Evidence Based Research : Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy

TF-CBT was originally developed in 1997 and was eventually published in book form in 2006, by Judith Cohen, Anthony Mannarino, and Esther Deblinger, a team of professionals studying interventions for child sexual abuse survivors. TF-CBT is a merger of earlier trauma-focused approaches that were originally directed toward treatment for child sexual abuse survivors (Cohen et

Once my client is stabilized from the initial concerns of severe depression and suicide attempts, TF-CBT could be introduced. Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children Affected by Sexual Abuse or Trauma. (2012) suggests that the following areas be covered psychoeducation and parenting skills, relaxation techniques, affective expressions and regulation, cognitive coping and processing, trauma narrative and processing, in vivo exposure, conjoint parent/child sessions and enhancing personal safety and future

The first type of Treatment is called Cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT. Research says that this is the best type of treatment and counseling for anyone diagnosed with PTSD. Cognitive behavioral therapy is used to help the veteran think differently about their thoughts or feelings from the past. The main goal by the therapist is to help the veteran find out what past events or flashbacks correlate with the veteran’s thoughts that make the symptoms of PTSD occur. Many times, the veterans will blame themselves for a decision they made but the therapist will walk them through on how it was not their fault. Cognitive Behavioral therapy can last for three to six months. Although to some people it may seem that CBT might be the best type of treatment, it does not always work. One reason why it might not work is because the therapist may like the experience and education. The therapist may be qualified but sometimes, the therapist may fail at connecting with patient. The connection that is missed by some therapists and patients can simply occur by the therapist not having all the knowledge about all the situations soldiers face when they go to war. Soldiers struggle with their therapy if they feel that the therapist who is helping them does not have the knowledge about the battlefield or the difficulties of war itself. The relationship of the therapist and veteran can also play a major role on the effectiveness of the therapy. Some soldiers may struggle with feeling comfortable with their therapist because they are sensitive and emotional. Sometimes veterans struggle with this therapy if they cannot develop a relationship with their therapist. Another factor that can affect the effectiveness of CBT is the timing. Sometimes three to six months is not enough to show long term effectiveness of the therapy. Another treatment option is exposure therapy.

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is a conjoint child and parent psychotherapy approach for children and adolescents who are experiencing significant emotional and behavioral difficulties related to traumatic life events. This online TF-CBT course shows step by step instruction in ten modules for each component of therapy. According to the introduction on the Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy website it states that, “There is strong scientific evidence that TF-CBT helps children, adolescents, and their parents overcome many of the difficulties associated with abuse and trauma.” This is a very detailed online course that gives live video examples on how each process is done.

Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) was developed in order to facilitate the expression of affect and appropriate accommodation of the traumatic event. It begins with the trauma memory and focuses on the feelings, beliefs, and thoughts that are directly resulting from the traumatic event. During the treatment session, Sarah should be encouraged to examine whether the trauma appeared to disrupt or confirm prior beliefs to the experience. She should then be taught to challenger her self and modify her extreme beliefs.

This theory proposes that a traumatic event produces maladaptive assumptions and beliefs about the world, other people, and the self that interfere with recovery (Schultz, Barnes-Proby, Chandra, Jaycox, Maher, & Pecora, 2012). CBITS uses cognitive-behavioral techniques (for example, psychoeducation, relaxation, social problem solving, cognitive restructuring, and exposure). Cognitive-behavioral therapies work to teach people skills to combat these underlying issues, including correction of maladaptive assumptions, processing the traumatic experience instead of avoiding it, learning new ways to reduce anxiety and solve problems, building peer and parent support, and building confidence to confront stress in the future (Schultz, et al.,

TF‑CBT is a short‑term treatment typically provided in 12 to 18 sessions for a total of 50 to 90 minutes, depending on treatment needs. The intervention can be provided in a multitude of settings; either with the child and parent separately in individual sessions or with the child and parent together in joint sessions. Each session is designed to provide education, personal skills, and a safe environment so the child and parent can address and process the traumatic event. Joint sessions are designed to help parents and children practice using the skills they learned together while also allowing the

