Abstract
Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) was originally developed for children who had been sexually abused and their non-offending caretakers (Cohen et al., Treating trauma and traumatic grief in children and adolescents. Guildford Press, New York, 2006). This chapter reviews the research that demonstrates the effectiveness of TF-CBT in reducing a variety of symptoms and problems in child victims and their non-offending caretakers, as well as for children who have experienced domestic violence, traumatic loss, and multiple traumas. In a meta-analysis of evidence-based psychosocial treatments for children and adolescents exposed to traumatic events, TF-CBT was the only intervention that achieved the “well-established” criteria for efficacy (Silverman et al., J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol, 37:156–183, 2008). An overview of TF-CBT is also provided along with examples of the process of treatment and a description of progress toward treatment success. A case is presented that documents the progression of a maltreated child in TF-CBT, and describes its value as a mental health treatment.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., Ball, R., & Ranieri, W. (1996). Comparison of Beck Depression Inventories-IA and -II in psychiatric outpatients. Journal of Personality Assessment, 67, 588–597. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa6703_13.
CATS Consortium. (2010). Implementation of CBT for youth affected by the World Trade Center disaster: Matching need to treatment intensity and reducing trauma symptoms. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 23, 699–707. doi:10.1002/jts.20594.
Cavett, A. M., & Drewes, A. A. (2012). Play applications and trauma-specific components. In J. A. Cohen, A. P. Mannarino, & E. Deblinger (Eds.), Trauma-focused CBT for children and adolescents: Treatment applications (pp. 124–148). New York: Guilford Press.
Cohen, J. A., Deblinger, E., Mannarino, A. P., & Steer, R. A. (2004). A multisite, randomized controlled trial for sexually abused children with PTSD symptoms. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 43, 393–402. doi:10.1097/01.chi.0000111364.94169.f9.
Cohen, J. A., & Mannarino, A. P. (1988). Psychological symptoms in sexually abused girls. Child Abuse & Neglect, 12, 571–577. doi:10.1016/0145-2134(88)90074-9.
Cohen, J. A., & Mannarino, A. P. (1996). A treatment outcome study for sexually abused preschool children: Initial findings. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 42–50. doi:10.1097/00004583-199601000-00011.
Cohen, J. A., & Mannarino, A. P. (1998). Interventions for sexually abused children: Initial treatment outcome findings. Child Maltreatment, 3, 17–26. doi:10.1177/1077559598003001002.
Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., & Deblinger, E. (2006). Treating trauma and traumatic grief in children and adolescents. New York: Guildford Press.
Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., & Deblinger, E. (Eds.). (2012). Trauma-focused CBT for children and adolescents: Treatment applications. New York: Guilford.
Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., & Deblinger, E. (2010). Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for traumatized children. In J. A. Weiss & A. E. Kazdin (Eds.), Evidence-based psychotherapies for children and adolescents (pp. 295–311). New York: Guilford Press.
Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., & Iyengar, S. (2011). Community treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder for children exposed to intimate partner violence. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 165, 16–21. doi:10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.247.
Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., Kliethermes, M., & Murray, L. A. (2012). Trauma-focused CBT for youth with complex trauma. Child Abuse & Neglect, 36, 528–541. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2012.03.007.
Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., & Knudsen, K. (2004). Treating childhood traumatic grief: A pilot study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 43, 1225–1233. doi:10.1097/01.chi.0000135620.15522.38.
Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., & Knudsen, K. (2005). Treating sexually abused children: 1 year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial. Child Abuse and Neglect, 29, 135–145.
Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., & Navarro, D. (2012). Residential treatment. In J. A. Cohen, A. P. Mannarino, & E. Deblinger (Eds.), Trauma-focused CBT for children and adolescents: Treatment applications (pp. 73–102). New York: Guilford Press.
Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., & Staron, V. (2006). A pilot study of modified cognitive-behavioral therapy for childhood traumatic grief (CBT-CTG). Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 45, 1465–1473.
Cohen, J. A., Perel, J. M., DeBellis, M. D., Friedman, M. J., & Putnam, F. W. (2002). Treating traumatized children: Clinical implications of the psychobiology of posttraumatic stress disorder. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 3, 91–108. doi:10.1177/15248380020032001.
Deblinger, E., Lippmann, J., & Steer, R. A. (1996). Sexually abused children suffering posttraumatic stress symptoms: Initial treatment outcome findings. Child Maltreatment, 1, 310–321. doi:10.1177/1077559596001004003.
Deblinger, E., Mannarino, A. P., Cohen, J., Runyon, M. K., & Steer, R. A. (2011). Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for children: Impact of the trauma narrative and treatment length. Depression and Anxiety, 28, 67–75. doi:10.1002/da.20744.
Deblinger, E., Mannarino, A. P., Cohen, J. A., & Steer, R. A. (2006). Follow-up study of a multisite, randomized, controlled trial for children with sexual abuse-related PTSD symptoms: Examining predictors of treatment response. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 45, 1471–1484. doi:10.1097/01.chi.0000240839.56114.bb.
Deblinger, E., McLeer, S. V., Atkins, M., Ralph, D., & Foa, E. (1989). Post-traumatic stress in sexually abused children: Physically abused and non-abused children. International Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect, 13, 403–408. doi:10.1016/0145-2134(89)90080-X.
Deblinger, E., McLeer, S. V., & Henry, D. E. (1990). Cognitive/behavioral treatment for sexually abused children suffering post-traumatic stress: Preliminary findings. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29, 747–752. doi:10.1097/00004583-199009000-00012.
