ORIGINAL PAPER Building Emotion and Affect Regulation (BEAR): Preliminary Evidence from an Open Trial in Children’s Residential Group Homes in Singapore R. Pat-Horenczyk • C. Sim Wei Shi • S. Schramm-Yavin • M. Bar-Halpern • L. J. Tan Published online: 28 August 2014 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014 Abstract Background The Building Emotion and Affect Regulation (BEAR) program is a theory- based group intervention for enhancing resilience in children, with a focus on strength- ening emotion regulation. The BEAR is a 6-session protocol for children aged 7–12 who have been subject to traumatic life events. Objective This paper presents the guiding principles of the BEAR program, evaluates its feasibility and presents the preliminary evidence from an open trial among children in residential group homes in Singapore. Methods Ten BEAR groups (N = 73, mean age = 10.52, SD = 1.53) were conducted and evaluated with questionnaires for children, facilitators and caregivers before and after the intervention. Results The BEAR program was well received by children, caregivers and facilitators. The children reported high enjoyment of the program, learning positive coping strategies, and elevated help-seeking behavior. Facilitators indicated that the content of the program was well understood by the children, and that the children cooperated well and showed high levels of competence in performing the tasks. Additionally, there were minimal signs of distress during the sessions. The caregivers reported an increase in emotion regulation, (p \ 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.437) and positive coping (p = 0.003, Cohen’s d = 0.389), as R. Pat-Horenczyk (&) Á S. Schramm-Yavin Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma, Herzog Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel e-mail: mshoren@gmail.com R. Pat-Horenczyk School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel C. S. W. Shi Á L. J. Tan Clinical and Forensic Psychology Branch, Rehabilitation and Protection Group, Ministry of Social and Family Development, Singapore, Singapore M. Bar-Halpern McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA 123 Child Youth Care Forum (2015) 44:175–190 DOI 10.1007/s10566-014-9276-8