Fifty years ago, psychologist Nicholas Hobbs led a group of divergent thinking professionals who introduced a new way of perceiving the problems and needs of young people. The National Institute of Mental Health gave a two-million-dollar grant to George Peabody College for Teachers, now a part of Vanderbilt University. Hobbs and colleagues studied innovative approaches to troubled children which had emerged in various European countries following the trauma of World War II. This fresh thinking sparked the Re-ED movement in North America. Deficit-based views were challenged by this strength-based, ecological, wellness approach to troubled and troubling children. Re-ED (an acronym for Re-education of Emotionally Disturbed children) came to life in two treatment programs in Tennessee and North Carolina. Re-ED is grounded in the philosophy that helpful relationships and healthy experiences enable every child to learn new ways of dealing successfully with life struggles. Five decades of study has demonstrated the effectiveness of Re-ED in an array of settings. Principles of Re-education articulated a half century ago are now being validated as foundations for healing trauma and building resilience.