Click here to read what you have said in the days and weeks following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita . . .

Email us if you have something to say!

2008

Thank you! I enjoyed the TLC online course (Zero to Three: Trauma Interventions). While the information presented was familiar to me, the assignments were helpful in integrating the information in new ways. this was the first time I have ever done an online training and I would definitely do it again.

Ellyn Schreiber

Just wanted to pass along how much my clients and I love your online Parent Trauma Resource Center. http://www.tlcinst.org/PTRC.html THANK YOU!!!

Heidi Weipert, Morrit-Weipert Psychological Counseling, North Muskegon, MI

I recently attended the TLC trauma training in San Antonio, TX and I would like to thank you all for an extremely informative, comprehensive and timely training. I work at a middle school in Southern California and we began our day today with news that one of our students was struck and killed by a car last night. This is the second student to be killed in a car accident this school year. While I am very sad to be writing under these circumstances, I am very grateful for my newfound understanding of grief and trauma and have found the TLC procedure for classroom presentations very helpful today. Thank you for your continued research and training opportunities.

Lisa Belliveau, School Counselor, Desert Springs Middle School, California

Bill Steele's I Feel Better Now! was an outstanding workshop! It was one of the most useful seminars we have ever been privledged to have at the District! And thank you for allowing us to copy the materials. Excellent! I hope we can have a follow-up. I believe this program (I Feel Better Now!) is fantastic! I wish we could do away from non-guidance duties so we can get back to what we do best. Again, this was one of the best workshops that I've been to in quite some time. Great presentation!

Donna Hart, Osceola ISD, Florida

2007

Just wanted to tell you that I was called to one of our elementary schools yesterday and today to assist with (2) students whose dad was shot at the Coney Island in Lincoln Park, you probably heard about it on the news. I thought a debriefing with them was appropriate. It was amazing watching the boys anxiety decrease as we went though the activities (safe place drawing, drawing what happened and allowing him to tell their stories) I was in Awe!!! It was also so nice to be able to pick up the "I Feel Better Now!" curriculum and be comfortable using it. I copied a few things for the parent and aunt, whom I met yesterday.

Today, the boys were not in school. I went into their respective classrooms and did read the book, "Lifetimes," and processed some reactions with the class - it went very well. The kids made cards - wow! Those were tear-jerkers!! I also was referred to two teachers who had students whose parents had died within the last year (one student carries around a picture of her dad in the casket). I asked the principal if I could do a group with those students and he welcomed it!!

Just wanted to confirm what you already know - the program works!! I gave the family my last copy of the "After a Traumatic Loss" booklet by Bill Steele. We would like to buy some more so I can give them to the Social Workers to keep on hand. It's nice to be able to give the parent something. Thanks for all TLC has done for our district!!!

Sandra Kluk
Taylor School District, Taylor, MI

We've started using the TLC curriculum and it has been extremely beneficial! The drawing allowed a four year old to disclose sexual abuse to me. Had I not attended the TLC training she may not have been offered that avenue to tell. Thanks again.

Kelly Warner, Turning Point

Hi, just wanted to say that I really like the layout of this (online) course and it is meeting my needs... This is the first course I have taken as I am registered at the summer institute for level one. Thanks!

Theresa Coyne Frase

2006

Hello & Accolades:
Once again I have to commend TLC for the tools you have provided me with as a TLC member. As this school year began we had one high school that had 3 students die in 2 separate car accidents on the weekend before school began. Our TERT team felt well equipped to deal with supporting the school after planning our response for the first day of school, although a sad time, it was responded to utilizing our own school board response procedure that is complimented by the TLC materials and trained CYC's.

Further to this, a custodian of the same school died while working at the school last Monday evening and once again we were able to respond utilizing the same valuable resources - thank you...since we have received much positive feedback for our response to this additionally sad time I wanted to share with you how incredibly valuable TLC resources are for us. At the end of the day we called in an additional 9 TLC trained CYC's to do some small group operational debriefing (for a very large staff group) and once again the resources TLC afforded us helped to make the response run smoothly and effectively. Thank-you.

Janice Walker, TLC School Specialist
CYC Supervisor, Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board
Belleville, Ontario

I just returned from the [9/11 5 year Anniversary] ceremony at the Pentagon. It was good to see so many of our families. Thank you so much for all you did to help us. Your trauma work was an important part of their recovery.

