Trauma & Grief Center

The Trauma and Grief Center (TAG) adheres to a scientist-practitioner model and has four primary aims:

• Develop and disseminate evidence-based assessment and interventions for youth who have experienced traumas and/or losses
• Conduct research on adaptive and maladaptive responses to childhood trauma and loss, as well as treatment effectiveness
• Provide training, professional education, and consultation in trauma- and bereavement-related topics and interventions
• Translate trauma- and bereavement-informed best practices into policy

Not every child who has experienced bereavement will need mental health treatment. Some grief reactions are “healthy” and serve an important function after a loss. Our goal is to raise awareness about the adaptive side of grief, while also helping to identify youth who may need a higher level of support, including those who have experienced additional traumas and/or traumatic loss.

A major focus of The TAG Center involves the development of novel treatments for children, teens, and young adults who have been exposed to trauma and bereavement and ensuring that those treatments work for different populations of youth in the Greater Houston area, across Texas, and throughout the U.S.

Although the TAG Center is not a direct service provider, the Center does have an affiliation with a group practice, also led by Julie Kaplow, called the Lucine Center. These two entities work in partnership to ensure that treatments are supported by rigorous research, and that clinical services implemented at the Lucine Center help to further inform the overlapping fields of childhood trauma and grief.

For information about Lucine Center, visit LucineCenter.com.

The TAG Center provides trainings and professional development to community organizations, schools, academic medical centers, bereavement centers, and other child-serving organizations on topics related to childhood bereavement and trauma. Training topics include supporting youth exposed to trauma and loss, cultural considerations, becoming a trauma- and bereavement-informed organization or school, vicarious traumatization and self-care.

The TAG team offers Learning Collaboratives which provide training in a number of different evidence-based interventions, including Trauma and Grief Component Therapy for Adolescents (TGCTA), an assessment-driven, psychosocial treatment for youth exposed to trauma and/or loss, as well as Multidimensional Grief Therapy (MGT), an evidence-informed intervention designed to support youth who have experienced bereavement.

Sign up for the TAG Center Training Listserv using the link below to be notified about training opportunities.

Learn More

Learn more about how the Trauma & Grief Center supports children.
Download our TAG Center Handout.

Sign up for Trauma & Grief Center Training Newsletter

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For information on upcoming training, contact:
Marisa Nowitz
Vice President of Education and Training

The TAG Research Lab conducts ongoing research critical to discovering the best treatments for children who have experienced trauma and grief. Our work focuses on treatment effectiveness and understanding the causes and consequences of adaptive and maladaptive responses to both trauma and loss in youth.

Our TAG Center researchers and clinicians work hand-in-hand to ensure that our research findings are applied to everyday challenges faced by children and families exposed to trauma and loss. The following Power of Parenting series is co-sponsored by the New York Life Foundation and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. In partnership with researchers, clinicians, and individuals with lived experience, Dr. Julie Kaplow developed these resources to help parents and caregivers support children facing bereavement.

The work conducted through the TAG Center at The Hackett Center for Mental Health would not be possible without our collaborative, talented, and passionate team members, dedicated to relieving the suffering of youth exposed to trauma and loss

For more information about the TAG Center, contact
Julie Kaplow, PhD, ABPP
Executive Director