Karyn B. Purvis
Child development researcher and author
Karyn B. Purvis was a child development researcher who founded the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at Texas Christian University. She co-wrote The Connected Child.
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Born 1949 in Atlanta, United States
About Karyn B. Purvis
Karyn B. Purvis was a researcher and advocate for children who had suffered trauma, abuse or neglect. She coined the phrase "children from hard places" for them. With her colleague David Cross, she co-created Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), an approach meant to help at-risk children and their families heal. In 1999 she launched The Hope Connection, a summer camp that worked as a research and training lab for adopted children, their parents and students. In 2005 Texas Christian University (TCU) created its Institute of Child Development, and she directed it for the rest of her life. She and David Cross also co-wrote The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family. Purvis also worked on public policy. In 2008, Governor Rick Perry appointed her to chair a statewide committee on raising standards for children in foster care. She died on April 12, 2016, aged 66, and the institute was renamed in her honor later that year.