Community resiliency model

Domain V · Systemic, relational, group & community · Elaine Miller-Karas · Claremont, California

What it is

CRM is a skills-based stabilisation and wellness programme, not a psychotherapy. TRI and CEBC say plainly that it is not mental health counselling and does not replace it. Elaine Miller-Karas developed it at TRI (Claremont, California), drawing on earlier work with Geneie Everett and Laurie Leitch.…

Format

• CRM has no treatment phases or session protocol in the psychotherapy sense. Its structure is a teaching sequence delivered in workshops, followed by daily self-practice and peer sharing.
• Delivery formats documented

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• A single 3-hour interactive class taught by certified CRM Teachers, used with nurses and front-line workers. It includes resourcing in pairs and eating a snack while using the five senses.
• A 1-day workshop, with objectives: the CRM Guide role, stress-response basics, the Resilient Zone, the six skills, solo and partner practice, and an individual resiliency plan.
• Roles and certification

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Keep the plan short enough to fit on one card or phone note.
• App use substituting for help when the client is in crisis. Make sure crisis contacts are in the plan.
• Keep it brief and interactive. Signs of overload (glazing over, fidgeting) mean you should switch to a skill.
• Food can be loaded for clients with eating difficulties. Offer a non-food sensory object instead, for example a stone or fabric.
• Partners interpreting ("you must feel safe because..."). Redirect them to open questions. A partner's story triggering the listener.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.