What is Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT)?

TF-CBT is a highly effective, evidence-based treatment model for helping children, teens, and their families navigate the painful symptoms of trauma. When using TF-CBT, I work to establish a therapeutic relationship with youth and their parents, to:

• Help children and adolescents develop skills and healthy communication techniques.

• Give their parents resources and skills to cope with the symptoms of trauma. 

TF-CBT provides an approach of gradual exposure throughout its eight core components: 

• Psychoeducation and Parenting: In the beginning, we form the therapeutic relationship and create a sense of safety. Clients and families begin to feel better right away as they learn about trauma and its effects, explore the counseling process and how TF-CBT helps, and practice new parenting skills.

• Relaxation: Clients learn about their ability to manage distress and gain specific skills for calming. 

• Affective Regulation: Clients develop their emotional vocabulary, learn to recognize and rate the intensity of their feelings, and explore ways to appropriately express these feelings. Clients also recognize and understand conflicting feelings.

• Cognitive Coping: In this component, clients learn how feelings, thoughts, and actions are connected and identify what inaccurate or unhelpful thoughts may be contributing to their distress.

• Trauma Narration: Using the new skills they’ve gained, clients can process the most difficult parts of their trauma through gradual exposure. They develop an understanding that what happened to them does not define them, and are able to access healing and hope.  

• In Vivo Mastery of Trauma Reminders: In this phase, clients identify reminders or triggers that can disrupt their daily functioning. We work together to navigate triggers, so clients feel more control over their responses.   

• Conjoint Child-Parent Sessions:  Child clients talk with their parent, or caregiver(s) the child identifies as a trusted adult(s), about their trauma. This stage enhances their joint healing, increases feelings of safety, and develops a shared language for talking about the child’s trauma in a healthy way.   

• Enhancing Future Safety: We work to create a safety plan for the future, covering topics such as managing triggers, identifying distress, appropriate responses and interventions, things to avoid, and a crisis plan if warranted.

Why does Flourish Counseling Services offer TF-CBT therapy?

Not every therapeutic approach fits every client. TF-CBT is uniquely designed for children and adolescents, and unlike other therapies, is not appropriate for adults.  

Even though most adults work hard to keep kids safe, scary and stressful experiences still happen. Children can experience trauma caused by situations like abuse, neglect, natural disasters, domestic or community violence, loss of a loved one, serious accidents, and life-threatening illnesses.

TF-CBT takes into account the child developmental perspective to meet kids where they are. This type of therapy helps them break free from thoughts that hold them back, such as:

• “This is my fault”

• “I should or shouldn’t have” 

• “The world is not safe”

• “I can’t trust” 

• ...And many more 

There is healing power in telling your story, and TF-CBT helps children do this in a safe and healing way. This therapeutic approach allows children to take back their power after exposure to frightening, violent, and sometimes dangerous events. 

Bringing the most effective and evidence-based therapeutic approaches to my clients is a core value of my practice. Youth deserve the chance to process their trauma early, which is why I’m happy to offer this approach at Flourish.

I first completed introductory level TF-CBT training as part of my graduate work. Then, I completed optional post-graduate training through the Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy National Therapist Certification Program offered by the Florida Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers.