NCTSN's Accelerated Projects Progressing On Schedule
The NCTSN's Accelerated Collaborative Projects (ACPs), which have been identified as priority products for the NCTSN to complete this year, are generally progressing on schedule and within budget.
These seven ACPs have been aligned with the efforts of several of the NCTSN Collaborative Groups. For many NCTSN centers these projects are the primary way they are working collaboratively with other NCTSN centers.
The ACPs are serving as a product development model to allow NCTSN members to collaborate and create products that will have a positive national impact on the treatment of traumatized children. Marketing and dissemination plans are currently under development for release of these products over the next year. The seven ACPs for 2004 include:
• Toolkit for Hospital Personnel – A toolkit of materials to help identify signs and symptoms of traumatic stress in children for hospital personnel and parents.
• Children of War Educational Package – A training video and discussion materials to educate school personnel on refugee trauma. Footage from the Children of War theatrical production to be utilized.
• Child Welfare System Training Curriculum – A training package for professionals working in the child welfare system on identifying traumatic stress and making appropriate referrals.
• Domestic Violence/First Responder Protocols – An online training package for law enforcement other first responders focusing on responding to domestic violence situations when children are involved.
• Measures Review Database – A web-based compilation of measure reviews commonly used in the identification and treatment of traumatized children.
• Traumatic Grief Training Package – A training package including an intervention manual, VHS training videos, readings, and resources for clinicians to assist in improved identification, understanding, and treatment of child traumatic grief.
• Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) Implementation Resource Kit for Sexually Abused Children – Development of a comprehensive implementation package for TF-CBT intervention specific to sexually abused children.
Questions about these projects should be e-mailed to Debbie Ling, project manager for the National Center.
Save the Date—2005 All Network Meeting Dates Announced
The NCTSN's 2005 All Network Meeting will be held March 2-5, 2005 at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center in the Northern Virginia / Washington, DC area. NCTSN members are encouraged to attend this meeting and mark this date now in their calendars. Additional information will be released to NCTSN members as it becomes available.
National Center to Exhibit at American Academy of Pediatrics Annual Convention in October
The National Center has arranged to be a first-time exhibitor at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2004 National Conference and Exhibition. This event is scheduled for October 9-13, 2004, in San Francisco, California.
National Center leadership invites all attendees of this event to visit the display booth for information on the latest NCTSN products and materials. If NCTSN members plan to attend, please notify Bob Franks, director of the NRC, so the National Center may track how many NCTSN members plan to attend. For additional information about this event, visit the AAP Website.
NCTSN In the News
Media coverage is captured by the National Center when references to the NCTSN are included in the story.
When NCTSN members work with the media, the NRC requests that NCTSN members mention their center's participation in the NCTSN and notify the NRC of any media activity.
The following media outlets recently published information on child traumatic stress and the NCTSN:
• May 29th issue of The Dallas Morning News featured an article titled, "Domestic Violence Within," which cited the NCTSN and NCTSN member Alicia Lieberman with the University of California at San Francisco and the Early Trauma Treatment Network.
• June 2nd issue of USA Today featured an article titled, "A Science 'Orphan Area,'" which cited Robert Pynoos, co-director of the National Center, and listed the NCTSN Website as a resource for facts on children's mental disorders and for support for families.
• June 12th issue of The Baltimore Sun featured an article titled, "Trauma Can Cause Kids Lasting Troubles," which cited John Fairbank, co-director of the National Center.
• June issue of Psychiatric Services, a journal of the American Psychiatric Association, featured an article titled, "Patient Safety Forum: Consumer and Advocacy Perspectives," by Jenifer Wood, managing director, and Christine Siegfried, network liaison manager, both with the National Center.
NCTSN centers or members that have been in the news and are not mentioned above, please e-mail this information to Patrick Cody, the National Center's media consultant.
