Dr. Bethany Casarjian, Executive Director, The Lionheart Foundation
Dr. Jessica Linick, Clinical Director, The Lionheart Foundation
Date: Thursday November 12, 2026
Time: 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, EST
Approximately 9 in 10 people in child welfare and criminal justice systems have experienced significant trauma and adversity – experiences that erode emotion regulation, distort a sense of self, inhibit social connection, and fuel cycles of poverty, violence, and systems-involvement. For over 30 years, The Lionheart Foundation has equipped trauma-impacted youth and adults with the skills at the core of authentic healing and development of long-term resilience. Firmly believing that healing should not be a privilege, Lionheart’s programs, used widely across the US and Canada, help people emerge from systems with the tools and mindsets to hold jobs, sustain families, and break cycles that have lasted generations, building futures defined by their own worth and potential, not their past. This presentation will review the core self-regulation skills foundational to Lionheart’s four evidence-based, trauma-informed, social and emotional learning programs. With examples spanning work in child welfare, juvenile justice, residential treatment, community-based settings, and adult jails and prisons, participants will explore how the combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness meditation, and restorative practices (Circles) support not only individual healing, but systems-level growth. In addition, we will practice a range of skills stemming from research in neurobiology, traumatology, and somatic psychology aimed at increasing both self- and co-regulation. Participants will walk away with a self-regulation ‘toolkit’, applicable to any setting, as well as trial access to Lionheart’s EQ2 App, a mobile health app for direct care staff serving trauma-impacted youth.