TF-CBT is a therapy model developed by Drs. Judy Cohen, Tony Mannarino and Esther Deblinger. It is used for children ages three to eighteen that have experienced one or more significant traumatic life events, resulting in PTSD symptoms or functional impairments . It is a short-term therapy that involves individual sessions with the child and parent/caregiver respectively, as well as, joint parent-child sessions. A course of therapy typically consists of 12 – 20 weekly sessions, with each session lasting from 60 to 90 minutes.
Essential Components of TF-CBT include1:
- Establishing and maintaining therapeutic relationship with child and parent
- Psycho-education about childhood trauma and PTSD
- Emotional regulation skills
- Individualized stress management skills
- Connecting thoughts, feelings and behaviors related to the trauma
- Assisting the child in sharing a verbal, written, or artistic narrative about the trauma(s) and related experiences
- Encouraging gradual in vivo exposure to trauma reminders, if appropriate
- Cognitive and affective processing of the trauma experiences
- Education about healthy interpersonal relationships
- Parental treatment components including parenting skills
- Joint parent-child sessions to practice skills and enhance trauma-related discussions
- Personal safety skills training
- Coping with future trauma reminder
1 The “Essential Components” are taken from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network at www.NCTSNET.ORG