Designated Media Contacts and Areas of Expertise Still Needed from Majority of NCTSN Centers
The NRC requests that each NCTSN center identify and provide the name of its designated media relations contact. Please include the contact name(s), daytime phone, e-mail, pager, and cell phone information and the center's area(s) of expertise in the field of child traumatic stress. This information, along with any questions, may be e-mailed to the NRC or faxed to 919-667-9578.
NCTSN Brochures Now Available to NCTSN Members
The NRC has developed an NCTSN brochure to help raise public awareness about the NCTSN and the issue of child traumatic stress. The NRC will be distributing 100 copies of this brochure to each NCTSN center throughout the month of July. NCTSN members are encouraged to distribute these brochures at their centers and at meetings they present at or attend. If additional brochures are requested, the NRC will provide those materials as resources allow. However, NCTSN centers can purchase their own quantities of the NCTSN brochure by e-mailing the NRC.
Summary of NCTSN Phase One Collaboration Evaluation Report Now Available to NCTSN Members
The executive summary of the "Collaboration Evaluation Report" conducted by ABT Associates is currently available on the members-only portion of the NCTSN Website. This summary provides a general description of overall NCTSN operations and functioning, followed by an assessment of the factors that facilitate and inhibit NCTSN collaboration. Recommendations for improving the collaboration in the NCTSN are then provided, followed by a summary of key findings and implications for the next phase evaluation. To learn more about this report, e-mail Andrew Broughton, Monitoring & Evaluation and Technology Consultant.
NRC Continues to Call for NCTSN Assistance in Building the National Library and Website
The NRC is continuing the important process of collecting materials for the NCTSN’s National Library and website. To achieve this goal, the NRC requests that any relevant resources from NCTSN centers relating to the topic of child traumatic stress be sent to the NRC librarian as soon as possible. Materials to be submitted include, but are not limited to, journal articles, book chapters, guides, manuals, training curricula, white papers, videos, DVDs, etc. Please send materials to:
Robert James, Interim Librarian
National Resource Center
National Center for Child Traumatic Stress
Duke University School of Medicine
905 West Main Street, Suite 23-D
Durham, NC 27701
Phone: 919-660-1157
Fax: 919-681-7599
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The Southwest Michigan Children's Trauma Assessment Center
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The Southwest Michigan Children's Trauma Assessment Center (CTAC) serves traumatized children through comprehensive assessments that utilize a transdisciplinary model (medicine, speech and language pathology, occupational therapy, psychology, and social work) that assess children across multiple domains. Assessment of prenatal alcohol and drug exposure is a standard component in the CTAC protocol.
CTAC ascribes to an ecological approach that recognizes the parent/caregiver of children as essential to understanding a child's current functioning. The assessment focuses on neurodevelopmental issues including traumatic effects (e.g., attachment, affect regulation, dissociation, cognition, and alexithymia), pragmatic language skills, and social interaction (e.g., internalizing and externalizing behavior).
CTAC serves primarily child welfare agencies from 14 rural and one urban counties within western Michigan. CTAC provides initial assessment to six children per week and annually to over 300 children ranging in ages from four months to 16 years. Post-assessment CTAC interventions include: meeting with caregivers to explain assessment findings and outline recommendations; pharmacological consults with CTAC's behavioral pediatrician; in-home occupational therapy services; participation in school meetings; and testifying on the best interest of children. More than 1,200 children have received assessment and subsequent services since CTAC's inception in 2000.
In addition to providing initial assessments, CTAC is also conducting these grant projects:
• Implementation of a School Intervention Project (SIP) model will be piloted in regular, special, and self-contained classrooms in the Kalamazoo Public School District. The goal of the SIP model is to increase high-risk traumatized students' academic and social skills through the provision of prevention and intervention strategies within the context of a safe classroom culture. School personnel receive training and follow-up support that encourages responses to student behavior based on an understanding of trauma including the underlying causes of emotional and behavioral dysregulation.
