A family therapist high fiving a young girl sitting on a couch next to her smiling mother.

Family Trauma Research Education Assessment and Treatment (Fam-TREAT)

Helping families heal from trauma.

 

Fam-TREAT was created to address complex trauma and child maltreatment in families. Through research and education initiatives, Fam-TREAT is dedicated to ensuring all families, regardless of income or background, have the opportunity to heal and persevere during and after traumatic experiences. Fam-TREAT has helped families in cities across the nation, and is looking to expand its services with providers domestically and internationally.

 

Fam-TREAT engages with the following areas:

  • Trauma: introduce the basics of trauma and trauma informed care to families and practitioners
  • Research: explore the impact of trauma on families, and conduct rigorous trials on effective intervention models
  • Education: teach clinicians how to approach trauma-related conditions and create opportunities for professional development
  • Assessment: provide instruments and other tools for providers to measure trauma symptomology 
  • Treatment: design treatment models for practitioners to use with families and children to help them navigate traumatic events and strengthen family coping strategies

 

Hear one of TA-FC's (Trauma Adapted Family Connections) participants describe the way TA-FC helped her and her grandson grow closer. See the full video The NCTSN Impact: Creating a Trauma-Informed Nation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th8xxuOAWs0.

Interventions make a difference.

One of Fam-TREAT's leading projects, Trauma Adapted Family Connections (TA-FC), integrates Family Connections (FC), a program that supports families who are struggling to meet with their basic needs, alongside trauma-informed care to reduce instances of complex developmental trauma. The TA-FC model is adapted to the populations each agency works with to ensure culturally competent, specialized care. 

Trauma Education Connection Initiative (TECI) gives MSW students opportunities to learn more about trauma informed care and gain hands on experience working with clients, preparing the next generation of clinicians to heal complex trauma.

You can see more of our work and previous collaborations with other organizations on this website. To see ways you or your organization can collaborate with FAM-TREAT, visit the Get Involved page.

  • Trauma Adapted Family Connections (TA-FC)

    Click here to learn more about the TA-FC model and its structure, implementation, and results.

    TA-FC Text 1

  • Assessments

    Looking for instruments to see how trauma has affected a child or their family? Self-reports, reports for children and caregivers, and observational measures are available here.

    Assessments

"Before my social worker came, I always had grungy eyes. They helped me to feel better and take better care of my children. I never believed that they would come back when I didn’t answer my door the first time, but they did."

TA-FC participant

Meet the team

Kathryn Collins, MSW, PhD (Principal Investigator)

Kathryn Collins is a professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work (UMSSW), PI of the Trauma Education Connections Initiative (TECI) and co-developer of TA-FC. Her research centers on social justice, disparities in access to trauma based mental health services, and developing trauma focused social work interventions for vulnerable and oppressed populations. Some populations include children, women, and families surviving poverty and chronic violence in the inner city. She has authored over 20 publications and received several accolades over her career, including the Distinguished Recent Contributions to Social Work Education Award from the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) and the Dean’s Exemplary Teaching Award from UMD.

 

Mel Bellin, MSW, PhD (Co-Investigator)

Mel Bellin is a Professor Emerita at the University of Maryland School of Social Work.  Over the last two decades, Mel has developed an integrated body of research, teaching and service supporting child and family adaptation to childhood chronic health conditions.  Her scholarship focuses on the intersectionality of trauma and complex pediatric health conditions and disability.  

Leah Daniel, MSW, MPH (Project Director)

Leah Daniel (she/her/hers), MSW, MPH is the Project Director for Fam-TREAT. She is trained in maternal, child, and family health and social work administration and management. She currently works as a Health Equity Quality Improvement Consultant for a healthcare system in addition to her role at Fam-TREAT and has experience in rural health, program management, and qualitative and quantitative research. She is a TA-FC Trainer, as well as a Health Equity Impact Assessment Facilitator and a volunteer doula. She enjoys reading science fiction and trying new baking recipes in her free time.

Theo Reinert (Research Assistant)

Theo is a MSW student at the University of Maryland School of Social Work (UMSSW). His current research interests include socially-engineered trauma, intercultural mental health, and usage of literature and philosophy in mental health wellness. He plans on taking the clinical track in his second year in the program and working in the mental health field post-graduation. Outside of school, Theo enjoys listening to electronic music and creative writing. 

Contact information

Collins

 

Kathryn S. Collins, PhD, MSW
Principal Investigator, Trauma Adapted Family Connections
Professor, University of Maryland School of Social Work
410-706-0814 / kcollins@ssw.umaryland.edu