In 2016, Dr. Won-Fong Lau Johnson created a Racial Trauma Module (RTM) to be integrated and part of a manualized, evidence-based treatment program called Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) (Jaycox et al., 2012). As a build onto CBITS, CBITS+Racial Trauma Module (CBITS+RTM) was developed to include a module to address race-related stress and trauma and was initially evaluated at a Juvenile Rehabilitation Facility in Washington State. CBITS+RTM was evaluated for its implementation feasibility and acceptability for use in a juvenile justice setting by non-mental health professionals, as well as the behavioral health outcomes among the youth participants. Results of this project were promising and there was overwhelming feedback about the need for an entire curriculum to holistically address trauma and race-related stress using evidence-based strategies from a decolonized framework (see video from CBITS+RTM). 

The TRANSFORM development team formed in 2020. Dr. Won-Fong Lau Johnson partnered with Dr. Farzana Saleem, who has research expertise in ethnic-racial socialization, race-related stressors, and mental health among Black and BIPOC adolescents, along with psychologists Drs. Isaiah Pickens and Audra Langley, who have expertise in culturally responsive trauma practices and program development, to create TRANSFORM. The intervention is informed by evidence research and practices using a decolonized healing centered lens. While a large majority of trauma-focused programs are developed in clinics (more sterilized settings) followed by real-life settings, we intentionally developed and tested TRANSFORM within community based settings in collaboration with youth and adults across a range of child-serving settings.