The Resilient Brain

The Resilient Brain training identifies evidence-based essentials of the Circle of Courage based on research and practice contributions of thirty-three international leaders in the reclaiming youth movement. The Circle of Courage values reflect universal brain-based needs for Attachment, Achievement, Autonomy, and Altruism. When these needs are not met, the brain is disrupted. The current search for a panacea in drugs ignores the power of positive relational supports. Trauma and resilience science are integrated with attention to neuroplasticity, epigenetics, and culture. Creating environments that are attuned to brain-based needs involves building strengths in family, school, peer group, and community.

The Resilient Brain is a research-based guide to transforming lives.

One-day certification for professionals.

Course Curriculum

Searching for Solutions
- The Standard for Evidence
- Cultures of Respect
Strength-Based Principles in Practice
Nature, Nurture, and the Resilient Brain
Overcoming Adversity and Trauma
- Relational Trauma
- From Trauma to Resilience

Instructors

Larry Brendtro

Larry Brendtro, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and Professor Emeritus at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He holds a doctorate from the University of Michigan and is a leader in the worldwide reclaiming youth movement. For fourteen years, he was president of the Starr Commonwealth Schools in Michigan and Ohio. He taught in the area of children’s behavior disorders at the University of Illinois, The Ohio State University, and Augustana. Dr. Brendtro served as a member of the U.S. Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention during the administrations of Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama. He has authored over 200 professional publications including 15 books on strength-based strategies with children, youth, and families. His wife Janna is research editor for his various publications and they have trained youth professionals in 20 nations.