1. Trauma Informed Practices: The Attachment, Self-Regulation and Competency (ARC) Model: Adolescents in group care
Lise Milne, MSW, PhD (c.)
Dr. Delphine Collin-Vézina
ISPCAN symposia
October 2, 2017

2. ARC: A System-Based Approach to Trauma
Handful of trauma- informed interventions
Few present multi- systemic design and implementation among direct-care staff
Targets the 3 core RESILIENCY domains:
Attachment, Self- Regulation, and Competency

3. Why the need for a trauma-informed training for group home educators?
Two studies with Canadian adolescents in residential/group care
Numerous US and other international studies with similar findings
Type of Abuse
Montreal1
Toronto2
Sexual abuse
38%
34%
Physical abuse
62%
55%
Emotional abuse
68%
64%
Physical neglect
57%
Emotional neglect
59%
74%
Compounded maltreatment:
83% reported 1+ types
40%-44% reported 4+ types
19%-23% reported ALL 5 TYPES
1Collin-Vezina, Coleman, Milne, Sell, & Daigneault (2011)
2Milne, L. (2017). Current PhD research
(Maltreatment and Adolescent Pathways Study)

4. Why the need for a trauma-informed training for group home educators?
Other potentially traumatic events:
separation from caregiver, peers
exposure to community, dating, and intimate partner violence
marginalizing home conditions
high clinical levels of anxiety, depression, anger, PTS, dissociation, sexual concerns, substance misuse, self- harm, delinquency
dose: response - #traumatic events: symptom levels
CPS:
**Group home educators feeling frustrated, unable to manage such complex presentations by youth

5. Resilience
Cicchetti (2012) “...resilience is a dynamic developmental process encompassing the attainment of positive adaptation despite exposure to significant threat, severe adversity, or trauma that typically constitute major assaults on the processes underlying biological and psychological development.” Boris Cyrulnik (2011) (translated from French): “Resilience isn’t a success story at all, it’s the story of the child who is pushed towards death and fights to invent a strategy to come back to life.”

6. Ecological Model Resilience
Characteristics of the abuse (duration, severity, cumulative effect)
Individual factors (temperament, coping strategies)
Family factors (family relationships, living conditions)
Social and cultural factors (intervention programs)
Characteristics of the abuse (duration, severity, cumulative effect)
Ecological Model
Individual factors (temperament, coping strategies)
Family factors (family relationships, living conditions)
Social and cultural factors (intervention programs)

7. 1 3 2 The ARC Model evidence- and practice-informed treatment
Attachment 3
Competency 2
Self-Regulation
evidence- and practice-informed treatment
grounded in trauma theory, attachment, and child development
works with the youth-in-context
current adaptive responses linked to experiences
interventions within immediate environment

8. 1 Traumatized youth may… perceive the world as dangerous
Attachment
perceive the world as dangerous
expect to be hurt in relationships
be detached, unresponsive or resistant to comforting
lack confidence in themselves to succeed in the social world
be overly dependent on others; show indiscriminate sociability

9. 2 Traumatized youth may…
Self-Regulation
have limited vocabulary for identifying emotions
be disconnected from emotional experiences
few/no adaptive strategies to express & modulate difficult or intense emotions
have too much/too little control
engage in behaviours to regain control

10. 3 Traumatized youth may… have negative view of self
Competency
have negative view of self
attribute failures to self expect rejection

11. ARC: A System-Based Approach to Trauma
Attachment
Routines & Rituals
Caregiver Affect Management
Attunement
Consistent Response
Self- Regulation
Identification
Modulation
Expression
Competency
Executive Functioning
Identity
Trauma Integration

12. ARC: A System-Based Approach to Trauma
300+ agencies/child-serving systems U.S. and abroad
adaptable/flexible
promising practice by NCTSN & SAMHSA
early research results promising

13. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION & COLLABORATION!
Canadian Association of Pediatric Health Centres webinar: Trauma-informed care: Youth sexual and non-sexual violence experiences and the ARC model:
For more information about ARC:
Questions can be addressed to
Delphine Collin-Vézina: