Trauma Therapy for Children
As a parent, it can be heartbreaking to see your child struggling with the aftermath of trauma. Child Traumatic Stress can manifest in many ways—fear, anxiety, mood swings, nightmares, and even physical symptoms like stomach aches or headaches. These reactions are a normal response to a painful experience, but they can feel overwhelming for both your child and you as a parent. Children who have experienced trauma may also become withdrawn, act out, or show a loss of interest in things they once enjoyed. It’s important to remember that your child is not “broken”; they are simply navigating a world that has been shaken by traumatic events. As parents, you don’t have to face this journey alone—support is available, and healing is possible
Trauma Focused -CBT
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT): A Path to Healing
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is a proven, evidence-based treatment designed to help children process and heal from trauma. The goal of TF-CBT is to reduce trauma-related symptoms, build emotional resilience, and improve a child’s overall functioning. This approach works to build confidence, restore a sense of safety, and reduce the feelings of shame often associated with traumatic experiences.
How TF-CBT Helps
TF-CBT is designed not only to reduce trauma symptoms but to empower children and families. By addressing both the emotional and cognitive impacts of trauma, it helps your child regain a sense of control, process the trauma safely, and rebuild trust in themselves and others. Through this process, children often experience a reduction in feelings of shame, guilt, and self-blame, replacing these with confidence, resilience, and hope for the future.
If your child is struggling with the aftereffects of trauma, we are here to help. Let’s work together to restore your child's sense of safety, joy, and emotional well-being.
What to Expect: TF-CBT Session Modules
Session 1: Building Trust and Comfort
Establishing rapport with your child and creating a safe space for communication
Introduction to feelings and normalizing reactions to trauma
Session 2: Psychoeducation
Understanding trauma and its effects on the brain and body
Helping your child make sense of their experiences
Session 3: Emotional Regulation
Teaching coping skills to manage overwhelming emotions
Breathing techniques, grounding exercises, and relaxation practices
Session 4: Cognitive Restructuring
Identifying and challenging unhelpful thoughts related to the trauma
Reframing negative beliefs to restore self-worth and confidence
Session 5: Gradual Exposure
Gently confronting trauma memories in a safe and controlled way
Reducing avoidance behaviors and the power trauma has over your child’s life
Session 6: Parent-Child Sessions
Strengthening family support and communication
Teaching parents how to reinforce coping strategies at home
Session 7: Future Planning and Safety
Building resilience for future challenges
Setting goals for your child’s continued healing and growth
Session 8: Conclusion and Review
Celebrating progress and reinforcing new skills
Planning for continued success and maintaining emotional health
Child Parent Psychotherapy
Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP): Healing Trauma Through Connection
Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) is a relational therapy model specifically designed to help children who have experienced trauma. CPP focuses on strengthening the bond between you and your child, recognizing that the parent-child relationship is a critical source of healing. Through this process, we work to restore a sense of safety, security, and trust, while reducing feelings of shame and fear associated with trauma. CPP aims to help both you and your child understand the trauma, process painful memories, and build a resilient relationship that fosters emotional growth.
How CPP Helps
Child-Parent Psychotherapy offers more than just individual healing for your child—it strengthens the bond between you and your child, helping both of you process the trauma together. By working through trauma within the safe context of your relationship, CPP helps reduce your child’s feelings of shame, fear, and isolation. This therapy builds a sense of safety and emotional security in the family, so your child can start to regain confidence, trust, and hope for the future. It empowers both you and your child to understand the trauma, express emotions, and rebuild a healthy, supportive relationship.
What to Expect: CPP Session Breakdown
Session 1: Establishing Trust and Safe Space
Building rapport and creating a safe, welcoming space for both parent and child
Setting the foundation for a collaborative therapeutic relationship
Session 2: Psychoeducation and Trauma Understanding
Educating both you and your child about trauma, its impact on emotions, behavior, and the brain
Normalizing emotional reactions and reinforcing that trauma responses are understandable
Session 3: Emotion Expression and Regulation
Encouraging open expression of feelings and fears
Teaching both parent and child healthy ways to regulate and cope with difficult emotions
Session 4: Narrative Building
Helping your child begin to tell their trauma story in an age-appropriate way
Creating a narrative that allows your child to make sense of what happened, with parental support
Session 5: Parent-Child Communication and Emotional Closeness
Strengthening communication skills between you and your child
Fostering an emotionally supportive and responsive relationship that helps both of you cope together
Session 6: Rebuilding Trust and Safety
Addressing any ruptures in the parent-child relationship that may have occurred due to trauma
Focusing on restoring trust, comfort, and safety in the home environment
Session 7: Integration and Understanding
Helping your child integrate the trauma experience into their life story in a healthy way
Reinforcing the importance of the parent’s presence in their healing journey
Session 8: Looking Forward and Future Planning
Setting goals for continued emotional growth and healing
Strengthening tools for managing stress and future challenges as a family
Therapists offering Trauma Therapy for Children
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Kendre Berger, LCSW
CHILD THERAPIST
AGES 3+, Parents
SPECIALTIES: Children who have a caregiver with a chronic illness, Child Traumatic Stress, Anxiety, Parent-Child Attachment in Early Childhood attachment
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Ruth Exley, LCSW
THERAPIST
AGES: 12+
SPECIALITES: Traumatic Stress, Anxiety
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Holly Gonzales, LCSW
THERAPIST
AGES: 11+, Young Adults
SPECIALTIES: Anxiety, Depression, Adjustment, Grief, Family attachment
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Ashley Huddleston
THERAPIST
AGES: Early Childhood 0-5, Parents
SPECIALTIES: Young children with explosive behaviors, Parenting Consultation, Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
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Kelsey Corey, LCSW
THERAPIST