Learning Opportunities

• Phase I – Student System
• Phase II – Comprehensive Strategic Assessment – School Adult System
• Phase III – Community Intervention – Parent/Family System
• Phase IV – Traumatic Aftermath:  Preparing Schools and Communities for the process of Recovery

The TES Model of Trauma Response is an integrated model building on the foundation of human systems theory generated from the early work of Dr. Murray Bowen and Dr. Salvador Minuchin: pioneers in the field of psychiatry who merged the growing understanding of biological systems with their parallels in human systems to assist helping professionals in understanding the individual within context. As a systems trained therapist and the developer of the TES Model, J. Kevin Cameron, has woven years of clinical experience in treating individuals and families impacted by trauma into his national and international work consulting on the impact of trauma on human systems from high profile traumas including homicide, suicide, multiple death car crashes, terrorist attacks and school shootings.

While the theoretical foundation of the TES Model is systems based, the practical application of this integrated model is built on the standardized practice of “Psychological First Aid” researched and developed by leading experts from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and the Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) model developed in 1999 by RAND researchers who joined colleagues at the Los Angeles Unified School District and the University of California Los Angeles to provide mental health screening and a brief standardized series of therapy sessions in schools aimed at reducing a child's symptoms related to existing traumatic experiences and enhancing skills to handle future stresses. CBITS is founded on cognitive-behavioral therapy, which is recognized by the U.S. Task Force on Community Preventive Services as the only approach with strong evidence of effectiveness. The work of Dr. Bruce Perry and the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics is also referenced as a leading assessment and intervention practice for profoundly traumatized individuals.

While the practical models noted above focus primarily of the impact of trauma on individuals the TES Model also addresses the impact of trauma on human systems. Dr. Marleen Wong (University of Southern California) and the Los Angeles Unified School District, partners in the development of the CBITS model noted above, contracted Mr. Cameron in 2001 to write and present an academic paper entitled “Trauma in Human Systems: A Brief Introduction”. This collaboration has continued as elements of the TES Model and the Violence Threat Risk Assessment (VTRA) Model have been merged into a joint initiative where Mr. Cameron was requested to develop the “Military Connected Schools (MCS) Model of Threat Assessment” (2011) under the auspices of The Trauma Services Adaptation Center for Resilience, Hope and Wellness in Schools which is a community program development and research partnership of staff from: The Los Angeles Unified School District School Mental Health, RAND Health, UCLA Health Services Research Center, UCLA Anxiety Disorders Clinic, and the University of Southern California School of Social Work and funded by a grant from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network/SAMHSA.