'Think Brain First' Training for Professionals

'Think Brain First' is a specialized training for frontline and direct support professionals offered through the Alaska Center for FASD, developed and delivered by Eileen Devin, LCSW. The training is generously support by a grant from the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. For more information or to schedule a training, contact info@alaskacenterforfasd.org.

The 'Think Brain First' framework is a trauma-informed, neuroscience-aligned approach to equip frontline and direct support professionals with the understanding and tools necessary to compassionately and effectively support Alaska’s most behaviorally complex clients--with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, brain injuries, autism, ADHD, dementia, and other brain-based challenges--while also addressing chronic staff burnout and turnover. The training integrates the best available research evidence on neurobehavioral conditions with the staff member's existing expertise and the client's values and preferences, resulting in improved outcomes across systems of care for the most vulnerable Alaskans.

These trainings are offered in "cohorts" in collaborations with provider agencies across Alaska. So far, participating agencies include Liitfik Behavioral Health Services (Nome), JAMHI Health & Wellness (Juneau), AK Child & Family (Anchorage), Alaska Center for Children & Adults (Fairbanks), Frontier Community Services (Soldotna), and Ptarmigan Connections (Mat-Su).

Following are description three tiers included in the Think Brain First training:

Tier 1: Think Brain First Specialist Certificate Program – a 12-hour, Zoom-based foundational training for direct service professionals and frontline staff across various sectors and service systems.

Tier 2: Think Brain First Liaison Certificate Program – an advanced 6-hour intensive training for identified staff persons, or Liaisons, who will serve as “in-house” experts, provide staff support, and lead integration efforts on an on-going basis. Tier 1 certification is a prerequisite to participate in Tier 2.

Tier 3: Community of Practice consultation provides ongoing Zoom consultation for Liaisons for 60 minutes per month, over six months.

This tiered structure offers the opportunity to create sustained culture change across multiple service systems—enhancing care outcomes for clients and promoting workforce resilience for those who serve them.

Meet the Trainer

Eileen Devine, LCSW, is founder of Brain First Parenting and Think Brain First Training for Professionals. With nearly 25 years of clinical experience, she has provided training and consultation for parents (of individuals with complex behaviors) as well as professionals across the U.S., Canada and Australia. Eileen was trained as a FASCETS facilitator in 2014 and also serves as a trainer for the Center for Adoption Support and Education’s (C.A.S.E.) accredited Training for Adoption Competency (TAC) Program, where she instructs other clinicians across the state of Oregon on what it means to be an adoption and foster competent therapist. Prior to developing the Brain First framework for parents and professionals, Eileen spent 15 years as a national administrator for a large healthcare organization, where she supported clinical teams, managers and healthcare administrators in systemwide change, focused on improving clinical care and outcomes for patients. In addition to her clinical and administrative expertise and training, she is the parent of a teenager who lives with a serious brain-based condition, providing a daily opportunity to put into practice the strategies and approaches she teaches parents and practitioners in her professional role.

Supportive Research

Think Brain First curriculum draws upon the publications and research of the following individuals:

Daniel Siegel, MD: author and researcher, clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and executive director of the Mindsight Institute, developed the field of Interpersonal Neurobiology .

Stephen Porges, MD: author of the Polyvagal Theory, researcher of the relational neurosciences, creator of Safe and Sound Protocol, and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, and Professor Emeritus at both the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Maryland.

Bessel van der Kolk, MD: author of The Body Keeps the Score, world’s leading expert in the research and treatment of trauma.

Bruce Perry, MD, PhD: author, developer of the Neurosequential Model, neuroscience and clinical researcher, with neuroscience research examining the impact of prenatal drug exposure, the neurobiology of human neuropsychiatric disorders, the neurophysiology of trauma and adversity, and the development of neurotransmitter receptors in the brain. His clinical research and practice have a focus on the complex impact of developmental adversity.

Ira Chasnoff, MD: author, leading researcher in the field of prenatal exposure to alcohol and illicit drugs.

Ross Greene, PhD: author, child psychologist, originated the evidence-based Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) model of intervention.

For more information, or to schedule a training, email us at info@alaskacenterforfasd.org.