Annemarie M. Bezold, L.C.S.W. Coordinator, Grief Program
Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board

Dr. Steele,

I am not sure whether or not your remember me. I attended the week long training in San Diego, CA in 2002. It was held at the Double Tree Hazzard Centre. I am from Yuma, AZ. I coordinate our countywide trauma response team which consists of school counselors, psychologists, and nurses from 9 different school districts in our county. Also included on our team are mental health professionals from 3 different community agencies and at least a dozen or more first responders including a rep. from each law enforcement agency and fire service in our community, both city and county. We have done this work since 2001 and have responded way to often to a number of tragic events. Since January 1, 2004, when I actually began keeping track of our work, we have had 25 kids under the age of 19 die in our small community. We have provided interventions in each of those cases. 14 of those were different car accidents, 2 suicides, 5 small children in a mass murder of a family near one of our schools, one child who died in the bathroom at school and 3 drownings. We have been rather busy. Your materials have been incredibly helpful to all of us, and we appreciate your continued work. Our town is fairly isolated and very near the mexican border about 2.5 hours from San Diego, and about the same from Phoenix. It was here that we had the car accident with 22 illegal aliens packed in a suburban and ran from border patrol a few weeks ago. 10 died at the scene and another 2 at hospitals later in the week. We utilize our team both in and out of the school setting and get our share of practice. We have learned a lot in the last 5 years. I just wanted to say thanks for all that you do.

Sincerely,
Tori Bourguignon, M.Ed. NCC
Counselor Coordinator
Yuma School District 1
YCCISM Team Director

I just received my membership renewal in the mail. I am writing to let you know that after 12 years in the field, I have made a career change and won't be renewing my membership at this time. I hope to sometime in the future.

I also wanted to let you know that my certification was one of the most important things I ever did in my career. It allowed me to help many children in my small rural community and it was the most rewarding part of my job.

Thank you for giving me that opportunity.

Tammy Taylor
Gardnerville NV

2005

"This has been an outstanding workshop! The information is useful both personally and professionally. I left on 11/2/05, feeling better and with new information. I came to this workshop as a “professional”, but was actually here for myself as a Katrina survivor. The simple exercise of dividing my life into 8 sections. Knowing how this tragedy was only one part of my life was so helpful."
Angela Tyrone, MSW, LPC, Livingston, Louisiana

"Valuable information that is applicable to a variety of situations. Great presentation!"
Kimberly E. McKee, MA, LMFT, Springfield, Louisiana

"This is one of the best seminars I’ve attended in a long time. I left with strategies I can use immediately."
Debbie Carpenter, M.Ed., Denham Springs, Louisiana

2004

"An amazing thing happened in my home last night. I found a copy of Brave Bart, as I was cleaning out a book case and I convinced my five-year-old niece to allow me to read to her. She loves cats, so the subject was appealing. She sat very quietly and listened to every word. When the story was over, I told her how brave she was since mommy died and she convinced me to read it again. I can't remember if she has ever sat in my lap for this long a period of time. During the second reading, she actually fell asleep and it was only 8:00 pm. Amanda rarely can sleep before midnight, since her mother died on 9/11. I don't remember who brought me this book (Brave Bart), but I am forever grateful."
Deborah O'Connor, Whitestone, Queens

"I am currently working with elementary school children who have been exposed to murder, abuse, fires and other traumatic situations. I can’t begin to think where I would have started [to help these children] without TLC interventions and TLC’s support. Thank you so much"
Linda Cassell, MSW, Counselor Youngstown Schools, Ohio

“I want to thank you for not forgetting about the babies and toddlers! I have been certified as a TLC Trauma and Loss Consultant since 2001 and have used What Color is Your Hurt? with children (that many other therapists won't even consider working with because of their age). I have experienced positive results and am very grateful for the programs you have created. Thanks again for all you do.”
Lisa Scholz, MSW, CSW, Lutheran Family Services, Michigan

“I’m quite familiar with your organization, I have purchased several hundred copies of Brave Bart: A Story for Traumatized and Grieving Children because it is such a superb book!”
Risê VanFleet, Ph.D., RPT-S, Family Enrichment Play Therapy Center, Pennsylvania

