think, What’s going on with them?
TBRI asks us to ask a different question:
What happened to them?
Developed by Dr. Karyn Purvis and Dr. David Cross, Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) is a trauma-informed model that helps us support people who’ve experienced adversity—particularly early relational trauma, neglect or chronic stress.
Why does trauma affect behavior?
Trauma—especially when experienced early in life—can shape the way a person sees the world. It can make ordinary situations feel unsafe. It can make connection feel risky. And it can teach someone to protect themselves in ways that, on the outside, look like “bad behavior.”
But what if that behavior is actually a survival response?
TBRI helps us recognise that many challenging behaviors come from a nervous system stuck in protection mode. Before learning can happen, before cooperation is possible, people need to feel safe.
The Three Pillars of TBRI
Trauma-Based Relational Intervention or TBRI is built around three core principles:
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Connection
Before anything else, we build trust. That might mean listening without interrupting, staying calm in conflict or offering simple, consistent routines. Relationships are where healing begins.
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Empowerment
We support physical and emotional needs—things like proper hydration, movement, sensory support or even predictable transitions. When someone’s body feels calm and supported their mind can start to open up.
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Correction
Only after connection and regulation are in place do we guide behavior. But instead of punishing we teach. We model, we practice together and we correct gently—with respect and consistency.
Who is TBRI for?
Originally designed for children from hard places, TBRI is now being used in:
- Classrooms
- Foster and adoptive care
- Mental health settings
- Juvenile justice
- Community support work
- Workplaces and leadership programs
Because trauma doesn’t stop at childhood. Many adults carry stress responses into their careers and relationships. TBRI gives us a framework to respond with curiosity and compassion, not just control.
Are you looking for a Trauma Informed Practice online course?
What’s different?
Unlike behavior management approaches that focus on consequences or rewards, TBRI looks deeper. It’s grounded in attachment theory, neuroscience and real-life experience. It values structure but always in the context of relationship.
People don’t change because they’re told to.
They change when they feel seen.
When they feel safe.
When they trust the person guiding them.
Conclusion
TBRI isn’t a quick fix. It takes patience, presence and sometimes a shift in mindset. But it works—because it meets people where they are, not where we wish they were.
References:
Purvis, K. B., Cross, D. R., Dansereau, D. F., & Parris, S. R. (2013). Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI): A Systemic Approach to Complex Developmental Trauma. Child & Youth Services, 34(4), 360–386.
Peter Diaz is the CEO of Workplace Mental Health Institute. He’s an author and accredited mental health social worker with senior management experience. Having recovered from his own experience of bipolar depression, Peter is passionate about assisting organisations to address workplace mental health issues in a compassionate yet results-focussed way. He’s also a Dad, Husband, Trekkie and Thinker.
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