Trauma Treatment Models and Ratings
On this Page
Treatment Models for Those Who Have Experienced Trauma
To help Medical Home Portal users to identify mental / behavioral health providers with trauma training who can best help
them, their child, or families they serve, the Portal includes information on some mental / behavioral health providers in
our database about their training, certification, and/or approach(es) used to treat trauma.
The information below comes from The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC) at the California Clearinghouse for Child Welfare. It uses two kinds of ratings to help describe available trauma treatment options.
Scientific Rating Scale: This scale is a 1 to 5 rating of the strength of the research evidence supporting a treatment practice or program. A scientific
rating of 1 represents a practice with the strongest research evidence, and a 5 represents a practice that appears to pose
substantial risk to children and families. Our listings contain only those programs rated:
- 1 – well-supported by research evidence
- 2 – supported by research evidence
- 3 – promising research evidence
The Child Welfare System Relevance Rating level can give a hint of how applicable the treatment model is for children and families. All of the information found here is
from the topic area Trauma Treatment (Child & Adolescent) or Trauma Treatment (Adult).
- Trauma Treatment (Child & Adolescent) is defined by the CEBC as treatment designed to help a child or adolescent process a trauma or multiple traumas he or she experienced and learn how to cope with the feelings associated with the experience (e.g., fear, posttraumatic stress, anxiety, depression, etc.).
- Trauma Treatment (Adult) is defined by the CEBC as treatment developed to assist adults in coping with the effects that come from experiencing trauma. The trauma(s) may have occurred at any point in the individual’s life and may have occurred once or many times. A parent/caregiver trauma history can hinder proper family functioning, social support, nurturing, and attachment. Research finds that more than half of all adults in the United States will experience a traumatic event at some point in their lives.
Children and Adolescents - Models
Scientific Rating: 1 – Well-Supported by Research Evidence
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing for Children and Adolescents (EMDR)
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - Medium
EMDR therapy is an 8-phase psychotherapy treatment that was originally designed to alleviate the symptoms of trauma. During
the EMDR trauma processing phases, guided by standardized procedures, the client attends to emotionally disturbing material
in brief sequential doses that include the client’s beliefs, emotions, and body sensations associated with the traumatic event
while simultaneously focusing on an external stimulus. Therapist directed bilateral eye movements are the most commonly used
external stimulus, but a variety of other stimuli including hand-tapping and audio bilateral stimulation are often used. Eye
Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing for Adults is also highlighted on the CEBC website in the Trauma Treatment (Adult)
topic area. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing for Children and Adolescents (EMDR)
Prolonged Exposure Therapy for Adolescents (PE-A)
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - Medium
PE-A is a therapeutic treatment where clients are encouraged to repeatedly approach situations or activities they are avoiding
because they remind them of their trauma (in vivo exposure) as well as to revisit the traumatic memory several times through
retelling it (imaginal exposure). Psychoeducation about common reactions to trauma as well as breathing retraining exercises
are also included in the treatment. The aim of in vivo and imaginal exposure is to help clients emotionally process their
traumatic memories through imaginal and in vivo exposure. Through these procedures, they learn that they can safely remember
the trauma and experience trauma reminders, that the distress that initially results from confrontations with these reminders
decreases over time, and that they are capable of tolerating this distress. Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD for Adults
(PE) is also highlighted on the CEBC website in the Trauma Treatment (Adult) topic area. Prolonged Exposure Therapy for Adolescents (PE-A)
Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - High
TF-CBT is a conjoint child and parent psychotherapy model for children who are experiencing significant emotional and behavioral
difficulties related to traumatic life events. It is a components-based hybrid treatment model that incorporates trauma-sensitive
interventions with cognitive behavioral, family, and humanistic principles. Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy; TB-CPT Certified Therapists
Scientific Rating: 2 – Supported by Research Evidence
Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP)
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - High
CPP is a treatment for trauma-exposed children aged 0-5. Typically, the child is seen with his or her primary caregiver, and
the dyad is the unit of treatment. CPP examines how the trauma and the caregivers’ relational history affect the caregiver-child
relationship and the child’s developmental trajectory. A central goal is to support and strengthen the caregiver-child relationship
as a vehicle for restoring and protecting the child’s mental health. Treatment also focuses on contextual factors that may
affect the caregiver-child relationship (e.g., culture and socioeconomic and immigration related stressors). Targets of the
intervention include caregivers’ and children’s maladaptive representations of themselves and each other and interactions
and behaviors that interfere with the child’s mental health. Over the course of treatment, caregiver and child are guided
to create a joint narrative of the psychological traumatic event and identify and address traumatic triggers that generate
dysregulated behaviors and affect. Child Parent Psychotherapy
Scientific Rating: 3 – Promising Research Evidence
Alternatives for Families: A Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (AF-CBT)
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - High
AF-CBT is an evidence-based treatment (EBT) designed to improve the relationships between children and caregivers in families
involved in arguments, frequent conflict, physical force/discipline, child physical abuse, or child behavior problems. Alternatives for Families: A Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI)
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - High
CFTSI is a brief early intervention model for children and adolescents 7-18 that is implemented soon after exposure to a potentially
traumatic event, or in the wake of disclosure of physical and sexual abuse. Developed at the Yale Child Study Center, CFTSI
fills a gap between acute responses/crisis intervention and evidence-based, longer-term treatments designed to address traumatic
stress symptoms and disorders that have become established. The goal of this family-strengthening model is to improve the
caregiver’s ability to respond to, and support, a child who has endorsed at least one posttraumatic symptom. By raising awareness
of the child’s symptoms, increasing communication and providing skills to help master trauma reactions, CFTSI aims to reduce
symptoms and prevent onset of posttraumatic stress distorder (PTSD). In addition, CFTSIoffers an opportunity to assess which
children and families need longer-term treatment.CFTSI is provided by master’s-level clinicians who have been trained by CFTSI
master trainers. Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention
Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS)
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - Medium
CBITS is a school-based, group and individual intervention designed to reduce symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
depression, and behavioral problems among students exposed to traumatic life events, such as exposure to community and school
violence, accidents, physical abuse, and domestic violence. It is designed for students, who have experienced a traumatic
event and have current distress related to that event. The goals of the intervention are to reduce symptoms and behavior problems
and improve functioning, improve peer and parent support, and enhance coping skills. The program includes 10 student group
sessions, 1-3 student individual sessions, 2 parent sessions, and a teacher educational session. Developed for the school
setting in close collaboration with school personnel, the program is well suited to the school environment. Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools
Combined Parent-Child Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - High
CPC-CBT: Empowering Families Who Are at Risk for Physical Abuse is a short-term (16-20 sessions), strength-based therapy program
for children ages 3-17 and their parents (or caregivers) in families where parents engage in a continuum of coercive parenting
strategies. These families can include those who have been substantiated for physical abuse, those who have had multiple unsubstantiated
referrals, and those who fear they may lose control with their child. Children may present with PTSD symptoms, depression,
externalizing behaviors and a host of difficulties that are targeted within CPC-CBT. The program is grounded in cognitive
behavioral theory and incorporates elements (e.g., trauma narrative and processing, positive reinforcement, timeout, behavioral
contracting) from CBT models for families who have experienced sexual abuse, physical abuse, and/or domestic violence, as
well as elements from motivational, family systems, trauma, and developmental theories. CPC-CBT helps the child heal from
the trauma of the physical abuse, empowers and motivates parents to modulate their emotions and use effective non-coercive
parenting strategies, and strengthens parent-child relationships while helping families stop the cycle of violence. Combined Parent-Child Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Fairy Tale Model (Treating Problem Behaviors: A Trauma-Informed Approach)
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - Medium
The Fairy Tale Model is a model of trauma-informed psychotherapy and is so named because it is taught with the telling of
a fairy tale, in which each element of the story corresponds to one of the phases in treatment. Following the treatment manual,
Treating Problem Behaviors: A Trauma-Informed Approach, this phase model of trauma-informed treatment calls for a given phase
of treatment to be pursued until the client outcome specified for that phase has been achieved. The treatment manual has scripted
interventions for working with teens individually. Fairy Tale Model (Treating Problem Behaviors: A Trauma-Informed Approach)
Preschool PTSD Treatment (PPT)
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - Medium
PPT is a manualized, 12-session cognitive behavioral therapy protocol to treat very young children with posttraumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) and trauma-related symptoms. The sessions are either with the therapist working individually with the child
(with the parent observing via a video feed) or with the parent and child together. Preschool PTSD Treatment
Sanctuary Model
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - Medium
The Sanctuary Model® is a blueprint for clinical and organizational change which, at its core, promotes safety and recovery
from adversity through the active creation of a trauma-informed community. A recognition that trauma is pervasive in the experience
of human beings forms the basis for the Sanctuary Model's focus not only on the people who seek services, but equally on the
people and systems who provide those services. Sanctuary has been used in organizations that provide residential treatment
for youth, juvenile justice programs, homeless and domestic violence shelters as well as a range of community-based, school-based
and mental health programs. Sanctuary Model
Seeking Safety for Adolescents
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - Medium
Seeking Safety was originally designed for adults and has been rated by the CEBC in the area of Substance Abuse Treatment
(Adult). Seeking Safety for Adolescents is a present-focused, coping skills therapy to help people attain safety from trauma
