SERVICES

Ryan consulted on a contract basis with McAllen ISD, IDEA Public Academy, and Mission ISD over the course of 3 years as an Instructional Focus Coach and Consultant with a focus on improving classroom management, working with at-risk youth, and creating a unique campus-by-campus discipline program. Many students had multiple discipline referrals each day, every day and following being in this unique discipline environment designed from a cognitive behavioral model approach, would have an improvement in academic performance and a decline in discipline referrals. Educators reported improvements in every academic environment on every campus following the implementation of these Cognitive Behavioral Interventions. (October 2010 to January 2014)

During this period of time, Ryan did extensive volunteering and pro-bono work for 12 different 501(c)3 non-profit organizations, ministries, and children's homes (orphanages) in an effort to serve others and give back to his community, in any way he could. This work included writing grants, fundraising, curriculum and program development, community service and outreach, speaking events, organizing concerts and community events, being a mentor, toy drives, trustee/board member, non-profit formation, and philanthropy.  (October 2010 to September 2023)

Ryan acted as a liaison for the Women's Emotional Wellness Center in VA and TX on the Rio Grande Valley Anti-Sex Trafficking Task Force (coalition) to prevent sex and human trafficking in the South Texas Border Region by collaborating with agencies, departments, NGOs, and law enforcement to end these horrific human rights atrocities and bring perpetrators of these crimes to justice and to bring awareness and change withing the Texas-Mexico RGV Region. (August 2020 to March 2021)

Ryan has trained and presented as a trauma and anxiety SME to DHS Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) CIR leadership from across the Nation during the OPR 2023 Leadership Conference. Ryan trained on the brain and body's reactions to trauma, the physiological and psychological effects of trauma during emergencies or life-threatening situations, how Post-Traumatic Symptoms (PTS) emerge, how to restore a person / survivor to pre-trauma levels of functioning with the use of specific coping skills that activate the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) and deactivate the Amygdala (fight or flight part of the brain), types of traumas, and discussed trauma-informed and evidence-based modalities for treating trauma and anxiety. (January 2023)

Ryan led all clinical services and crisis interventions during the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) After Action Report (AAR) for the Uvalde Mass Shooting at Robb Elementary. He provided services to 450 federal employees (300 Federal Agents who responded the day of the incident, 115 Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) Investigative Operations Directorate (IOD) federal agents / investigators and analysts, and 25 CBP resiliency team and chaplaincy members, and 10 CBP Union or clinical support member. Ryan assisted DHS OPR IOD, pre-AAR and ongoing, in creating a safe environment, ensuring everyone lived (suicide prevention), and to utilize Cognitive Behavioral Interviewing Methodologies in the AAR Investigative Interviews. Ryan gave regular trainings and CIR debriefings while onsite for 3 months (there were ZERO suicide attempts; everyone lived; "I gave a part of myself and spent almost $3,000 out of my own pocket because I was determined to make sure everyone who responded to the critical incident that day and who was working the AAR lived."   - Ryan Curtiss, LCSW (February to March 2023)

Ryan deployed prior to the onset of Phase II of the Uvalde Mass Shooting AAR, to Washington D.C. and Virginia to train/present to DHS OPR IOD on Ryan trained on the brain and body's reactions to trauma, the physiological and psychological effects of trauma, types of traumas, implications and symptoms of traumas, how to minimize re-traumatization to first responders and critical incident survivors during investigations / interviewing, how to recognize the trauma reactions (distress) in interviewees and colleagues, and taught 4 advanced anxiety coping skills to improve their and to teach / coach survivors / interviewees whom were in distress to aid them in self-stabilization; and he was also onsite with the federal agents / interviewers and analyst while they initially watched all audio and video of all of the evidence from the onset to the conclusion of the Uvalde Mass Shooting critical incident providing direct critical services and crisis intervention to DHS OPR IOD federal agents / investigator and analysts in real time to help them cope, self-regulate, and self-manage by experiencing secondary / vicarious trauma while hearing and seeing the evidence of this horrible atrocity against our Nation's children. (April 2023)

Ryan deployed biweekly with the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection in the Del Rio Sector of Texas serving the Federal Agents/Officers and their families with crisis and therapeutic services, responding to critical incidents, facilitating trainings and presentations, and giving CIR debriefings. (May to October 2023)

"I look forward to when and where I can help you, our communities, and our Nation in the future." - Ryan Curtiss, LCSW