Clinical Implications
Within the application of CPP when working with children who have experienced trauma or abuse there are a number of clinical implications for therapists be aware of. Ippen et al (2011) suggest a need to target younger children, the necessity of including parents and working towards providing evidence-based services to meet client needs. The research cited above regarding the negative effects of childhood trauma supports the idea of targeting younger children. In counselling, with regards to including the parents and working with children O’Neill, Guenette and Kitchenham (2010) describe the first and most important aspect of counselling is the therapeutic relationship, furthermore the creation of a safe environment. In CPP establishing a safe therapeutic environment and home environment is crucial in providing an environment for repairing the child-parent relationship (Lieberman, 2007). CPP highlights the importance of restoring a sense of trust and safety within the intimate parent-child relationship, recreating comfortable body-based sensations, confidence within the parent and capacity to protect against harm and emotional dysregulation. Furthermore, the importance of enhancing the pleasure felt by both parent and child in engaging in age-appropriate activities. With the ultimate goal of enhancing flexibly within the child’s thinking and feeling and the parent’s thinking and feeling with the hope of maximizing opportunities to promote mutual understanding.
When considering client needs, Lieberman (2007) has identified that effective interventions need to incorporate a focus on the mother’s mental health in addition to focusing on the mother-child relationship as a way of impacting positive change in the c...
... middle of paper ...
...sychotherapy. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30, 563-566.
O’Neill, L., Guenette, F., & Kitchenham. (2010). ‘Am I safe here and do you like me’: Understanding complex trauma and attachment disruption in the classroom. British Journal of Special Education, 37, (4), 190-197.
Public Health Agency of Canada. (2010). Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect - 2008: Major Findings. Ottawa, Ont: Public Health Agency of Canada. Retrieved from http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/cm-vee/csca-ecve/2008/fs-am/index-eng.php
Toth, S., & Gravener, J. (2012). Review: Bridging research and practice: Relational interventions for maltreated children. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 17, (3), 131-138.
Van der Kolk, B. (2005). Developmental trauma disorder: towards a rational diagnosis for chronically traumatized children. Psychiatric Annals, 35, (5), 401-408.
The first phase is psychoeducation and parenting skills. In the first sessions we discuss the definition and nature of trauma, the effects of trauma on the brain, how it affects cognitions, behaviors, etc. This treatment approach focuses on trauma—it is in the name. It does not necessarily require a formal PTSD diagnosis, but the psychoeducation does focus on the effects of trauma, and the impact of post-traumatic stress. Essentially, it focuses on the label and “mental illness” of PTSD. Reality therapy would shy away from a focus on illness. Reality therapy would encourage the clinician to avoid the labels and focus on the choices behind the condition (pg. 15). Unfortunately, for victims of severe trauma, the neurological impact is very real. Ignoring it will not help the treatment process.
Perry, B., (2009). Examining child maltreatment through a neurodevelopmental lens: Clinical applications of the neurosequential model of therapeutics. Journal of loss and trauma, 14: 240-55. doi:10.1080/15325020903004350
Cohen, J. A., & Mannarino, A. P. (2008). Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children and Parents. Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 13(4), 158-162.
Rodriguez-Srednicki, Ofelia, and James A. Twaite. Understanding, Assessing, and Treating Adult Victims of Childhood Abuse. Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson, 2006. Print.
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is one of the most commonly utilized interventions for children (Cary & McMillen, 2011). TF-CBT is a highly structured intervention consisting of 90-minute weekly sessions. The clinician works with the client through eight competencies, including psychoeducation, relaxation, affective expression and regulation, cognitive coping, trauma narrative development and processing, gradual exposure, joint parent/child sessions, and enhancing future development (Cary & McMillen, 2011). TF-CBT has an extensive history and many variations. Clinicians utilize a number of other cognitive behavior treatments that have been adapted to meet the needs of traumatized children (Cary, & McMillen, 2012; Smith et al., 2007). While there are a number of cognitive behavior treatments, TF-CBT has received the highest classification rating for supported and effective treatment from many studies (Cary, & McMillen, 2012; Kauffman Best Practices Project, 2004).
