Training Guidelines: Real Life Heroes (RLH): Resiliency-Focused Treatment for Children and Families With Traumatic Stress.

Real Life Heroes® (RLH) is a treatment program that supports the development of safety and attachment needed for reintegration of traumatic memories experienced by children and their caregivers. RLH has been successfully implemented in a wide range of child and family service, educational, and mental health treatment programs for 15 years and was specifically designed for treatment of children and families with Complex Trauma. RLH provides practitioners with easy-to-use tools, including a life storybook and practitioner’s manual (RLH Toolkit) with multi-sensory creative arts activities and psychoeducation resources to engage children and caregivers in evidence-supported trauma treatment. RLH helps practitioners reframe referrals based on pathologies and blame into a shared “journey” to healing and recovery. The RLH Toolkit includes assessment, service, and session planning guidelines that promote integrated treatment and teamwork focused on restoring (or building) emotionally supportive and enduring relationships and promoting development of affect regulation skills for children and caregivers.