Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) is a treatment approach that helps children and adolescents impacted by trauma, as well as their parents or caregivers. Research shows that TF-CBT successfully resolves a broad array of emotional and behavioral difficulties associated with single, multiple, and complex trauma experiences." 1

Treatment involves age-appropriate education about the effects of trauma and the treatment itself, safety planning, gaining the skills to identify and express complex emotions and to effectively decrease distress, learning strategies for assessing how trauma has affected the person’s thoughts and worldviews, and processing the trauma with a customized and creative narrative process. This is a conjoint approach that also involves a parent, caregiver, or other chosen trusted adult, as an important participant in parts of this treatment process.

The following information is from the Maine Children's Trauma Responsive Initiative:

"TF-CBT was given a ranking of "1", the highest level of empirical support in the U.S. Department of Justice sponsored report "Child Physical and Sexual Abuse: Guidelines for Treatment."

TF-CBT was selected as a “Best Practice” for cases of child abuse in the Kaufman Best Practices Final Report, sponsored by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

TF-CBT has been named a Model Program by the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration." 2

I was a participant in the Maine Children's Trauma Response Initiative in 2015 and 2016, which was an effort funded by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network to bring TF-CBT to children in Maine. I had the honor of being trained by Dr. Anthony Mannarino, one of the three founders who developed this treatment approach.

Please feel free to contact my office if you have a referral, or if you would like more information about this treatment.

1. Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy National Therapist Certification Program. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2017, from https://tfcbt.org/

2. https://medicine.musc.edu/departments/psychiatry/divisions-and-programs/divisions/ncvc/programs/project-best/tf-cbt