Bianca De Bellis

Bianca De Bellis, LCSW, M.Ed, (she/her) is a doctoral candidate at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work. She focuses her scholarship on creating safer educational environments for students with trauma histories. As an expert in both trauma-responsive interventions and restorative practices in schools, she is dedicated to bridging the gap that too often exists between these approaches. Bianca serves as co-principal investigator and co-lead intervention designer for the Developing Relational, Emotional, and Adaptive Minds (DREAMs) program, a novel trauma intervention embedded within a restorative framework. DREAMs integrates principles from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy to address the unique needs of trauma-affected youth, who are often overlooked in traditional restorative models. Additionally, Bianca is a co-investigator on the Just Discipline project, a large-scale restorative practice intervention study operating in more than 15 schools and serving over 5,000 students in Greater Pittsburgh.

Bianca's research is informed by her extensive practice experience, including six years of clinical therapy in private practice, four years of school social work, and eight years as a Special Educator in the New York City Department of Education. While working in schools, Bianca witnessed how trauma-affected youth were disproportionately subject to exclusion, which was further exacerbated by intersections with racism and poverty. To this end, she transitioned from teacher to school social worker where she supported the development of a restorative school community, provided counseling, crisis intervention, and restorative mediations. Most significantly, she led the implementation of a school-wide mental health curriculum within a restorative paradigm to support students holistically through social-emotional interventions and restorative justice. Bianca continues to facilitate staff trainings on suicide prevention, trauma-informed education practices, and restorative justice.

Bianca is currently mentored by Dr. James Huguley and will contribute to the Just Discipline Project by supporting the implementation of restorative practices within select Pittsburgh public schools, and through designing and implementing trauma-informed mental health interventions within traditional restorative models. She hopes to contribute to the advancement of social work and education through both research and practice by focusing on a holistic student model addressing the rights of dignity, human relationships, diversity and social justice. 

Bianca, received her BA in Sociology from Boston College, her M.Ed from Hunter College, and her MSW from Rutgers University. 

Research Interests

•  Examining effective community and school-based supports for children with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Designing and evaluating targeted trauma-responsive mental health interventions within restorative practice frameworks
• Assessing how trauma intersects with racial and gender disproportionalities in school disciplinary policies and practices 
• Exploring the ways in which caring educator relationships can ameliorate the pathways between exposure to traumatic stimuli and PTSD outcomes in school-aged youth

Dissertation Title

Empowering Trauma-Affected Youth: The Transformative Potential of Trauma-Informed Restorative Practices on Student Mental Health, Academic, and Behavioral Outcomes

Dissertation Committee

James Huguley, Ed.D, Associate Professor, School of Social Work (Chair)

Rachel Vaughn-Coaxum, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry 

Sara Goodkind, PhD, Professor, School of Social Work 

Deborah Moon, PhD, Professor, School of Social Work