TCI TRAINING CORNELL STUDY 2026 EXAM GUIDE
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔Physical restraint should only be used when these 3 condition are present -
✔✔Agency policies and state regulations regarding restraint allow it
The child's individual crisis support plan (icsp) prescribes it
Professional dynamic risk assessment indicates it (professional judgement)
✔✔Alternate to restraint, options to handle physical violence - ✔✔- Eliminate one of the
elements of a violent situation
- Use releases and maintain a safe distance with a protective stance
- Employ physical resistance techniques (if indicated on the ICSP (individual crisis
support plan)
- leave the situation and get assistance
✔✔The goal of physical intervention - ✔✔To reduce risk
✔✔ Encouraging and Eliciting Techniques - ✔✔Minimal encouragements
Door openers
Closed questions
Open questions
✔✔minimal encouragement - ✔✔"uh huh" "go on" "I see"
✔✔door openers - ✔✔"Tell me more" "Then what"
✔✔Closed questions - ✔✔questions answered with a yes or no
✔✔Open questions - ✔✔"How did you respond?", "What happened next?"
AVOID WHY?!
✔✔Reflective Responses - ✔✔Connect with the kid's feelings
"You look upset"
"You seem fed up about something"
"You sound angry"
✔✔Empathic Response - ✔✔Connect with the child's experience
"This is really hard for you isn't it"
"It must be awful to feel like that"
"You are having a really tough time right now, aren't you?"
✔✔Setting Condition - ✔✔Anything that makes challenging behavior or traumatic stress
responses more or less likely to occur
, ✔✔Therapeutic Milieu Spaces - ✔✔-Social
-Physical
-Ideological
-Cultural
-Emotional
(SPICE)
✔✔SPICE - ✔✔Social, physical, ideological, cultural, emotional
✔✔Therapeutic Mileu - ✔✔A combination of People, emotions, attitudes, and objects
that create a sense of care, accountability, respect, belonging, safety (CARBS)
✔✔CARBS - ✔✔Care, accountability, respect, belonging, safety
✔✔The Triune Brain - ✔✔The Thinking brain: Neocortex
The Emotional brain: Amygdala
The Survival brain: Brain stem
✔✔Thinking brain (neocortex) - ✔✔higher functions like reasoning, language, creativity,
and abstract thought
✔✔Emotional brain (amygdala) - ✔✔determines whether something is a threat or not
✔✔Survival brain (brain stem) - ✔✔Fight, fight, or freeze. Unable to regulate their
emotions or behaviors in this phase
✔✔Stress Model of Crisis - ✔✔Baseline
Triggering event
Escalation phase
Outburst
Recovery.
✔✔Agitation at phase? - ✔✔Baseline and trigger, mostly trigger
✔✔Aggression at phase? - ✔✔Escalation
✔✔Violence at phase? - ✔✔Outburst
✔✔Recovery Phase Outcomes - ✔✔Higher outcome
No change
Lower Outcome
(We always want to be in the higher outcome
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔Physical restraint should only be used when these 3 condition are present -
✔✔Agency policies and state regulations regarding restraint allow it
The child's individual crisis support plan (icsp) prescribes it
Professional dynamic risk assessment indicates it (professional judgement)
✔✔Alternate to restraint, options to handle physical violence - ✔✔- Eliminate one of the
elements of a violent situation
- Use releases and maintain a safe distance with a protective stance
- Employ physical resistance techniques (if indicated on the ICSP (individual crisis
support plan)
- leave the situation and get assistance
✔✔The goal of physical intervention - ✔✔To reduce risk
✔✔ Encouraging and Eliciting Techniques - ✔✔Minimal encouragements
Door openers
Closed questions
Open questions
✔✔minimal encouragement - ✔✔"uh huh" "go on" "I see"
✔✔door openers - ✔✔"Tell me more" "Then what"
✔✔Closed questions - ✔✔questions answered with a yes or no
✔✔Open questions - ✔✔"How did you respond?", "What happened next?"
AVOID WHY?!
✔✔Reflective Responses - ✔✔Connect with the kid's feelings
"You look upset"
"You seem fed up about something"
"You sound angry"
✔✔Empathic Response - ✔✔Connect with the child's experience
"This is really hard for you isn't it"
"It must be awful to feel like that"
"You are having a really tough time right now, aren't you?"
✔✔Setting Condition - ✔✔Anything that makes challenging behavior or traumatic stress
responses more or less likely to occur
, ✔✔Therapeutic Milieu Spaces - ✔✔-Social
-Physical
-Ideological
-Cultural
-Emotional
(SPICE)
✔✔SPICE - ✔✔Social, physical, ideological, cultural, emotional
✔✔Therapeutic Mileu - ✔✔A combination of People, emotions, attitudes, and objects
that create a sense of care, accountability, respect, belonging, safety (CARBS)
✔✔CARBS - ✔✔Care, accountability, respect, belonging, safety
✔✔The Triune Brain - ✔✔The Thinking brain: Neocortex
The Emotional brain: Amygdala
The Survival brain: Brain stem
✔✔Thinking brain (neocortex) - ✔✔higher functions like reasoning, language, creativity,
and abstract thought
✔✔Emotional brain (amygdala) - ✔✔determines whether something is a threat or not
✔✔Survival brain (brain stem) - ✔✔Fight, fight, or freeze. Unable to regulate their
emotions or behaviors in this phase
✔✔Stress Model of Crisis - ✔✔Baseline
Triggering event
Escalation phase
Outburst
Recovery.
✔✔Agitation at phase? - ✔✔Baseline and trigger, mostly trigger
✔✔Aggression at phase? - ✔✔Escalation
✔✔Violence at phase? - ✔✔Outburst
✔✔Recovery Phase Outcomes - ✔✔Higher outcome
No change
Lower Outcome
(We always want to be in the higher outcome
