Trauma-Focused Prevention and Treatment Services

Trauma-Focused Prevention and Treatment Programs

Many survivors or witnesses of sexual and non-sexual assault, combat, accidents, natural disasters, a sudden death of a loved one, domestic violence, contracting a life-threatening illness, or other traumatic events, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other associated conditions. They may continue to feel heightened anxiety, helplessness, guilt, shame, and/or anger long after the trauma. Symptoms of PTSD include intrusive memories, flashbacks, nightmares, unhelpful beliefs about themselves, others, and the world, avoidance of trauma reminders, sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating, hyper-alertness, and loss of interest in usual activities. In children, you may also notice acting out behaviors, complaints of physical distress like stomachaches, and behavior typical of earlier developmental stages. In the Trauma-Focused Treatment Programs, we offer highly effective psychotherapy treatments that have undergone rigorous research trials to determine their efficacy, i.e., “evidence-based,” for children, adolescents, and adults who continue to suffer with PTSD and other long-term trauma-related symptoms and problems.

The following evidence-based cognitive and behavioral therapies (CBT) for PTSD are offered:

• Prolonged Exposure (PE)
• Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
• Trauma-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children (TF-CBT)
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy-Prolonged Exposure (DBT-PE)

All of these treatments are CBT-based and consist of on average 8 to 15 weekly or twice weekly individual therapy sessions. Sessions can last anywhere from 45 - 90 minutes, which would be determined in collaboration with your clinician, and are designed to enable trauma survivors to overcome their fear, anxiety, and stress.

Suitability for the program and the above therapies is determined through an initial evaluation with a clinician with specialized training in the Trauma Program. Patients are interviewed at length and complete a number of assessment forms to ensure an accurate diagnosis. The information gathered during this evaluation is used to determine if the person has PTSD and/or other trauma related difficulties and to determine which treatment best matches the patient's needs. The results of the evaluation are discussed with the patient and treatment recommendations are offered. If the evaluation indicates that the treatment programs at CBC are appropriate for the problem, then arrangements for treatment will be made following the evaluation.

If you have any questions about the services we provide in the Trauma Program, feel free to reach out to the Director of the Trauma Focused Treatment Programs, Dr. William Buerger at (914) 385-1150, extension 4726.

More Resources:

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) - An organization with the National Institute of health dedicated to mental health research: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml

International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies- An organizations that is dedicated to sharing information about the effects of trauma and the discovery and dissemination of knowledge about policy, program and service initiatives that seek to reduce traumatic stressors and their immediate and long-term consequences: https://istss.org/home.aspx

Center for PTSD (NCPTSD) - A center established by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs to improve the well-being of U.S. veterans through PTSD research and education: www.ncptsd.va.gov/

For more information and resources on childhood trauma, we recommend the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN): http://www.nctsn.org/