“What Do I Tell My Child When I’m Scared, Too? is a wonderful program! The video is informative and will help us a lot in our work with families. Your generosity and dedication to children is overwhelming.”
Beverly Baroni-Yeglic, School Social Worker, Michigan

2003

“Two of the children here on base witnessed an attempted suicide. You quickly responded. You have done a service that will have a lasting impact. Rest assured that when trauma again visits the young people our clinic serves it will be The National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children we turn to for assistance.”
Charles Bass, PhD, Captain U.S. Army, Fort Wainright, Alaska

“There were many favorable responses to your presentation. It was a pleasure to have such a positive experience for my staff as my last duty before retiring.”
Carolina DeLuca, Child Abuse Prevention, Michigan

“Our After School Program has provided trauma intervention to Iraqi children using TLC’s I Feel Better Now! Program. It has been a tremendous help. The children love to use the puppets and tell their stories. It was very non-threatening.
Sarah Hekmati, MSW Student, Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, Michigan

“Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity. Brave Bart and the Helping Children Feel Safe Program are now being used by the Hillsbourough County Community Crisis Support Team. They are valuable tools to help our team.”
Marnie Wonderly, University of South Florida, Children’s Subcommittee, Florida

“The information interventions and programs are not only solidly supported and applicable, but immediately useable. Thank you so much for the training.”
Micki Magers, MS, LMFT, Hawaii

“This is an amazing healing process which has already helped so many of the traumatized teens I see.”
Vance Williams, LCSW, Wilmington Health Access for Teens, North Carolina

2002

“Your presentation style and expertise on trauma made our program overwhelmingly successful. We want you to return so our staff can complete certification.”
Tracy Greenwood, MSSA, LSW Community Outreach, Bellefaire Jewish Children’s Bureau, Ohio

“I have recently acquired a copy of the TLC book, Kids on the Inside Looking Out After Loss and have begun to use it with some of my clients. I am writing to extend my appreciation for the magnificent work. I have been working with children for many years and am involved with training and supervising other clinicians and decided to try out the TLC ‘interview’ style -- the results were just so dramatic -- It is a wonderful tool for my own work with traumatized children and will help other clinicians. Keep up the work!”
Clotilde O'Keeffe Lyons, Senior Clinical Psychologist, Southern Health Board, Kerry, Ireland

“The structured sensory interventions for children that I learned at the TLC trainings have been invaluable in my family practice.”
David Grill, MA, MFCC, California

"As a nurse practitioner working in a health clinic this training has been critical for me to know the best way to help kids cope with their emotions and work through exposure to traumatic events.”
Elizabeth Stemper, CFNP, Nurse Practitioner, Michigan

“Invaluable skills for professionals who work with children. It’s time we change our way of thinking and counseling for the betterment of children.”
S. Dana Outlaw, BS, Hernando-Pasco Hospice, Florida

2001

“The TLC Certification was extremely helpful to us in our work with the 9/11 families in the DC area. The curriculums you developed are exactly what we need right now.”
Ann Marie Bezold, LCSW, Fairfax Falls, Virginia

“Due to the success of your debriefing techniques in our group homes, we have begun training all our staff.”
Betty Bidwell, Homestead Group Home, Ontario, Canada

“I can’t praise TLC’s Trauma Intervention Program enough. It’s been wonderful for the children in the residential program and the children I'm now working with as an elementary counselor.”
Jill Litterer, MSW, Iowa

“On one of our client surveys a client wrote that I was the first person to ask about trauma experiences and that the information I gave had made a big difference in her life. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Deborah Wilson, Counseling Services of Pittsburg, Texas

“The family of Stephen G. Siller, FDNY is grateful to God for his life, for your friendship and your kindness and prayers during our time of sorrow. Thank you so much for your wonderful book for us. We did find comfort in Brave Bart. It was very kind to think of us. Thank you.”
Sally Siller and Children, New York

“Thank you for your support of our school community in the wake of September 11, 2001. The positive response from families regarding our actions resulted in a request from a local television station to not only detail the steps we took but what prior training informed our decision making. Others are now calling us to learn more.”
Margaret Walsh, EdD, Principal, Minnie Howard School, Virginia

