Current Projects
Nurturing Resilience Initiative
The Nurturing Resilience Initiative (NRI) is a multidisciplinary clinical, research, training, and community engagement program dedicated to improving the mental health and well-being of children and families. NRI develops, implements, and evaluates innovative, evidence-based approaches that increase access to trauma-informed care in pediatric healthcare, schools, and community settings.
Create Your Own Resilience (CYOR)
Building resilience through social-emotional learning and early intervention.
Create Your Own Resilience (CYOR) is a prevention and early intervention program designed to promote resilience, emotional regulation, healthy coping, and social-emotional development among school-aged children. Delivered in schools and community organizations by trained mental health professionals, CYOR integrates evidence-based principles from cognitive behavioral therapy, resilience science, and social-emotional learning. Since its launch, CYOR has provided services to more than 2,200 children across 28 schools and community sites, increasing access to mental health support for children who might otherwise face barriers to care.
Trauma-Focused CBT Learning Collaborative
Building the trauma-informed workforce.
The Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) Learning Collaborative trains licensed mental health professionals to deliver evidence-based treatment for children and adolescents who have experienced trauma. Through intensive didactic instruction, consultation, case-based learning, and fidelity monitoring, clinicians receive the support needed to achieve national TF-CBT certification. Each year, the collaborative trains approximately 30–40 community clinicians, expanding the availability of high-quality trauma treatment throughout the region.
Child Advocates of Fort Bend Psychiatry Program
Expanding access to trauma-informed psychiatric care.
NRI oversees the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry clinical rotation at Child Advocates of Fort Bend, where child psychiatry fellows provide psychiatric evaluation, medication management, and consultation for children affected by trauma, abuse, and neglect.
Circle of Security
Circle of Security (COS) is an evidence-based parenting program designed to strengthen parent-child relationships by promoting secure attachment, emotional regulation, and responsive caregiving. Delivered by expert UTHealth clinicians in partnership with Nery’s Promise, BakerRipley, the Infant Toddler Court of Fort Bend, and other community organizations, COS equips parents and caregivers with practical strategies to better understand and respond to their children’s emotional needs. The program also includes a professional development component for early childhood educators, providing training to strengthen relationship-based practices and support children’s social-emotional development
Pediatric Primary Care Trauma Initiative
Integrating trauma-informed care into pediatric healthcare.
This research and implementation program seeks to improve early identification and treatment of childhood traumatic stress within pediatric primary care. Led by Dr. Funlola Are, the initiative evaluates the adaptation and implementation of a stepped-care Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) intervention for delivery in pediatric practices. By embedding evidence-based behavioral health services into primary care, the program aims to reduce barriers to specialty mental health care and improve access for underserved children and families.
Workforce Development and Training
Preparing the next generation of child mental health professionals
NRI serves as a multidisciplinary training hub for psychology postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, medical students, psychiatry fellows, social workers, and research trainees. Through clinical supervision, research mentorship, didactic education, and hands-on community experiences, trainees develop competencies in evidence-based practice, implementation science, integrated behavioral health, and community-engaged research.
TCHATT Training Program
Strengthening school-based behavioral health services.
As part of the Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT) program, NRI provides behavioral health training and consultation to school-based professionals across Texas. The program includes a monthly professional development series for school social workers, psychologists, counselors, and other school personnel, along with customized trainings tailored to district needs. Topics include trauma-informed care, suicide prevention, anxiety, behavioral concerns, crisis response, and evidence-based interventions. The program strengthens workforce capacity and promotes high-quality behavioral health services in educational settings.
CHAMP Psychology Extension Clinic
Supporting families through evidence-based parent interventions.
The CHAMP Psychology Extension Clinic provides evidence-based behavioral health services that strengthen children’s emotional, behavioral, and developmental functioning by working directly with parents and caregivers. The clinic offers comprehensive assessment, parent training, behavioral consultation, and individualized interventions while serving as a training site for psychology trainees. The clinic emphasizes family-centered care and interdisciplinary collaboration to improve outcomes for children with behavioral and mental health concerns.
Community Research & Implementation Science
Translating evidence into practice.
NRI partners with healthcare systems, schools, nonprofit organizations, and community agencies to develop, implement, and evaluate innovative approaches to child mental health care. Using implementation science and community-engaged research methods, the program focuses on identifying effective strategies for increasing adoption, sustainability, and equitable access to evidence-based mental health interventions in real-world settings.