Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

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.