# BRIGHT ## BRief Intervention for Guided Healing Through Trauma (BRIGHT) Ongoing project (2024-2026). ### The Aim of the Study: Led by **Dr. John Naslund** (PI, Harvard Medical School) and partners at **Baylor Scott and White (**Dr Katherine Sanchez) and the **University of Texas Arlington**, BRIGHT is designing a single-session, transdiagnostic intervention for individuals exposed to acute traumatic stress, focusing on immediate relief and long-term resilience. The single-session intervention is a 4-hour, modular, self-paced digital training designed to equip community health workers, health providers, and laypersons with skills to support individuals experiencing acute stress following trauma exposure, including psychoeducation, emotional validation, breathing and grounding techniques, and reconnecting with life. Through this, BRIGHT offers rapidly scalable and effective techniques to persons facing acute traumatic stress, such as following interpersonal violence, a climate event, or in a conflict. ### The Background: Traumatic events are commonly experienced in the general population. Among those exposed, trauma-related mental health conditions such as PTSD, depression, and anxiety disorders represent a significant cause of disability and impose a considerable burden on affected individuals and their families. Persistent symptoms of traumatic stress that go unaddressed can increase the risk of developing stress-related disorders and further disability. Despite growing need, disaster mental health supports are often delivered using generalized approaches that do not match the wide range of risk, resilience, and clinical need following trauma. Single session interventions (SSIs) offer promise as scalable, low-intensity entry points within a continuum of care. Evidence suggests that SSIs incorporating active skill-building from cognitive behavioral therapy, delivered in phase-specific and trauma-informed ways, may support early intervention and response to traumatic stress. ### The Project Plan: The development of BRIGHT is informed by a synthesis of published evidence and direct engagement with community stakeholders and experts with experience designing or delivering care to trauma-exposed populations. The intervention design draws from evidence on SSIs and brief early psychological interventions for trauma, guided by the UK Medical Research Council and NIH frameworks for complex interventions. The project follows three phases: Phase 1 — Intervention Development: In 2026, the team will film the videos for the intervention curricula, finalize knowledge and competency assessments, and begin the process of piloting the digital training platform with frontline providers. Instructional and testimonial videos will be developed using evidence-based design principles to ensure the training is trauma-informed, culturally appropriate, and suitable for non-specialist delivery. Phase 2 — Pilot Implementation: The training will be deployed with 50–100 Community Health Workers employed by Baylor Scott and White Health and community members at community health centers within the Baylor Scott and White health system in Dallas, Texas. The training will be offered in both English and Spanish. Phase 3 — Evaluation: Over the final phase of the project period, the team will assess the effectiveness of the training through knowledge and skill assessments and qualitative inquiry, capturing trainees' perspectives on the strengths and areas for improvement of the intervention. ### Supporters and Project Duration: BRIGHT is supported by the **Tepper Foundation** and is implemented in collaboration with **Baylor Scott and White** and the **University of Texas Arlington**. ### Findings: To inform the development of BRIGHT, the team conducted a comprehensive review of the published evidence on single-session interventions and brief early psychological interventions for trauma, alongside direct engagement with community stakeholders and experts. Key findings include: - A review of 7 systematic reviews spanning 478 clinical trials on SSIs demonstrated positive effects for depression, anxiety, substance use, eating disorders, self-harm, and overall functioning, with SSIs incorporating active skill-building strategies - particularly those derived from cognitive behavioral therapy - showing promise as low-intensity, scalable entry points in the continuum of care following trauma exposure. - A review of 9 systematic reviews spanning 236 clinical trials on early interventions for trauma exposure found that CBT-based approaches and Trauma-Focused CBT consistently showed the strongest evidence for reducing psychological distress and early PTSD symptoms, effective across settings, populations, delivery agents, and delivery formats. - A synthesis of this evidence was published in PLOS Mental Health (June 2026), laying the groundwork for the development and testing of BRIGHT. The team presented a poster at the 2025 International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies Conference. ### Next Steps: As next steps, the team will film the intervention videos, finalize knowledge and competency assessments, and begin piloting the digital training platform with frontline providers to assess feasibility and acceptability.