The purpose of the TRF request for proposal (RFP) process is to fulfill the organization’s mission, “To support and grow a community of clinicians, researchers, educators, and people whose lives are affected by trauma, who collaborate to research, develop, disseminate, and implement optimal trauma treatments for children and adults, by financially supporting research projects”
The Trauma Research Foundation (TRF) request for proposal process offers researchers, educators, and clinicians an opportunity to develop and establish a body of work supporting continued innovation in the field of trauma-informed care across all highly effective models of healing. TRF recognizes the need for continued advancements in an array of modalities in trauma healing. To that end, TRF aims to expand the field of trauma treatment by increasing awareness of our research-based treatment methods through publications detailing the results of on-going research. TRF also strives to bring together researchers, educators, and body-based healing professionals to expand accessibility to healing to people who have experienced trauma.
Under the leadership of Bessel van der Kolk, MD, and Licia Sky, and with the success of, The Body Keeps the Score, TRF continues to lead the field in research and innovation. TRF has identified three areas of critical advancement:
TRF is interested in supporting research focused on the psychological assessment of how psychedelic agents can change perception, information processing and decision making. Neither self-report, chemical assays, nor neuroimaging can fully capture how individuals’ perceptions and information processing change as a result of one or more psychedelic experiences. We are thinking of methods such as the Rorschach, or other innovative ways of demonstrating how individuals organize their perceptions and meaning making systems.
TRF invites non-profit, academic, or research organizations to participate in a technology competition to spur innovation and advancement at the intersection of trauma and technology. We look to create more discussion and collaboration in leveraging the latest technologies to explore changes in physiology and behavior and how this may benefit the understanding and treatment of trauma.
TRF is committed to supporting the implementation of neurofeedback programs for underserved populations in schools, residential treatment settings, and/or jails. These are the populations at high risk for trauma related problems, yet, they have minimal chance to access effective treatments. For the past two years TRF has been training clinicians to provide neurofeedback in these settings, and now we want to support the implementation and evaluation of a pilot program that can demonstrate the clinical efficacy of neurofeedback with these populations.
