Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy

A., Mannarino, A. P., Kliethermes, M., & Murray, L. A. (2012). Trauma-focused CBT for youth with complex trauma. Child abuse & neglect, 36(6), 528-541.

The effects of maltreatment in children can last through adolescence and on through adulthood for many. Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is a very popular type of therapy that join the caregiver and the child’s sessions. The basic process of this therapy is educate and improve parenting skills, teach relaxation techniques and skills, introduce cognitive coping skills, allow the child to talk about the narrative and make the child feel comfortable about talking about the trauma and allow the child cognitively process the traumatic events, ensure that the child feels safe. Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). For children who suffer post-traumatic stress syndrome, this treatment can require maintenance for up to 2 years after the child has completed treatment (Deblinger, Steer, & Lippmann,

Evidence-based practices have been gaining a lot importance recently and it was so interesting to search the online libraries to actually see how many exist. It was stimulating to go onto the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices websites and be in awe of abundance of programs. There were programs for almost every type of social work practice. While looking through the different databases in regards to evidence-based practice (EBP), one in particular really caught my attention. The particular EBP that will be discussed is known as Cognitive Processing Therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I chose this specific one because I have a great interest in therapies with those suffering from PTSD.

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

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.

School-based social work and school psychology clinicians delivered CBITS in both trials. The studies showed improvements in post-traumatic stress and depressive symptoms among students who had been exposed to violence. Additionally, data was collected from students, parents, and teachers at baseline, three months, and six months for a randomized controlled trial conducted by the RAND Corporation and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (RAND, 2011). The RAND study found there were no significant differences between the early intervention and late-intervention groups at the start of the program. At three months, students in the early intervention group had completed the program; students in the late-intervention group had not yet begun. The early intervention students showed substantial improvement. The magnitude of the difference between the two groups means that 86% of the early-intervention group reported less severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress than would have been expected without intervention (RAND, 2011). In addition, CBITS was also associated with improved school performance. Parents of students in the early-intervention group reported that their children were functioning significantly better in school. At

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) was stablished by Congress in 2000 and brings a comprehensive focus to childhood trauma. This network raises the average standard of care and improves access to services for traumatized children, their families and communities throughout the United States. The NCTSN defines trauma‑focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF‑CBT) as an evidence‑based treatment approach that is shown to help children, adolescents, and their caregivers overcome trauma‑related difficulties. It is designed to reduce negative emotional and behavioral responses following a traumatic event. The treatment addresses distorted beliefs related to the abuse and provides a supportive environment so the individual can talk about their traumatic experience. TF‑CBT also helps parents cope with their own emotional issues and develop skills to support their children.

Studies estimate that over one in four children will experience trauma before the age of sixteen, and many of these youth will go on to develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of their trauma (Silverman, Oritz, Viswesvaran, Burns, Kulko, Putnam, & Amaya-Jackson, 2008). Children and adolescents with PTSD can benefit from a mixture of the Cognitive and Behavioral models, presented in the form of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Specifically, Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is the most effective method to treat PTSD, utilizing techniques from two different perspectives (cognitive and behavioral) that can

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is a psychotherapeutic approach that involves conjoint therapy sessions of with the child and the parent. This approach is employed among children and/or adolescents that are experiencing emotional and behavioral difficulties that are significant and related to life events that are traumatic (Cohen, Mannarino, & Deblinger, 2012). TF-CBT is a components-based model of treatment that includes intervention that are trauma-sensitive and cognitive behavioral, family and humanistic therapy

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

There are a variety of evidence based practices that are being implemented for children and families within the welfare system. Many of these contemporary evidence based practices can be found online. The website known as The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare contains a list of all the different evidence based practices related to topics such as, anger management, substance abuse treatment, interventions for neglect, and depression treatment. One successful contemporary evidence based practice that has shown great effectiveness is known as Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). The primary focus of this paper will consist of TF-CBT and will explore the methodology and effectiveness of this

A series analyses of covariance appears to have indicated that children assigned to TF-CBT, compared to those participants who were assigned to child-centered therapy, demonstrated significantly more improvement with regard to PTSD, depression, behavior problems, shame, guilt, and other abuse-related attributions. (Cohen, Deblinger, Mannarino, & Steer, 2004, p.400). Similarly, parents or guardians who were assigned to TF-CBT showed greater improvement with respect to their own self-reported levels of depression, abuse-specific distress, support of the child, and effective parenting practices allowing them to parent more effectively. (Cohen, Deblinger, Mannarino, & Steer, 2004, p. 401). TF-CBT assists both the primary caregivers along with the child to ensure everyone in the situation who experiences negative symptoms are addressed and helped therapeutically, to create an outcome where children and their families can live successfully together. This can also include communities as whole TF-CBT helps bring empowerment to its participants and allows them to face their issues head on.

TF-CBT is an evidence-based practice that is used for trauma caused by violence, abuse, sexual abuse or other traumatic events. Usually, this evidence-based practice is used for children ages 3-17. The Modular approach to therapy for children (MATCH) is focused on overcoming the current challenges and provide with various treatment to address the current problem (Lucassen et al., 2015). The MATCH is an evidence-based practice that is used for anxiety, trauma and behavior problems with children from ages 6-15 years old. There have been more studies using qualitative research that TF-CBT is effective evidence-based practice and has positive outcomes for clients. TF-CBT is a short-term therapy that will help the client overcome their trauma and have a positive outcome once therapy is over. As for MATCH, there has not been a lot of qualitative research because it is used rarely in other countries. There have been more quantitative research reports that have been conducted based on the client and the statistics. Therefore, based on the research that was conducted with the two evidence-based practice the writer prefer to used TF-CBT because it provides with human behavior and the data that is used is with the current participants that were using TF-CBT and their experience.

Taking the TF-CBT training gave me a understanding of how to manage and provide services to children and families who experience traumatic events in their life. The training which consisted of different modules of techiniques to help identify and teach (to list a few) breathing techniques, stress management, and cognitive processing skills for children and parents, help parents optimize their childrens emotions and behavioral adjustment, and encourage children to share the traumatic experience ethier verbally or in the form of writing. Mastering these techniques will help me to improve quality care of traumtized children and families, reduce the impact of traumatic events, help children and families with coping skills and teach body/ awareness in sex education in case of physical and or sexual maltreatment.

What do you do when you experience a life threatening, traumatic event, and months later you are still experiencing the same frightening responses? Individuals who experience trauma are often forced to face their problems long after the event has happened. The first step to dealing with this issue would be to seek professional help as soon as possible so that they may be properly diagnosed and receive accurate treatment to overcome the intrusive symptoms. An individual who is suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have experienced, witnessed, or was affected by a life