Description
Children and youth in crisis need help. What kind of help and how it is given make a crucial difference between their learning from the experience or being set back.
TCI presents a crisis prevention and intervention model designed to help staff prevent potential crises, de-escalate crises when they occur, and assist children and youth to learn constructive ways to handle feelings of frustration, failure, anger, and hurt. The course stresses crisis prevention by teaching a continuum of intervention skills. TCI provides physical intervention techniques that respect the dignity of the staff and the child/youth and participants can chose whether they wish to be certified for some or all the physical components.
This intensive five-day Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI): Trainer Certificate train-the-trainer certification course provides organizations with the opportunity to develop an in-house training capacity in the TCI curriculum. Participants will develop knowledge, skills, and approaches used in TCI necessary to deliver direct training to staff in their organizations.
Participants will have the chance to participate, practice, and receive feedback in conducting activities to gain immediate training experience. Training techniques such as role playing, leading small group discussions, using guided fantasies, conducting practice sessions, and using audiovisual aids will be demonstrated.
Learning Outcomes
- Create a trauma-sensitive environment where children/youth and adults are safe and feel safe.
- Proactively prevent and/or de-escalate a potential crisis situation with a child/youth.
- Manage a crisis situation in a therapeutic manner, and, if necessary, intervene physically in a manner that reduces the risk of harm to children/youth and staff.
- Process the crisis event with children to help improve their capacity to regulate their emotions and use positive coping strategies.
- Effectively deliver TCI training in their organizations.
Program Outline
Day 1. Crisis Prevention: Creating a Safe Place for Learning and Crisis as Opportunity. The six domains of the TCI trauma-informed system are examined. How to use trauma-informed practice to create a therapeutic milieu that prevents crises and promotes growth and learning is discussed. Participants are taught how the use of self and self-awareness of their own personal feelings and values, the young person’s needs and wants, and environmental effects on behavior can prevent a crisis. Crisis is defined and ways that adults can prevent a crisis- situation are identified.
Day 2. De-escalating a Crisis: Verbal and nonverbal techniques for crisis prevention and de-escalation are presented. How to provide behavior support, use crisis communication, avoid power struggles, help children and young people regulate their emotions through co-regulation strategies, and select appropriate methods to de-escalate a potentially violent child are practiced.
Day 3. Managing a Crisis, Safety Interventions, and Recovery. Life Space Interviewing (LSI) techniques are taught and methods to deescalate a potentially violent child are practiced. The rationale for safety interventions is explained and situations when restraint should and should not be used are discussed. The use of various physical intervention techniques and safety concerns are discussed and practiced.
Day 4. Safety Interventions and Recovery: Participants practice Life Space Interviewing. Professional, ethical and organizational considerations are discussed. Participants have opportunities to practice the use of various physical intervention techniques.
Day 5. Implementing the TCI System: Life Space Interviewing is practiced, and documentation issues are presented. All participants are tested for certification.
Upon successful completion of the program and testing, certified TCI trainers become part of an international network of TCI trainers. This network serves to help trainers share experiences, innovations, modifications, and difficulties in implementing training programs in their respective agencies. Trainers will receive a newsletter and opportunities to attend TCI Update Training.
Materials
Participants who successfully complete the course receive a TCI trainer’s reference and activity guide, a flash drive (containing videos and the TCI PowerPoint presentation), and a student workbook.
If you need any TCI Workbooks or Certificates of Attendance you can order them through Safeguards by clicking here.
Who Should Attend
This course is for trainers, managers, counselors, and care workers capable of training therapeutic crisis intervention techniques. If participating in the physical intervention part of the program, participants must be capable of moderate physical activity.
Important Note:
- Before attending a TCI Train-the-Trainer course, participants must complete direct TCI training delivered by a certified TCI Trainer. If you have not had TCI direct training, please contact leslie@safeguards-training.net to discuss how to access direct training.
- TCI recommends that direct TCI training be delivered by two certified TCI trainers (co-training).
Course Dates & Format
March 2-26, 2026
8:45 – 5:00 pm ET
This is a five-day training, delivered in-person in the Greater Toronto Area.
FULL – October 27 – 31, 2025
8:45 am – 5:00 pm ET
This is a five-day training, delivered in-person in the Greater Toronto Area.
Instructor:
Instructors for Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) trainings are from the TCI Program of the Residential Child Care Project (RCCP), Cornell University.
Training Fee
For 2026
Member Fee: $3,500.00 + $455.00 (HST) = $3955.00
Non Member: $3,500.00 + $455.00 (HST) = $3955.00
Group Discounts are not applicable for TCI training.
Continuing Education Information
Licensing boards and professional organizations will grant Continuing Education credits for attendance at their discretion when participants submit the course outline and certificate.
In-Service
This is available as an in-person training.