• A training program that provides specific training for child welfare, mental health, education, legal, law enforcement, and medical professionals. An important landmark in this training program has been the agreement with the state of Michigan 's Child Welfare Institute to train all incoming child workers. Since October 2003 over 64 hours of training to 950 individuals in 31 sessions have been conducted. CTAC has developed trainings on trauma education, assessment methodologies, and treatment techniques/interventions to meet its goal of four monthly trainings.
• The Children's Alexithymia Measure Project is developing an instrument to measure alexithymia (difficulty with identifying and expressing feelings) in children who have experienced trauma. The project team is presently selecting items from an item pool developed from data collected through six focus groups with caregivers and professionals who work with children. The team will send the preliminary items for review by an expert panel in the next two months.
• CTAC is incorporating the NCTSN core data set variables into the CTAC database to capture data collected through child assessments. CTAC has an SPSS database of 800 children that includes over 900 variables. CTAC was one of the first NCTSN centers to participate in the core dataset training and will be a pilot site for transfer of data back to the NCTSN.
Finally, CTAC participates in multiple NCTSN activities including the Systems Integration Working Group, the Child Welfare Accelerated Collaborative Project, the Complex Trauma Working Group, the Trauma-Focused and Abuse-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy training sessions, the Training Committee, the Pharmacology Committee, the School Interventions Committee, the Sexual Abuse Task Force, and the Measurements Committee.
“CTAC's ultimate goal is to have the multiple systems that care for traumatized children shift their perceptions so as to implement trauma-sensitive interventions that maximize the chances for children to achieve personal, academic, and social success," said James Henry, program director for CTAC. "Participating in the NCTSN is critical to our goal accomplishment because of the knowledge, expertise, and enormous support it provides.”
For additional information about this NCTSN center, visit the CTAC Website, e-mail James Henry or call 269-387-7073.
Osofsky, Joy D. (2004). Young Children and Trauma: Intervention and Treatment. The Guilford Press. June 2004.
Green, Virginia L., Carothers, Carol, Discoll, Peter, Hunt-Wilson, Dollie, Siegfried, Christine, and Wood, Jenifer (2004). Patient Safety Forum: Consumer and Advocacy Perspectives. Psychiatric Services, A Journal of the American Psychiatric Association. June 2004, Volume 55, No. 6.
Ko, Susan J., Wasserman, Gail A., McReynolds, Larkin S., and Katz, Laura M. (2004). Contribution of Parent Report to Voice DISC-IV Diagnosis Among Incarcerated Youth. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Volume 43, Number 7, July 2004.
Basic Clinical Practices: Treating Child Sexual Abuse Trauma
October 4-8, 2004 - Huntsville, Alabama
The NCTSN's National Children’s Advocacy Center (NCAC) is offering a newly created training session titled, "Basic Clinical Practices: Treating Child Sexual Abuse Trauma." This training session will be offered October 4-8, 2004 at the NCAC's Training Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Through funding by the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative, the NCAC is offering a limited number of scholarships to other NCTSN centers. This training is specifically designed for mental health clinicians who have responsibility for providing treatment to child victims of sexual abuse. Attendees must be professionals who are either new therapists or are new to providing therapy to this population. The deadline for contacting the NCAC with interest in this scholarship is Friday, July 23, 2004.
To learn more about this scholarship opportunity, e-mail Emily Donaldson, training program manager, call 256-327-3747, or visit the NCAC Website.
Cybele M. Merrick joins the National Resource Center at Duke and the National Center for PTSD at Dartmouth as a research associate. Cybele can be reached by phone at 802-295-9363 extension 5902 and by fax at 802-296-5135.
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NCTSN Track Featured at the August APSAC 2004 Colloquium
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) has been working closely with the National Center in planning the Pre-Conference NCTSN Training and NCTSN Colloquium Track at this year's colloquium. This year's event is scheduled for August 4-7, 2004, in Hollywood, California.
