Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children and Adolescents

Abstract

This article reviews the four major components of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for children and adolescents: exposure, cognitive processing and reframing, stress management, and parental treatment. For each component, background, description, and the current empirical support for including each of these components in the treatment of traumatized children is presented. Although there is growing empirical support for the efficacy of traumafocused CBT in decreasing psychological symptomatology, there are inadequate data to indicate the relative contribution of the individual CBT components. Suggestions for future clinical and research directions are also discussed.

Efficacy of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Facilitating Posttraumatic Growth and Emotional Management Among Physically Abused Children

“…To explain this finding, it could be said that during TF-CBT sessions, the child's negative thoughts are dealt with and corrected and various techniques like thought stopping, thought-emotion relation finding, and daily thought recording are taught to decrease child's rumination (19). Thought stopping, as a method aiming to overcome cognitive distortion and worry, supports the child with thought processing because the method makes the child insightful.…”

“…Effectiveness of medication-based therapies in minimizing abused children complications has been a matter of controversy and doubt in recent studies (19). In recent years, cognitive behavioral approach has been the dominant therapeutic approach in lessening the problems of abused victims.…”

A Comparison of Female Delinquents: The Impact of Child Maltreatment Histories on Risk and Need Characteristics among a Missouri Sample

“…Recent studies demonstrate a range of treatment modalities for addressing the enduring effects of child maltreatment and accompanying relevant comorbid conditions. Evidence suggests that trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral treatment shows special promise for some girls and young women [58][59][60][61]. This treatment approach, however, has not yet been studied in its application to crossover youth, and in fact, few studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral treatment generally with adjudicated youth in a restricted setting, such as detention [62].…”

Integrating a Trauma-Informed Care Perspective in Baccalaureate Social Work Education: Guiding Principles

“…These approaches can include psychoeducation, therapies designed to address trauma and its accompanying symptoms (e.g., cognitive therapies, desensitization therapies, prolonged exposure), emotional regulation and social skill-building, enhancing resiliency, and psychotropic medication management (Cohen, Mannarino, Berliner, & Deblinger, 2000;Jennings, 2008;NCTSN, 2007). This dualapproach to service delivery provides all those involved in client cases (e.g., case managers, clinicians, and administrators) with a common understanding and language surrounding the impact of trauma and its treatment.…”