About Us
L. Brooks McKenzie, PhD - President
Dr. McKenzie is a Developmentalist who holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Southwest Texas State University, a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Cardinal Stritch University, and a Doctorate in Psychology from Texas Christian University (TCU); doctoral emphasis in Experimental/Developmental Psychology. Dr. McKenzie is a 4-way Certified Rater of the Adult Attachment Interview, and worked with the TCU Institute of Child Development for 7 years, leaving as the Assistant Director of Research before establishing LBH Research & Consulting, LLC. Dr. McKenzie is an expert in Attachment Theory and measurement, and in Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®).
Our History
While Assistant Director of Research at the TCU Institute of Child Development (ICD), Dr. McKenzie was fortunate to meet many child-welfare advocates in Texas and around the country. During this time, he participated in the training of numerous individuals (i.e., parents, professionals) and organizations (i.e., foster/adoption agencies, public schools, Texas DFPS) in Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®). Yet, with the vast amount of training being done in various contexts, he noticed that many participants reported being unable to put into practice what had been taught. These participants were acquiring knowledge not skills, and were unable to fully implement this knowledge due to the training modality. As a result, many at-risk children were not receiving the benefits of this amazing intervention due to a lack of implementation. LBH Research & Consulting was established in 2013 to transfer TBRI® knowledge and skills to individuals and organizations across the great State of Texas, via a training model based upon intensive personal instruction to families and organizational staff.
Our Mission
"To provide accuracy, quality, and integrity in everything we do. To support those who serve our children. To always strive to serve those who cannot serve themselves."
~Brooks McKenzie
Services
TBRI® Attachment-Based Training
Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®)
TBRI® Seminars From a few hours to multi day seminars, this lecture style training is designed to disseminate knowledge of TBRI® Practices and Principles, with an emphasis on the importance of Attachment across a lifespan. Such training is ideal for individuals, professionals, and organizations who need to better understand these topics, and these seminars often meet the requirements for CEUs and other required training hours.
TBRI® Intensive In-Home Training for Parents/Caregivers This training is designed to disseminate knowledge and skills to parents and caregivers. This active teaching model employs components of lecture, question and answer, modeling, coaching, and in-person support. Training takes place once a week for 3 weeks, is done in the home, and is designed to support parents/caregivers as they acquire knowledge and learn to implement TBRI® skills in their home. This training is ideal for families with at-risk children (e.g., adoptive, foster) and any family with children who exhibit moderate to severe behavioral problems.
TBRI® Intensive On-Site Training for Organizational Staff and Professionals As with the training for parents/caregivers, this training is designed to disseminate knowledge and skills to staff and professionals. This active teaching model employs components of lecture, questions and answer, modeling, coaching, and in-person support. Training is done in the home of a target family or on-site at an institution (e.g., foster-home), and is designed to develop TBRI® skills within the staff/professional. Additionally, such training can be individualized to develop staff/professional trainers of TBRI® for the organizations they serve. This training is ideal for any organization that serves children, but especially those that work to reduce negative behaviors and anxiety in children. Schools, foster- and adoption-agencies, DFPS, counselors, and any child-welfare advocate who promotes interventions with families/children could benefit from this training.
Attachment Assessments
Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)
The AAI is the ‘gold standard’ of assessing adult Attachment patterns. Is has been used in research since 1982 and is the foundation of almost everything we know about the effects of healthy (or unhealthy) Attachment across a lifespan. Dr. McKenzie is a Certified 4-Way Rater of the AAI and has performed thousands of AAI assessments across various venues. These AAIs have been used for research publications, intervention training, by organizations and professionals, and in the family courts during custody disputes.
Attachment Q-Sort (AQS)
The AQS is a measure of a child’s Attachment to a specific caregiver, and is applicable for children from 1 to 5 years of age. It is another ‘gold standard’ measurement of Attachment, has been used in research since 1985, and can be a valuable tool is assessing the Attachment relationship of a child to a caregiver. Typically, this assessment is requested in circumstances where assessing that relationship would add valuable information to a situation (e.g., child placement, quality of placement, family courts, etc.).
Research Services
LBH Research & Consulting provides a variety of research services, but we specialize in conducting research in the domain of child-welfare and intervention implementation for at-risk children. We can provide these services in most any environment, and encourage all child-welfare organizations and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to engage such services (whether with us or another provider) to ascertain if current and future programs are actually improving the lives of at-risk children and their families; we know that much of what is done currently for at-risk children is failing to meet their needs.
As proponents of change for all children, but especially those who are at-risk, we actively encourage the use of research tools to ensure that we are serving these children and families with the best possible results. There are copious amounts of money spent each year to help at-risk children and their families, yet the outcomes of the programs implemented are often never measured; we often have no idea if the programs are working or not.
Therefore, LBH Research & Consulting challenges the State and organizations to objectively measure the outcomes of existing and new programs, measuring domains that really matter: stress/anxiety, health, mental health, learning, behavior, permanency in placement, etc.
Moral and Ethical Commitments
While we are a for-profit organization, our foremost obligation is to conduct ourselves in a manner that not only serves our clients' needs, but also exceeds the standards set forth by the American Psychological Association, the U.S Department of Health and Human Services Office of Research Integrity, and other regulatory agencies.
As a Christian-owned agency we will always strive to do not only what is legal/ethical, but what is right in the eyes of God. To that end we will never enter into any agreement which: (a) violates moral and/or God-given codes of conduct, (b) relates the content of our findings to our fees, and/or (c) implicitly or explicitly assists any individual or organization in the perpetration of fraud or moral turpitude. Additionally, while many of our consultations are covered by explicit confidentiality agreements, we will always report instances of neglect, abuse, and all crimes against children; there is no confidentiality agreement that legally prohibits the reporting of such crimes. While we doubt that most individuals and/or organizations will take issue with this declaration, we never want there to be any doubt about how we conduct ourselves.
James 1:27
27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Mark 10:13-16
13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
Mathew 18:6
6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Please Note:
We do not provide counseling and/or therapy services, but can make referrals. We are not counselors, therapists, or licensed psychologists, but rather research scientists whose goal it to improve the lives of at-risk children through research and intervention training.
Useful Links
Attachment Readings
Therapy, Support, Training Links
- Christian Works
- Centers For Children & Families
- Post-adopt program serving many regions in Texas
- Circle of Security International
- TCU Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development
Advocates and Legal Professionals
- Attachment 101 for Attorneys
- SPECIAL ISSUE: Attachment Theory, Separation and Divorce: Forging Coherent Understandings for Family Law contains many excellent articles. Available from: Family Court Review
Reference Materials
- Dr. Brooks McKenzie's Curriculum Vitae/Resume
- Resolutions for 2022 Republican State Convention, located in Appendix A
- Videos of Dr. McKenzie Speaking