Trauma Focused-CBT (TF-CBT)

Trauma Focused- Cognitive Behavior Therapy is designed to help with traumas related to sexual abuse, physical abuse, domestic violence, community violence, an unexpected death of a loved one, and natural disasters and war. (from Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia).

Through structured sessions TF-CBT focuses and assists in developing coping strategies and skills for traumatic stress reactions and reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, acting out behaviors, etc., and processing the abuse experience through the following steps:

1.Learning that the trauma was not their fault and that they are not the only ones who have survived a similar traumatic event. 2. Identifying feelings and learning how to manage them. 3. Learning how to relax and tolerate trauma reminders. 4. Identifying negative thoughts that cause depression and anxiety. 5. Learning how to replace negative thoughts with more helpful thoughts. 6. Learning how to resolve problems 7. Learning safety skills. An important goal in treatment is to provide an opportunity to discuss details about the trauma in a supportive and nurturing environment. (taken from Center For Child Trauma Assessment, Services, and Interventions Northwestern Education).