This webpage, the Canadian Child Welfare Research Portal, aims to provide access to research on the Canadian child welfare system. It looks upon the different forms of abuse including sexual, emotional, and physical abuse which affects a child’s wellbeing. As well, further links are provided to help readers understand the exposure of domestic violence and neglect within the household. According to this webpage, child abuse and neglect includes acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver which create a potential, threat or result of harm to a child. As well, supplementary links to frequent definitions used when discussing child
Hutchison, Sandra B. Effects of and Interventions for Childhood Trauma from Infancy through Adolescence: Pain Unspeakable. Haworth Maltreatment and Trauma Press, 2005.
“Each year, Child Protective Services receives reports of child abuse and neglect involving six million children, and many go unreported” (New Directions). The article New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research, explores the need for research of the long-term affects of child abuse and neglect, not only on the victims, but also on their families, future relationships, and other people out in the community. Current research has brought to life the long-term developmental and biological challenges that abuse victims deal with long after an event occurs. A problem that current researchers face when striving to learn more about the long-term affects of child abuse is a lack of funds. Money drives a lot of things in this world, and research is one of those things. The current funds for this type of research has been spread very thin over numerous organizations that deal with child abuse. In this article, New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research, new ideas for spreading these funds have been talked about and plans have been devised.
Osofsky, Joy D. Young Childrn and Trauma: Intervention and Treatment. New York: Guilford Press, 2004. eBook.
Trocmé, N., Fallon, B., MacLaurin, B., Sinha, V., Black, T., Fast, E.,…Holroyd, J. (2010). Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect 2008: Major Findings. Ottawa, Ontario: Public Health Agency of Canada.
In Canada there are approximately 76 000 children under the protection of Child and Family Services who have experienced neglect, maltreatment, and child abuse (Trocme, Loo, Nutter & Falon, 2002). However, this number does not fully capture the extent of child abuse and neglect in Canada, nor children exposed to complex trauma. Previous research identified that children exposed to complex trauma are less likely to graduate from high school, are more likely to experience mental health and substance use problems and to be involved with the justice system and the child welfare system (Carrion, Weems et al., 2009; Thornbury, Ireland & Smith, 2001; Jaffee & Maikovich-Fong, 2011).
Childhood Trauma is defined as “The experience of an event by a child that is emotionally painful or distressful, which often results in lasting mental and physical effects.” (The National Institute of Mental Health). Childhood trauma is an epidemic that seems to be running its way throughout the world. Childhood trauma is a worldwide problem that can affect anyone and everyone. People tend to just try and help the problems that occur due to the childhood trauma, but not the problem itself. Many of these issues will also follow the child into their adult years and will cause negative effects. This paper will discuss the negative outcomes for a child who suffers from childhood trauma, and the negative outcomes that can follow them into adulthood.
Funding is awarded to support ongoing research programs to identify, prevent and treat child abuse and neglect and to collect and distribute data. Projects that are currently funded are Child Welfare Information Gateway website, the National Resource Center for Child Protective Services, National Quality Improvement Center on Differential Response, annual publication of Child Maltreatment and the initiative on Supporting Evidence-Based Home Visitation to Prevent Child Maltreatment.
According to Lisa Ware, "One promising treatment for families who have a history of child maltreatment is parent-child interaction therapy". This type of therapy focuses on the interactions that the child and the parent have. It coaches the parents in how to interact with their child the proper way. Along with interaction therapy, the child and parents are also given separate therapy. The child’s therapy is centered on the abuse they received, their social and academic skills, and teaching ways of relaxation and anger management. While the therapy for the parents are more concerned with finding ways so that the parents can interact with their children in the right way. The therapy gives the parents proper techniques for controlling their anger and allows them to identify how they view abuse. These examples of techniques practiced in therapy have shown promising results, but there are many different forms of therapy that also work. When dealing with individuals and families who suffered from abuse or were the one's abusing, the therapy needs to be fitted to the specific needs of the individuals as well as the whole family. If a child suffers from a certain problem, it is the job of the therapist to focus on ways to help the child with that specific problem. A generalized therapy plan to help everyone with their problems will not work because each individual experiences different things when faced with abuse, which is why the therapy needs to be specific to the needs of the
Perry, B. D. (2002). Bonding and Attachment in Maltreated Children: Consequences of Emotional Neglect in Childhood. Retrieved December 4, 2011, from teacher.scholastic.com: http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/bonding.htm