One of the most common treatment options for PTSD is cognitive behavior therapy. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is a therapy in which one recognizes the ways of thinking that keep them stuck and tries to work through it. One of the first steps in CBT is being aware of your thoughts and feelings and understanding what is triggering the PTSD. Those who suffer from PTSD often blame themselves for what happened, and feel that if they would have done something different they could have changed the outcome. In CBT, one goes through their thoughts to see whether or not they are accurate. The blame that one feels is an inaccurate thought that is causing distress. During therapy, the goals is not to change what happened, but alter what one tells themself about the event in a positive way to decrease the PTSD symptoms. By doing this the PTSD symptoms slowly disappear and the results start to show. Michael Phillips and Shirley Wang wrote in their newspaper article that various studies show two-thirds of the people who complete CBT have alleviated their PTSD symptoms (Phillips and Wang 2). This shows that over half of the people who receive CBT treatment show signs of improvement. CBT is covered by the Department of Veterans Affairs and is one of the treatments that are most highly

TF-CBT is evidence-based and effective for various reasons including, “(1) enhancing safety early in treatment; (2) effectively engaging parents who experience personal ongoing trauma; and (3) during the trauma narrative and processing component focusing on (a) increasing parental awareness and acceptance of the extent of the youths’ on going trauma experiences; (b) addressing youths’ maladaptive cognitions about ongoing traumas; and (c) helping youth differentiate between real danger and generalized trauma reminders.” (Cohen, Mannarino, & Murray, 2011, p.128). Children and adolescent who have participated in TF-CBT have experienced a decrease in depression, improvement in social competence, and reduced PTSD symptoms across the board time and

This discussion is a review of the Cognitive Behavior Intervention for Trauma in Schools program also known as CBITS. This discussion will include an overview of the program and descriptions of components that are included within the program. The program has been introduced into two other programs that are specifically for children that have experienced trauma and how the program effected children who have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The implementation and effectiveness of this program and its transportability will be discussed. Cost Effectiveness and the quality of care that is received by the clients will also be evaluated. The program will also be reviewed for factors that will influence a provider’s decision to utilize the program and possible institutional obstacles and possible future opportunities will also be discussed.

Per the article, evaluation of TF-CBT is supported by several randomized controlled trials and effectiveness studies. The evidence supporting the effectiveness of trauma-focused CBT in children suffering PTSD because of sexual abuse is growing (Kar, 2011). The findings from the review of literature was that Trauma-focused CBT for symptomatic children has been successful within 1–6 months of experiencing sexual abuse. It is also recommended that children have some support going through this process. It has been suggested that, where appropriate, families should be involved in the treatment of PTSD in children and young people (National Institute for Clinical Excellence, 2005). The treatment has portions where family are involved in therapy through psychoeducation and learning coping techniques when the trauma narrative is told and

“With effective treatment, children can recover from sexual abuse and other traumas. In TF-CBT, one key to recovery is encouraging children to open up and talk freely about their trauma (Getz, 2012).” First trauma-Focused cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is an evidence based treatment is a model designed to assist children and their families in overcoming the negative effects of traumatic experience. There are many types of trauma events such as child abuse, domestic violence, rape violent and community violence and etc. I will be discussing three main section which are: Facing trauma, Evidence based treatment and what differentiates TF-CBT.

The use of several therapeutic methods to treat children with PTSD increases the argument among clinicians about the most effective treatment for PTSD. The clinical literature describes a wide variety of interventions besides CBT including, psychoanalytic techniques, creative arts, play therapy, crisis intervention, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, and pharmacotherapy; which raises the question about what could be the most effective treatment for children with PTSD (Cohen, Mannarino & Rogal 2001). Several of these therapies have been recognized as effective PTSD treatments. For instance, Eye-Movement Desensitization and Processing (EMDR), has become an increasingly accepted treatment modality for childhood PTSD; however, very

The one theory that I used on my client was the trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT). This is the actual intervention that I used with my client since during each week my fieldwork supervisor checks on my cases. My fieldwork supervisor and I went over his case together during supervision and we both collaborated with the intervention practice I was going to use during the sessions. Using cognitive behavioral theory was the most logical to us since it is evidence based treatment approach that can be customized with children that are victims of any form of trauma. According to Cohen (2008), TF-CBT is flexible and provides stress management skills before discussion of the traumatic experiences (p. 1). The steps I used were very

Trauma focused CBT research seems to have a strong interest in effectiveness in children, and especially in adolescents (Jensen, Holt, Ormhaug, Egeland, Granly, Hoaas, & Wentzel-Larsen, 2014). The reason is because a significant number of children throughout the world, experienced trauma. If left untreated, trauma can cause mental disabilities to develop. It has been supported that Trauma focused CBT is an effective form of treatment for children