The NCTSN tracks will focus on the numerous training requests received by the National Center, including training on trauma-based interventions. "We view this as an NCTSN centralized training opportunity for many centers, particularly new centers, to take advantage of training and presentations on a range of treatment models, trauma-focused issues, and projects within the NCTSN," said Robert Pynoos, co-director of the National Center.
The NCTSN pre-conference workshops, to be held Wednesday, August 4, 2004, will include presentations by the following NCTSN members:
• "Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children and Parents" by
Judy Cohen, Tony Mannarino, and Esther Deblinger.
• "Parent-Child Psychotherapy for Young Children Exposed to Domestic Violence" by
Alicia Lieberman, Patricia Van Horn, and Chandra Ghosh Ippen.
• "Terrorism and Disaster: A Public Mental Health Approach for Children and Families" by
Melissa Brymer, Robin Gurwitch, Merritt Schreiber, and Jon Shaw.
• "State-of-the-Art Assessment for Traumatized Children" by
Alan Steinberg, Robert Murphy, Patrick Loebs, William Saltzman, and Cheryl Lanktree.
Additionally,
APSAC offers several distinct educational tracks throughout its colloquium, including child protection, medical, legal, law enforcement, mental health, multicultural, education, and integrated tracks. This year, APSAC is adding a NCTSN track, consisting of presentations by NCTSN members that focus on NCTSN-related activities. Some of the NCTSN presentations include:
• " Implementation of an Effective School Based Intervention for Exposure to Community Violence"
by
Marleen Wong, Lisa Jaycox, and Brad Stein.
• " Transporting Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Child Physical Abuse to Community Settings: Promoting Effectiveness and Dissemination" by
David J. Kolko, Barbara Baumann, and Amy Herschell.
• " Responding to Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: Addressing Relationship with Abusive Fathers" by
Betsy McAlister Groves.
• " Integrated Treatment of Abused Children, Adolescents, and Their Families: A Comprehensive Community-Based Model" by
Cheryl Lanktree.
• " Developing Trauma-Related Treatment Methods for Native American Children" by
Dolores Subia Bigfoot and Lorena J. Burris.
NCTSN members that register by July 29 will receive the discounted registration price of $310, which includes attendance at the NCTSN Pre-Conference Institute at no additional charge. In addition to these training opportunities, Robert Pynoos will be the keynote speaker on Thursday, August 5, 2004.
For additional information on this colloquium, or to register for this event, visit the APSAC Website or call
405-271-2931.
NCTSN's Southern Regional Learning Collaborative Utilizes Intranet to Foster Dialogue and Progress
In order to enhance the Southern Regional Learning Collaborative with its peer support and opportunities to share knowledge associated with trauma-focused cognitive behavioral core concepts across multiple states, the National Center has developed an Intranet for members of this collaborative.
The software package is accessible by group members only and provides the following unique benefits:
• A discussion board where group members can post questions that a group of NCTSN experts will answer.
• A contacts board where complete contact information is listed for all group members.
• An announcement board where group members can post ideas, suggestions, progress, etc.
• An events board where group members can post details about upcoming events and coordinate group activities at these events.
• A tasks board where homework and reading assignments can be placed for group review.
• A shared documents board where accessibility to pertinent group work documents is posted for all members.
"This new Intranet allows for dynamic, real-time dialogue among a working group that is spread across multiple states," said Jan Markiewicz, network liaison for the National Center. "The use of this technology helps the group to discuss issues of implementation and practice challenges and successes while building a sense of team that is critical to our mission."
For NCTSN members to learn more about building an Intranet for their NCTSN collaborative activities, e-mail Peter Kung, director of Informatics and Technology for the National Center, or call 310-235-2633 extension 237.
NCTSN's Forensic Medical Exam Working Group Initiates Survey of NCTSN Centers
The Forensic Medical Exam Working Group is preparing to survey NCTSN centers with pediatric medical providers to better understand how these highly specialized services are conducted as part of sexual abuse and physical abuse exams.
