Boston
The Boston Trauma Center
The Trauma Center– Boston, which joined the Hamilton Fish Institute research group in 2001, provides comprehensive services to traumatized children and adults and their families, at 10 of the Arbour Health Systems' 15 Counseling Centers located throughout eastern Massachusetts, including the main office in Allston. In addition to clinical services, The Trauma Center offers training, consultation, and educational programming for post-graduate mental health professionals.
With regard to its work within the Hamilton Fish Institute research partnership, The Trauma Center will be evaluating Urban Improv, a theater-based youth violence prevention program that explores themes related to violence and conflict resolution, racism and discrimination, peer pressure and substance abuse and involves learning original music, performing with professional actors and role-playing scenes. This program has the goal of improving problem-solving, decision-making, analytical and critical thinking skills and strengthening self-esteem, cooperation and leadership by allowing children to practice options to a variety of complex social situations that often are the precursors of violence. The objective of the proposed project is to evaluate the effect of Urban Improv on a variety of domains considered related to youth violence with two cohorts of children at different developmental stages. The primary goal of this evaluation is to assess the attitudes and behaviors of students who receive the intervention (before and after) compared to students who do participate in Urban Improv.
Project Management
Co-Principal Investigator
Joseph Spinazzola, Ph.D.
Co-Principal Investigator
Bessel Van der Kolk, M.D.
Project Manager
Marla Zucker
The Boston Trauma Center provides comprehensive services to traumatized children and adults and their families at the main office in Brookline. In addition to clinical services, The Trauma Center offers training, consultation, and educational programming for post-graduate mental health professionals.
Urban Improv is a violence prevention program for young people that uses structured theater improvisation to teach decision making, impulse control, and values clarification. Now entering its fourteenth year, Urban Improv provides interactive workshops that challenge students to deal creatively with major issues in their lives. Through the improvisational process, Urban Improv develops the skills of problem solving, conflict resolution, cooperation, and leadership.