and/or substance abuse. The treatment is available as a book, providing both client handouts and clinician guidelines. The
treatment may be conducted in group or individual format for adolescents (both females, and males) in various settings (e.g.,
outpatient, inpatient, residential, home care, and schools). Seeking Safety for Adolescents consists of 25 topics that can
be conducted in any order and number. Examples of topics are Safety, Asking for Help, Setting Boundaries in Relationships,
Healthy Relationships, Community Resources, Compassion, Creating Meaning, Discovery, Recovery Thinking, Taking Good Care of
Yourself, Commitment, Coping with Triggers, Self-Nurturing, Red and Green Flags, and Life Choices. Seeking Safety for Adolescents
SITCAP-ART
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - Medium
The SITCAP-ART program is a comprehensive trauma intervention program, modified from the original Structured Sensory Intervention
for Traumatized Children, Adolescents and Parents (SITCAP) program initially researched in 2001. SITCAP-ART is designed specifically
for at-risk and adjudicated youth. SITCAP-ART integrates cognitive strategies with sensory/implicit strategies. When memory
cannot be linked linguistically in a contextual framework, it remains at the symbolic level for which there are no words to
describe. To retrieve that memory so it can be encoded, given a language, and then integrated into consciousness, it must
be retrieved and externalized in its symbolic perceptual (iconic) form. SITCAP-ART, which is followed by cognitive or explicit
strategies, supports moving from victim to survivor thinking allowing changes in negative behaviors (aggressive and rule-breaking
behavior) and making adolescents more resilient to future traumas. SITCAP-ART
Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide for Education and Therapy for Adolescents (TARGET)
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - Medium
TARGET is an educational and therapeutic approach for the prevention and treatment of complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD). TARGET provides a practical skill-set that can be used by trauma survivors and family members to de-escalate and regulate
extreme emotional states, to manage intrusive trauma memories in daily life, and to restore the capacity for information processing
and autobiographical memory. TARGET teaches a sequence of seven skills described as the FREEDOM steps. Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide for Education and Therapy for Adolescents
Trauma-Focused Coping (TFC)
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - Medium
TFC targets the internalizing effects of exposure to trauma in children and adolescents, with an emphasis on treating posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) and the collateral symptoms of depression, anxiety, anger, and an external locus of control [i.e.,
tendency to attribute one’s experiences to fate, chance, or luck]. The intervention utilizes social learning theory and a
skills-oriented cognitive-behavioral approach that is carried out in 14-week sessions of gradual exposure, moving from psycho-education,
anxiety management skill building, and cognitive coping training, to finally, trauma narrative and cognitive restructuring
activities. Trauma-Focused Coping
Adults - Models
Scientific Rating: 1 – Well-Supported by Research Evidence
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
Child Welfare System Relevance Level – Medium
Developed originally for use with rape and crime victims, CPT begins with the trauma memory and focuses on feelings, beliefs,
and thoughts which directly emanated from the traumatic event. The therapist then helps the clients examine whether the trauma
appeared to disrupt or confirm beliefs prior to this experience, and how much the clients have over-generalized (over-accommodated)
from the event to their beliefs about themselves and the world. Clients are then taught to challenge their own self-statements
using a Socratic style of therapy (leading clients to understand their reasoning processes and beliefs through questions),
and to modify their extreme beliefs to bring them into balance. CPT can be conducted individually or in groups where the written
trauma account is completed in an individual session. Cognitive Processing Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - Medium
EMDR therapy is an 8-phase psychotherapy treatment that was originally designed to alleviate the symptoms of trauma. During
the EMDR trauma processing phases, guided by standardized procedures, the client attends to emotionally disturbing material
in brief sequential doses that include the client’s beliefs, emotions, and body sensations associated with the traumatic event
while simultaneously focusing on an external stimulus. Therapist directed bilateral eye movements are the most commonly used
external stimulus, but a variety of other stimuli including hand-tapping and audio bilateral stimulation are often used.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Processing
Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - Medium
PE consists of 8 -15 weekly or semi-weekly treatment sessions that are 60-90 minutes each. Clients are encouraged to repeatedly
approach situations or activities they are avoiding because they remind them of their trauma (in vivo exposure) as well as
to revisit the traumatic memory several times through retelling it (imaginal exposure). Psychoeducation about common reactions
to trauma as well as breathing retraining exercises are also included in the treatment. The aim of in vivo and imaginal exposure
is to help clients emotionally process their traumatic memories through imaginal and in vivo exposure. Through these procedures,
they learn that they can safely remember the trauma and experience trauma reminders, that the distress that initially results
from confrontations with these reminders decreases over time, and that they are capable of tolerating this distress. Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD for Adults (PE)
Target Population: Adults with a variety of traumas such as combat, sexual assault, car accidents, violent crimes, and acts
of terrorism.
