October 15, 2024
By: Maya Bowen and Phil Lamb
The Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery (GMCN) serves families with children under 6 years who are in crisis through their respite care, crisis hotline, and home visiting programs. Well over a decade ago, the GMCN developed a specialized, trauma informed training with the help of Professor Anne Gearity of the University of Minnesota’s Medical School. The training includes an initial didactic (lecture/discussion) portion followed by several months of reflective practice.
For several years, now, the Gunnar Lab has been working with the GMCN to enhance this training and to help them evaluate and export the training to broaden its impact on families and children in crisis in Minnesota.
The most recent Nursery Way Training and assessment was conducted with 14 preschool teachers from the three preschools run by Ascension Catholic Academy that serves low-income families in Minneapolis and St Paul. This training took place at the end of August over two days. The initial assessment data includes the teacher’s reports of how much they felt they learned during the didactic sessions.
Surveys were given to the teachers before and after the training. Results revealed statistically significant increases in understanding of child development, the impact of trauma and stress on children and families, the importance of attachment and attachment problems, and cultural influences on caregiving. In addition, staff reported higher confidence in applying trauma informed strategies, attachment strategies, cultural practices, and supporting children with challenging behaviors.
We will be measuring the impact of the reflective practice component later in the year and providing those results.