The working group is particularly interested in mental health and other approaches these providers use to reduce stress related to the exam and their link to further mental health services.
For any questions about this working group, e-mail Lori Frasier, chairwoman of the Forensic Medical Exam Working Group, and member of the NCTSN's CTTN-Intermountain West Center.
NCTSN's Complex Trauma Working Group Identifies Next Steps
The NCTSN's Complex Trauma Working Group had a face-to-face meeting in Boston to discuss its next steps and identify potential products. These tasks include:
• Write a policy brief on complex trauma
• Create a grid of promising practices for treating complex trauma
• Adopt a Attachment, Regulation, and Competencies: A Framework for Intervention as a conceptual model which has been developed by Kristine Jentoft at Directions for Mental Health, Inc.
• Fast track the Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation model which has been developed by Marylene Cloitre at the National Center on Family and Homelessness
• Adapt the complex trauma white paper for consumers (i.e., parents, teachers)
• Continue to address diagnostic classification issues (i.e., posttraumatic stress disorder vs. complex trauma)
The group also reviewed and discussed promising interventions for treating complex trauma and dedicated time to considering how best to further the priorities of implementation, adoption, adaptation, and dissemination of the NCTSN's Learning from Research and Clinical Practice and Training Cores.
For more information about the Complex Trauma Working Group e-mail Stefanie Smith, interim group chairwoman.
NCTSN Policy Core Summit Convenes in August
The NCTSN's Policy Core, which provides policy leadership to the NCTSN, will bring together approximately 35 NCTSN members to focus on developing a policy agenda, which is one of seven NCTSN strategic priorities.
This summit, to be held August 17-18, 2004, in Washington, DC, will focus on formulating a strategic policy agenda that addresses the needs of traumatized children and their families nationwide. Strategic alliances will be identified around these activities, as will potential products that can highlight the issues that affect the nation's traumatized children.
For more information about this summit, e-mail Ramesh Raghavan, director of the Policy Core of the NCTSN.
NCTSN presents at the National Emergency Medical Services Providers Conference in Washington, DC
Nancy Kassam-Adams of the
Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress (CPTS) at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Bob Franks, director of the National Resource Center, presented to several hundred emergency medical professionals from across the country at the National Emergency Medical Service Providers Conference on June 29.
Their presentation, The National Child Traumatic Stress Network: A New Resource for the EMSC Community was intended to inform meeting participants about the NCTSN, familiarize the audience with some of the NCTSN's collaborative activities and products related to emergency medical professionals, and set the groundwork for future collaboration and partnership between both organizations.
During the conference, Malcolm Gordon from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration also staffed a information table during a networking luncheon providing information to attendees about the NCTSN. For more information about the EMS-C or the medical trauma working group, e-mail Nancy Kassam-Adams.
NCTSN's KC Metro Presents at the 11th Annual National Conference on Children and Law
The Kansas City Metropolitan Child Traumatic Stress Program (KC Metro),
sponsored by the University of Missouri-Kansas City,
recently presented material on one of the collaborative efforts within KC Metro and the NCTSN at the 11th Annual National Conference on Children and Law. This conference, co-sponsored by the American Bar Association and the American Psychological Association, took place June 3-6, 2004, in Washington, D.C. To learn more about this presentation, e-mail Sharon Portwood or call 816-235-1064.
NCTSN's Child Trauma Treatment Network—Intermountain West Conference to Host Multiple NCTSN Presentations; Attendee Registration Already Full
The Child Trauma Treatment Network - Intermountain West (CTTN-IW) conference is being held on September 8-10, 2004, in Snowbird, Utah. This conference is being coordinated by Primary Children's Center for Safe and Healthy Families and is primarily aimed at providing training for members of the CTTN-IW.
Conference registration is currently full. However, attendees will experience an information-packed conference that will begin with a keynote presentation provided by John Fairbank, co-director of the National Center.
