We are pleased to announce the release of the NCTSN Position Statement on Evidence-Based Practice, available on the NCTSN website! This position statement is intended to affirm and strengthen the NCTSN’s identity around this issue, and to help Network members and partners understand the NCTSN’s commitment to Evidence-Based Practice as an approach we strive for in delivering quality care to children and families impacted by trauma. Discussions are underway regarding the development of companion resources to assist NCTSN members and partners in further implementing an Evidence-Based Practice approach in their work. The development of this position statement and further companion resources represents the collaborative effort of many Network members including representatives from Category I, II, and III sites, as well as specific groups such as the NCTSN Steering Committee, Implementation Advisory Committee, and the NCTSN Policy Task Force, among others. For further information about the position statement and future companion resources, please contact NCCTS Deputy Director, Dr. Lisa Amaya-Jackson at lisa.amaya.jackson@duke.edu
New Podcasts!
Shaping the Clinical Content, Application, and Dissemination of an EBT
In this five-part podcast series, Patricia Resick, PhD, highlights how she developed Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), enhanced the treatment’s effectiveness, and disseminated the therapy to clinicians, agencies, and systems. With over 20 years of experience adapting the use of her evidence-based treatment (EBT), Dr. Resick reveals the steps that contributed to the successful development and evolution of an EBT.
Changes in PTSD Diagnosis and Treatment Conceptualization
Dr. Resick describes changes to the DSM-5 criteria and how those changes impact PTSD diagnoses.
What is Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT): Development and Early Research
Dr. Resick discusses the development of Cognitive Processing Therapy and reviews the 12-session CPT Protocol. A look at early studies showcases the positive impact CPT had on patients when compared to another best treatment, Prolonged Exposure.
Who Else Does CPT Work For?
Dr. Resick explores three Cognitive Processing Therapy studies that address adults who experienced child sexual abuse or partner violence, adolescents and children, and veterans and active military. Using pre-treatment, post-treatment, and long-term symptom research data, Dr. Resick demonstrates that CPT can be used to successfully treat adolescents, adult traumas, and traumas adults experienced in childhood. Additionally, Dr. Resick showcases how CPT interacts with variables such as age and trauma type.
A Change in Style and Theory
Dr. Resick shares a dismantling study involving adult women who have experienced childhood or adult traumas. Additionally, she discusses results from the study that lead to changes in CPT.
Dissemination of CPT and What We Have Learned
Dr. Resick gives viewers a look into the CPT dissemination process, including development, implementation, and results of the initiative. She also highlights CPT dissemination challenges faced by clinicians and agencies.
Upcoming Webinar in Developmental Trauma Disorder:
Identifying Critical Moments and Healing Complex Trauma SeriesReconnecting a Grieving Teen to Her Community
Focuses on the grief experiences of Geri, an adolescent, and her maternal grandmother, Mima, four months after her mother was murdered by her father. In this session, Geri talks about the challenges of attending a new, predominantly white school in her grandmother’s neighborhood where she now lives. She describes the social alienation and the academic challenges of moving in the middle of the school year. Geri and her grandmother also discuss their own grief and loss responses. By the end of the session, Geri and Mima reach an agreement that addresses both Geri’s struggles and her grandmother’s concerns.
Thursday, October 17, at 1:00 p.m. ET/ 10:00 a.m. PT
Presenters: Monique Marrow, PhD, Youth Trauma and Justice Solutions; Julian Ford, PhD, Center for the Treatment of Developmental Trauma Disorders, University of Connecticut; Ernestine Briggs-King, PhD, National Center for Child Traumatic Stress, UCLA-Duke University; Rocio Chang, PsyD, Center for the Treatment of Developmental Trauma Disorders, University of Connecticut.
Upcoming Webinar in Transforming Trauma in LGBTQ Youth Series:
Affirming Care for Transgender and Gender Expansive Youth
Wednesday, October 23, 12:00 p.m. ET/ 9:00 a.m. PT
Presenters: Kalie Lounds, LCSW, Hillside, Inc.; Megan Mooney, PhD; Saprina Matheny, MSW, LICSW; Andrew Weinberg, LCSW, Persad Center.
Provides participants with a comprehensive understanding of the needs and challenges transgender and gender-expansive youth face. This new webinar covers basic definitions surrounding gender, gender identity, and gender expression, while creating a learning environment for participants to examine their own perceptions of gender and reflect on the capacity of their role as a professional. Participants learn about developmental considerations, components of a social transition, and aspects of a medical transition. Presenters examine the impact of trauma transgender and gender-expansive youth may experience and how providers can build an affirming practice and environment for the youth and families that they serve.
Adolescent Brain Research Toolkit
Adolescent brain science showcases why engaging youth in their case planning and court hearings is critical for their child welfare case and healthy growth and development.Developed by the ABA Center on Children and the Law, Youth Engagement Project, this toolkit provides a basic framework for adolescent brain science, tips for attorneys and judges to engage youth, and additional resources.
Journal of Family Strengths: The Impact of Hurricanes on Children and Families and Interconnected Systems
Articles in this special issue journal are designed to build upon the lessons learned from past disasters. This issue focuses on some of the advances and work conducted with children and their families in light of catastrophic hurricanes in recent years.
Implementation of a Multi-Phase, Trauma-Focused Intervention Model Post-Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico:
Lessons Learned from the Field Using a Community Based Participatory Approach
Describes the process by which a partnership with the Puerto Rico Department of Education (PR-DE) was established to implement the Puerto Rico Outreach Model in Schools-Esperanza (PROMISE), beginning shortly after Hurricane Maria made landfall. Describes a multi-phase, trauma-focused intervention model implemented with Puerto Rico school personnel using a Community Based Participatory Approach.
The Louisiana Spirit Hurricane Recovery Program:
Addressing the Needs of Children and Adolescents after Catastrophic Hurricanes
Focuses on The Louisiana Spirit Hurricane Recovery Program, a statewide disaster mental health initiative implemented in response to the 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Major components of the program included community-based culturally appropriate outreach strategies, risk screening and triage, and provision of Specialized Crisis Counseling Services (SCCS). The goal was to identify children and families at risk, and deliver services to address current needs and ongoing distress to prevent longer-term mental health problems.
RECENT JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS
Written by Regina Marie Musicaro, Joseph Spinazzola, Joshua Arvidson, Sujata Regina Swaroop, Lisa Goldblatt Grace, Aliza Yarrow, Michael K. Suvak, and Julian D., Ford, “The Complexity of Adaptation to Childhood Polyvictimization in Youth and Young Adults: Recommendations for Multidisciplinary Responders,” reviews several overlapping constructs of traumatic victimizations with the ultimate goal of providing a unifying framework for conceptualizing prolonged and multiple victimization (defined in this article as PV) as a precursor to complex post-traumatic biopsychosocial adaptations, revictimization, and in some instances reenactment as a perpetrator (defined as complex trauma [CT]). This model is then applied to three socially disadvantaged victim populations—lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning; commercially sexually exploited individuals; and urban communities of color—who are at heightened risk for PV and for exhibiting complex clinical presentations to demonstrate how the PV-CT framework can destigmatize, reframe, and ultimately reduce health disparities experienced by these populations. Trauma-informed recommendations are provided to aid researchers and multidisciplinary providers working to reduce harm and improve the quality of life for polyvictims.
“Protective Factors That Buffer Against the Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma From Mothers to Young Children: A Replication Study of Angels in the Nursery” authored by Angela J. Narayan, Chandra Ghosh Ippen, William W. Harris, and Alicia F. Lieberman, examines protective effects of positive childhood memories with caregivers (“angels in the nursery”) against lifespan and intergenerational transmission of trauma. More positive, elaborated angel memories were hypothesized to buffer associations between mothers’ childhood maltreatment and their adulthood posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms, comorbid psychopathology, and children's trauma exposure. Participants were 185 mothers (M age = 30.67 years, SD = 6.44, range = 17–46 years, 54.6% Latina, 17.8% White, 10.3% African American, 17.3% other; 24% Spanish speaking) and children (M age = 42.51 months; SD = 15.95, range = 3–72 months; 51.4% male). Mothers completed the Angels in the Nursery Interview (Van Horn, Lieberman, & Harris, 2008), and assessments of childhood maltreatment, adulthood psychopathology, children's trauma exposure, and demographics. Angel memories significantly moderated associations between maltreatment and PTSD (but not depression) symptoms, comorbid psychopathology, and children's trauma exposure. For mothers with less positive, elaborated angel memories, higher levels of maltreatment predicted higher levels of psychopathology and children's trauma exposure. For mothers with more positive, elaborated memories, however, predictive associations were not significant, reflecting protective effects. Furthermore, protective effects against children's trauma exposure were significant only for female children, suggesting that angel memories may specifically buffer against intergenerational trauma from mothers to daughters.
Antonio Chirumbolo, Mara Morelli, Dora Bianchi, Roberto Baiocco, and Lina Pezzuti created “Sexting Behaviors and Cyber Pornography Addiction Among Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Alcohol Consumption.” Sexting is defined as the exchange of provocative or sexually explicit content via smartphone, Internet, or social networks. Previous studies found a relationship between cyber pornography and sexting. The present study aimed to investigate the relationships between sexting, cyber pornography, and alcohol consumption. Previous evidence underlined the disinhibitory effect of alcohol on sexual responsiveness. Therefore, the possible moderating role of alcohol consumption was investigated in the relationship between cyber pornography addiction and sexting. The Sexting Behaviors Questionnaire, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, and the Cyber Pornography Use Inventory were administered to 610 adolescents (63% females; mean age = 16.8). Boys reported significantly more sexting, alcohol consumption, and cyber pornography addiction than girls. As expected, sexting was robustly correlated with alcohol consumption and cyber pornography. In line with these expectations, we found that the relationship between cyber pornography and sexting was moderated by different level of alcohol consumption. In those who reported low levels of alcohol consumption, the relationship between cyber pornography and sexting was not significant. On the contrary, in those who reported high alcohol consumption, this relationship was stronger and significant. Thus, the results suggest that alcohol restraint could represent a protective factor against engaging in sexting, even in the presence of high cyber pornography addiction.
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This project was funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The views, policies, and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of SAMHSA or HHS.