Scientific Rating: 2 – Supported by Research Evidence
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Acute Stress Disorder
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - Medium
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Acute Stress Disorder is a form of therapy used in the early stages of traumatic response.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy helps people with acute stress disorder change their way of thinking about the traumatic event
and alter their behaviors in anxiety-provoking situations. Like posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), acute stress disorder
may develop in an individual who has experienced or witnessed a traumatic event. Unlike PTSD, however, the anxiety which accompanies
acute stress disorder lasts for a minimum of 2 days and a maximum of 4 weeks. If symptoms persist for longer than 4 weeks,
or begin more than a month after the trauma was initially experienced or witnessed, a diagnosis of PTSD may be appropriate.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Acute Stress Disorder
Seeking Safety
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - Medium
Seeking Safety is a present-focused, coping skills therapy to help people attain safety from trauma and/or substance abuse.
The treatment is available as a book, providing both client handouts and clinician guidelines. The treatment may be conducted
in group or individual format; with females and males; and in various settings (e.g., outpatient, inpatient, residential,
home care, schools). Seeking Safety consists of 25 topics that can be conducted in as many sessions as time allows, and in
any order. Examples of topics are Safety, Asking for Help, Setting Boundaries in Relationships, Healthy Relationships, Community
Resources, Compassion, Creating Meaning, Discovery, Recovery Thinking, Taking Good Care of Yourself, Commitment, Coping with
Triggers, Self-Nurturing, Red and Green Flags, and Life Choices. Seeking Safety for Adolescents is also highlighted on the
CEBC in the Trauma Treatment (Child and Adolescent) topic area. Seeking Safety
Scientific Rating: 3 – Promising Research Evidence
Brief Eclectic Psychotherapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - Medium
STAIR/MPE is a sequential, two-phase treatment based in a developmental model which is designed to be sensitive to the disturbances
in attachment, emotion regulation, and interpersonal functioning that survivors of childhood or chronic interpersonal violence
often bring to treatment. Phase 1: Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR) is designed to enhance
day-to-day functioning by building emotion regulation capacities and interpersonal skills and provides a window of opportunity
for client and therapist to develop a strong therapeutic alliance. Phase 2 of treatment is a modified version of prolonged
exposure (MPE). After the exposure work is completed, emotions arising from the narrative should be able to be identified
and modulated through grounding techniques. In addition, client and therapist review the taped narratives for interpersonal
schemas about self-and-others regarding themes of rejection, betrayal, shame, failure and loss. STAIR/MPE has been shown to
provide improvement in emotion regulation, self-efficacy, anger expression, interpersonal problems, and perceptions of social
support. Brief Eclectic Psychotherapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide for Education and Therapy for Adults (TARGET)
Child Welfare System Relevance Level - Medium
TARGET is an educational and therapeutic approach for the prevention and treatment of complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD). TARGET provides a practical skill-set that can be used by trauma survivors and family members to de-escalate and regulate
extreme emotional states, to manage intrusive trauma memories in daily life, and to restore the capacity for information processing
and autobiographical memory. TARGET teaches a sequence of seven skills described as the FREEDOM steps. Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide for Education and Therapy for Adults (TARGET)
Other
Somatic Experiencing
Not listed on California Clearinghouse
3 year training program with 3 levels- beginning, intermediate, advanced. Each level has more than one training module. Supervision
sessions are required for each level. A certificate is given upon completion. Somatic Experiencing Program
Resources
Services
Crisis Intervention Mental Health
See all Crisis Intervention Mental Health services providers (1) in our database.
For other services related to this condition, browse our Services categories or search our database.
Authors
| Author: | Mindy Tueller, MS - 2/2016 |