Deblinger, E., Stauffer, L. B., & Steer, R. (2001). Comparative efficacies of supportive and cognitive-behavioral group therapies for young children who have been sexually abused and their non-offending mothers. Child Maltreatment, 6, 332–343. doi:10.1177/1077559501006004006.
Deblinger, E., Steer, R. A., & Lippmann, J. (1999). Two-year follow-up study of cognitive behavioral therapy for sexually abused children suffering post-traumatic stress symptoms. Child Abuse & Neglect, 23, 1371–1378. doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(99)00091-5.
Dorsey, S., Cox, J. R., Conover, K. L., & Berliner, L. (2011, Summer). Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for children and adolescents in foster care. Children, Youth, and Family News. Available at www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/newsletter/index.aspx
Drewes, A. A., & Cavett, A. M. (2012). Play applications and skills components. In J. A. Cohen, A. P. Mannarino, & E. Deblinger (Eds.), Trauma-focused CBT for children and adolescents: Treatment applications (pp. 105–123). New York: Guilford Press.
Foa, E. B., Cashman, L., Jaycox, L., & Perry, K. (1997). The validation of a self-report measure of posttraumatic stress disorder: The Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale. Psychological Assessment, 9, 445–451. doi:10.1037//1040-3590.9.4.445.
Grosso, C. A. (2012). Children with developmental disabilities. In J. A. Cohen, A. P. Mannarino, & E. Deblinger (Eds.), Trauma-focused CBT for children and adolescents: Treatment applications (pp. 149–174). New York: Guilford Press.
Hoagwood, K. E., & The CATS Consortium. (2007). Implementing CBT for traumatized children and adolescents after September 11: Lessons learned from the Child and Adolescent Trauma Treatments and Services (CATS) Project. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 36, 581–592. doi:10.1080/15374410701662725.
Jaycox, L. H., Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., Walker, D. W., Langley, A. K., Gegenheimer, K. L., et al. (2010). Children’s mental health care following Hurricane Katrina: A field trial of trauma-focused psychotherapies. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 23, 223–231. doi:10.1002/jts.20518.
King, N., Tonge, B. J., Mullen, P., Myerson, N., Heyne, D., Rollings, S., et al. (2000). Treating sexually abused children with post-traumatic stress symptoms: A randomized clinical trial. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 59(11), 1347–1355. doi:10.1097/00004583-200011000-00008.
Kliethermes, M., & Wamser, S. (2012). Adolescents with complex trauma. In J. A. Cohen, A. P. Mannarino, & E. Deblinger (Eds.), Trauma-focused CBT for children and adolescents: Treatment applications (pp. 175–196). New York: Guilford Press.
Kolko, D., & Swenson, C. C. (2002). Assessing and treating physically abused children and their families. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Konanur, S., & Muller, R. T. (2012). A community-based study of the effectiveness of trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy with trauma-exposed school-aged children. Paper presented at the annual Australian conference of child trauma, Gold Coast, Australia.
Lieberman, A. F., & Van Horn, P. (2008). Psychotherapy with infants and young children: Repairing the effects of stress and trauma on early attachment. New York: Guilford Press.
Lyons, J. S., Weiner, D. A., & Scheider, A. (2006). A field trial of three evidence-based practices for trauma with children in state custody (Report to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services). Evanston, IL: Mental Health Resources Services and Policy Program, Northwestern University.
Mannarino, A. P., & Cohen, J. A. (1986). A clinical-demographic study of sexually abused children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 10, 17–28. doi:10.1016/0145-2134(86)90027-X.
Mannarino, A. P., Cohen, J. A., & Gregor, M. (1989). Emotional and behavioral difficulties in sexually abused girls. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 4, 437–451. doi:10.1177/088626089004004004.
McLeer, S. V., Deblinger, E., Atkins, M., Foa, E., & Ralph, D. (1988). Post-traumatic stress disorder in sexually abused children: A prospective study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 27(5), 650–654. doi:10.1097/00004583- 98809000-00024.
O’Callaghan, P., & McMullen, J. (2012). An RCT of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for sexually exploited, war affected girls in the DRC. Unpublished manuscript submitted for publication, Queens College, Belfast, Ireland (Clinical Trials ID#NCT01483261).
Piper, W. (1978). The little engine that could. New York: Amazon.
Rivera, S. (2012). Schools. In J. A. Cohen, A. P. Mannarino, & E. Deblinger (Eds.), Trauma-focused CBT for children and adolescents: Treatment applications (pp. 29–48). New York: Guilford Press.
Runyon, M. K., & Deblinger, E. (2013). Combined parent-child cognitive behavioral therapy (CPC-CBT): An approach to empower families at-risk for child physical abuse. New York: Oxford University Press.
Scheeringa, M. S., Weems, C. F., Cohen, J. A., Amaya-Jackson, L., & Guthrie, D. (2011). Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder in three through six year old children: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 52, 853–860.
Silverman, W. K., Ortiz, C. D., Viswesvaran, C., Burns, B. J., Kolko, D., Putnam, F. W., et al. (2008). Evidence-based psychosocial treatments for children and adolescents exposed to traumatic events. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 37, 156–183. doi:10.1080/15374410701818293.
Stauffer, L., & Deblinger, E. (1996). Cognitive behavioral groups for nonoffending mothers and their young sexually abused children: A preliminary treatment outcome study. Child Maltreatment, 1(1), 65–76. doi:10.1177/1077559596001001007.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mannarino, A.P., Cohen, J.A., Deblinger, E. (2014). Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. In: Timmer, S., Urquiza, A. (eds) Evidence-Based Approaches for the Treatment of Maltreated Children. Child Maltreatment, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7404-9_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7404-9_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-7403-2
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-7404-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)