David Cross

David R. Cross, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at Texas Christian University, and a Professor in the TCU Department of Psychology. Dr. Cross leads the Institute in its triple mission of research, education, and outreach to improve the lives of children who have experienced abuse, neglect, and/or trauma.  He has authored many peer-reviewed publications about issues regarding at-risk children, including those who have experienced early trauma. David earned his B.S. from California State University Fresno with a major in Psychology, and then attended The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for graduate study, beginning in 1980.  He earned an M.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Statistics.  He later earned a Ph.D. in Education and Psychology.  In 1985, he accepted a position as Assistant Professor in TCU's Department of Psychology.

Title of presentation: Meeting the needs of adopted children and their families: Recommended resources and programs

Abstract: Over the past 30 years our field has grown from almost zero programs suitable for adopted children with backgrounds of relational trauma, to a relatively large number of programs and resources.  In this presentation I will provide an overview of such programs, focusing primarily on those that seem to be most effective, or most promising.  When selecting programs to highlight, I have been guided, conceptually, by Bowlby’s “Environment of Evolutionary Adaptiveness” (Narvaez et al, 2013), notions of “Complex Developmental Trauma" (D’Andrea et al, 2012), and Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006).  The large number of programs and resources reviewed vary on a number of dimensions, including (a) the ecological context of application or implementation, e.g., home, school, or clinic, and (b) the focus of the intervention, e.g., parent-child attachment, challenging behaviors, intrusive memories.  The purpose of the presentation is not to evaluate the programs and resources (although there is an evaluation implicit in the selection), but to display the wide range of programs and resources available, in such a way that promotes informed decisions and discussion.