Writing, conversations, and resources that have grown from a long inquiry into people, relationships, organizations, and systems — and what becomes possible when we can see more of the whole.
A continuing inquiry
Some work grows from formal scholarship; some begins in lived experience, conversation, teaching, or a question that will not go away.
My work began in social work and clinical practice, then expanded through policy, systems theory, organizational change, trauma and adversity, and the study of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Integral theory became an important way of seeing these dimensions together and making connections visible across perspectives that were often separated.
Over time, the questions have continued: How do people and systems respond to adversity? What happens when trauma-informed principles meet the actual conditions of organizational life? How are trust, relationship, and accountability affected by the ways institutions work? And what helps people and systems recognize what is happening, restore what has been damaged, and create conditions for change?
The materials here follow those questions across different contexts and forms.
This section will become a place to find writing, publications, working papers, interviews, webinars, and other resources — with enough context to see how the pieces connect.
Some will be finished work; others may be works in progress or ways into questions that are still being explored.
RISE Resources
Current resources from the developing RISE framework — including the working white paper and the RISE Recipe, a practical companion for bringing the framework into practice. The RISE Recipe Testing Worksheet has also been added as a working reflection tool.
Selected Publications
These selected publications trace an important part of the inquiry that preceded RISE. Early work on Integral Theory and systems integration gave me a way of seeing people, relationships, organizations, and larger systems together. Over time, I found that leading with Integral Theory was not always the most accessible way to invite others into that perspective.
The emerging research on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) offered another way in. ACE research provided a concrete entry point for making connections among individual experience, relationships, communities, and larger systems visible. Restorative Integral Support (RIS) developed as an application of Integral Theory for responding to ACEs and trauma in ways that foster resilience, recovery, and healthier development.
The publications gathered here include selected work on Integral Theory, ACEs, and RIS. Together, they trace some of the intellectual and practical lineage that led toward RISE.
2005
Integral Management and the Effective Human Service Organization
Heather Larkin · Journal of Integral Theory and Practice
2006
Social Work as an Integral Profession
Heather Larkin · Journal of Integral Theory and Practice
Systems Integration and Substance Abuse Service Delivery
Heather Larkin · Doctoral dissertation, The Catholic University of America · View book
2007
Adverse Childhood Experiences: Overview, Response Strategies, and Integral Theory
Heather Larkin & John Records · Journal of Integral Theory and Practice
2011
Restorative Integral Support (RIS) for post-trauma wellness
Heather Larkin & John Records
2012
ACE Response Special Issue
Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community · Special issue co-edited by Heather Larkin
Mobilizing Resilience and Recovery in Response to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE): A Restorative Integral Support (RIS) Case Study
Heather Larkin, Brooke A. Beckos & Joseph J. Shields · Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community · Included in the ACE Response Special Issue
Restorative Integral Support (RIS) for Older Adults Experiencing Co-Occurring Disorders
Heather Larkin & Nicole S. MacFarland · International Journal of Aging and Human Development
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), Service Use, and Service Helpfulness Among People Experiencing Homelessness
Heather Larkin & Jihyun Park · Families in Society
2013
Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) among Child Service Providers
Nina Esaki & Heather Larkin · Families in Society
2014
Social Work and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Research: Implications for Practice and Health Policy
Heather Larkin, Vincent Felitti & Robert Anda · Social Work in Public Health
A Whole Delivery Measure of Comprehensive Service Provision
Heather Larkin · Journal of Integral Theory and Practice
Applied Integral Methodological Pluralism: Designing Comprehensive Social Services Program Evaluation and Research
Heather Larkin, Brooke A. Beckos & Elisa M. Martin · Journal of Integral Theory and Practice
2020
Responding to adverse childhood experiences across the lifespan
Larkin, H., LaBrenz, C., Oby, S., Gerlach, B., Lee, E., Briar-Lawson, K., & Good, L. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Social Work.
2023
The Restorative Integral Support (RIS) Model: Community-Based Integration of Trauma-Informed Approaches to Advance Equity and Resilience for Boys and Men of Color
Stephanie Duncan, Heather Horton, Richard Smith, Bruce Purnell, Lisa Good & Heather Larkin · Behavioral Sciences
2025
Resilience over Adversity: Predictors of Secondary Traumatic Stress in Graduate Social Work Students
Lindsey Disney, Stephanie Duncan, Yohan Moon & Heather Larkin · Social Work
More publications can be found on ResearchGate →
Webinars & Presentations
Selected presentations and webinars that offer another way into this work and the ideas behind it.
ACEs and Restorative Integral Support (RIS) Webinar · 2011
Websites
ACE Response
An evolving resource site documenting the ACE Response framework and the development of Restorative Integral Support (RIS).
Mobilizing Action for Resilient Communities (MARC)
A national resource hub highlighting community-based work connecting ACEs, trauma, resilience, and systems change.
