Brief 4 - Childline - Dealing with Difficult Topics

Cognitive Behavioural Therapies

Multi Modality Trauma Treatment

• Trauma at a young age can disrupt normal physical and emotional development and uses age-appropriate CBT strategies to help children or adolescents cope with trauma.   
• Usually conducted in school settings.
• Psychoeducation, narrative writing (writing about the traumatic experience), exposure and relaxation techniques, and cognitive restructuring.
• Specifically developed for traumatised adolescents although the nature of the program focuses on adolescents who have experienced only one traumatic event.

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy 

• Developed for children between the ages of three and eighteen.
• Help children and adolescents learn coping skills that will help them deal with traumatic memories.
•  Uses the acronym “PRACTICE”.   In treatment, children receive psycho education, are taught relaxation skills, as well as affective expression and modulation, and cognitive coping skills. Children are also encouraged to use trauma narration and to cognitively process the trauma, use in vivo exposure to master trauma reminders, have conjoint parent– child sessions, and enhance safety.

Stanford Cue-Centered Therapy 

• Designed to treat problems with a child’s cognitive, affective, behavioural and physical functioning.
• Cognitive-behavioural techniques, relaxation training, narrative use and parental coaching.
• Reduce the child’s negative thoughts and cognitions as well as sensitivity to traumatic memory. 
• Relaxation and self-empowerment.
• Helping children learn how trauma affects them, they are able to control how they respond to traumatic reminders.

Seeking Safety 

• Personal safety as a priority, integrated of trauma and substance abuse, focusing on the client’s needs, attention to the therapy process,  and focusing on cognitions, behaviours, interpersonal interactions, and case management. 

Trauma Effect Regulation

• Teach clients to understand how trauma changes the brain’s normal stress response and how to manage and control emotional responding to trauma.
•  FREEDOM acronym (focus, recognize triggers, emotion self-check, evaluate thoughts, define goals, options and make a contribution).

Exposure therapy, art therapy and EMDR, it is CBT-type approaches that seem to work best for dealing with posttraumatic symptoms.

Common features including psychoeducation to teach children about traumatic stress and the effects it can have on them, relaxation techniques,  a trauma narrative to encourage children to describe their experience in detail, and some sort of cognitive restructuring to correct maladaptive thoughts about the traumatic experience.

Talking to Adolescents

Do

• Listen
• Ask if they’ve thought about what they might need to get better. 
• Learn
• Keep things confidential.
• Normalise
• Acknowledge your fear. 
• Offer a counsellor.

Don't

• Minimise
• Let your emotions rule your response.
• Use the word crazy.
• Tell your child what they should do.
• Argue
• Make excuses or blame others. 

Encouraging boys and girls to express themselves with crayons, pencils and felt tips helps her and her team to identify the most vulnerable children.

Sometimes drawing is less intimidating than sitting and looking an adult in the eye. Instead they can talk to us while they're focusing on the paper in front of them and the picture becomes a sort of mediator.

One in six children "report" things in their artwork which staff at Kids Company see as a cause for concern.

Drawing allows the children to tell stories about what is going on in their lives.

With drawing there is a space between you and the viewer. You can both process your feelings separately.

“The Circle is a simple structured process of communication that helps participants reconnect with a joyous appreciation of themselves and others. It is designed to create a safe space for all voices and to encourage each participant to step in the direction of their best selves. Circles are relevant for all age groups. While the language may vary to be developmentally appropriate, holding certain conversations in Circle is equally beneficial for all members of the school community, from the youngest to the eldest. We believe the practice of Circles is helpful for building and maintaining healthy community in which all members feel connected and respected”.