2000

“It is amazing how often I use your training. Once again I reiterate how valuable my training has been for our school.”
Deborah Price, Assistant Principal, Adams High School, Michigan

“Even though our years of structured training and subsequent successful responses put us ahead of most districts, TLC’s week long training has been a quantum leap.”
Peter Lefaivre, MEd, Kenton County Schools, Kentucky

“Excellent hands-on practical interventions - just what we needed!”
Dr. Linda Nowak, Clint ISD, Texas

“A program that comes from people who work in the trenches is so welcomed!”
Cathy Wunderlich, MSW, School Counselor, Illinois

“Excellent hands-on, practical interventions and TLC is always available for consultation!”
Barbara Brunkan, School Social Worker, Iowa

1999

“The structure and planful session of TLC’s What Color Is Your Hurt? Program has helped my client immensely. In and out of three foster homes before age six, she is no longer rageful and displays only a few oppositional traits. It is because of TLC that she has had this success.”
Lynn Hunt, DCSW, CMH Clinical Social Worker, Michigan

“The materials you have developed are great; your responses to calls quick, and the support you give to all of us “working in the trenches is wonderful”
Marie Nelson, MEd, Counselor, Jones Elementary, Texas

“An excellent program that every crisis team should review in their preparedness evaluations.”
E. Jeanette Senart, MA, LMT, Florida

1998

“I just wanted to tell you again how much I learned at your training program.”
Barbara Ertl, MS, NCC, Consultant, NW Tri-County Intermediate Schools, Pennsylvania

“On behalf of the staff and volunteers at Open Arms Grieving Children’s Program I want to thank you for your deeply affecting presentation.”
Nancy Dahlmann, MSW, ACSW, Program Coordinator, Michigan

“I am sending a big thank you for your workbooks. It was solid and unable to be torn apart on the witness stand. The defense attorney could not conclude that your program planted memories.”
Julie MacArthur, MA, Clinical Psychologist, Shelby Family Care, Michigan

“On behalf of the Youth Crisis Response Work Group, I would like to sincerely thank you for your excellent presentation. The information and intervention you provided will be invaluable.”
Kathy Goetz, Bereavement coordinator, Hospice of Lenawee, Michigan

“The response to your presentation and materials was overwhelmingly positive. Many are still talking about your ideas weeks later.”
Shari Straffon, ACSW, Holland Middle School, Michigan

“Extremely informative! Not just the why, but the how!”
Tamara Blubaugh, MHR, LPC, Counselor, Oklahoma

1997

“Your volunteering to educate the law enforcement community and to help survivors is well recognized.”
Laurie Erickson, MA, President MI-COPS, Michigan

“Words will not adequately express our gratitude for the assistance you gave to our students and staff the past several days.”
Joan Sergent, EdD, Superintendent , Utica Schools, Michigan

“The TLC materials and information are very timely and immediately usable.”
Dee Dee Carter, Tyler Schools, Texas

“Structured and tested, TLC gets to the heart of the problems.”
Patti Porter, Counselor, Texas

1996

“Tremendous job! School districts are now working on their crisis response teams thanks to the structured, practical and usable information gained from TLC.”
Curtis Kosub, Training Coordinator, Region XIII, Texas

“Very focused, direct, practical strategies at a time when managed health care calls for measurable outcomes.”
Kennedy Krieger Family Center, Maryland

1995

“It is because of dedicated caring people like you that we are able to help and nurture ourselves and our clients in a more compassionate, holistic manner.”
Jan Cutter, RN, Delta-Menominee Health Dept, Michigan

“The Children’s Center is in your debt.”
Kris Hennerman, Professional Development Coordinator, Children’s Center, Michigan

"Effective, practical, flexible, cost effective and easy to use.”
Leena K. Singh, Women’s Resource Center, Ontario, Canada

“Invaluable in helping children talk about their painful experiences.”
Donna Groth, Social Worker, Michigan

1994

“Your presentation was so well received that our Training and Technical Assistance Committee asked you back for a follow-up session.”
Michigan Head Start Child Development Association, Michigan

“I am pleased to support your efforts to develop resources for our children and families.”
Dorthea Taylor, Director, Early Childhood Education, Detroit Schools, Michigan

1992

“We are indebted to you for helping us overcome the horrors of our invasion!”
Social Development Office, Kuwait