Rob Terreden, M.Ed, served as the Director of the Three Rivers Clinically Intensive Residential Treatment Program from 2004-2020. The program serves children 6-12 at the highest level of persistent acuity. Rob worked in a number of other positions in his earlier career, such as Special Ed teacher and House Manager, providing him intimate experience of working directly with struggling youth.

Rob’s entire professional career has been focused on working closely with children of this age group with severe mental health challenges. Since 1985 he has been a Special Ed Teacher, DBT skills trainer, Program Manager and Director at Cutchins Programs for Children & Families. He has been a certified trainer in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention and Non Abusive Psychological & Physical Intervention. At Three Rivers, Rob designed his own restraint reduction curriculum he calls Counseling for Success, synthesizing some of the most useful theoretical and practical material on providing trauma-informed care. He also teaches this material to the parents of the children in treatment.

Rob helped pioneer a restraint reduction at the Three Rivers program effort that proved hearteningly successful, which led to his taking roles as a facilitator of restraint reduction forums; consultant to programs throughout the state and in New York. The Massachusetts state agencies of DCF, DYS, DEEC, DMH, and DESE undertook a coordinated initiative to reduce the use of restraint and seclusion across the state. Rob was elected to co-chair the subcommittee on statewide training for this initiative. In 2013, Rob was awarded the Van Wart Administrator award by the Human Service forum for leadership in children’s mental health.

Recently Rob has been providing consultation through BBI to leaders in programs through the country interested in these evolving and cutting edge ideas and practices.

Those abbreviations:

DCF: Department of Children & Families: protective services

DYS: Department of Youth Services: court involved youth

DEEC: Department of Early Education & Care: Licensing schools, days care, residential programs

DMH: Department of Mental Health

DESE: Department of Elementary & Secondary Education