Additionally, many NCTSN members will provide presentations including:
• Anthony Mannarino and Judy Cohen–"Advanced Training on Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment with Sexually Abused Children and their Non-offending Parents"
• Laura Mayorga and Patricia Van Horn – "Introductory and Advanced Training on the Treatment of Children Exposed to Domestic Violence Using Child-Parent Psychotherapy"
• Anne Kazak – "Traumatic Stress Associated with Pediatric Illness and Injury"
• Jill Ehrenreich and David Barlow – "Treating the Emotional Disorders in Adolescence: Applications for Comorbid Trauma and Substance Abuse"
• Anthony Urquiza – "Parent Child Interactive Therapy (PCIT) Training"
• Melissa Runyan and Leah Behl – "Part I and Part II: Dyadic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Physical Abuse"
• Audra Langley and Sheryl Kataoka – "MSHS - Part I and Part II: Cognitive Behavioral Interventions for Traumatized School Children (CBITS)"
• Nora Baladerian – "Providing Mental Health Treatment for Traumatized Children with Developmental Disabilities"
• Dan Smith and Benjamin Saunders – "Focus Group to Help Develop Internet-based Modules for Teaching Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy"
• Douglas Goldsmith – "Using Attachment Theory to Guide Interventions with Traumatized Children"
• Nora Baladerian – "Case Consultation on Providing Mental Health Treatment for Traumatized Developmentally Disabled Children"
• Karen Mallah – "Working with Culturally Isolated Youth with Oppressed/Disenfranchised Groups"
To learn more about this conference, e-mail Susan Stewart, CTTN-IW primary contact or call 801-265-3180.
NCTSN Members Contribute to New Book
on How Trauma Affects Very Young Children
Members of the NCTSN recently contributed and edited a book entitled, "Young Children and Trauma: Intervention and Treatment." This book provides knowledge and treatment approaches for working with very young children affected by trauma.
NCTSN's Early Trauma Treatment Network members that participated in this publication are Joy D. Osofsky, Marliyn Augustyn, Michelle Bosquet, Nancy Freeman, Sherryl Scott Heller, Julie A. Larrieu, Valerie Wajda-Johnson, Charles H. Zeanah, Jr., Betsy McAlister Groves, Chandra Ghosh Ippen, Alicia F. Lieberman, and Patricia Van Horn.
E-mail Guilford Publications, Inc. or call 800-365-7006 for additional ordering information.
New Fact Sheets on Trauma Among Youth in the Juvenile Justice System Now on NCTSN Website
Four new fact sheets that address the high percentage of children with posttraumatic stress in the U.S. juvenile justice system are now available on the NCTSN Website.
These materials are intended to help juvenile justice personnel, community leaders, policy makers, teachers, parents, and families understand and make good decisions on behalf of children in the juvenile justice system.
The four new fact sheets address:
• Trauma among girls in the juvenile justice system.
• Victimization and juvenile offending.
• Assessing exposure to psychological trauma and posttraumatic stress in juvenile justice population.
• Trauma-focused interventions for youth in the juvenile justice system.
These fact sheets were developed by members of the NCTSN's Juvenile Justice Working Group along with the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and the Yale/UConn Center for Children Exposed to Violence. For additional information about this working group, e-mail Susan Ko, director of the Service Systems Core of the NCTSN.
New Resources on NCTSN Website Help Parents, Professionals Address Child Traumatic Grief
The NCTSN Childhood Traumatic Grief Task Force Educational Materials Subcommittee has developed new resources to help parents, teachers, physicians, and members of the press address child traumatic grief. These materials are available on the NCTSN Website.
This fall, the NCTSN Childhood Traumatic Grief Task Force will release further educational and clinical materials for the general public and mental health professionals, including educational and training videos with an accompanying curriculum for service providers.
For additional information abut this task force, e-mail Robert Franks, director of the National Resource Center of the NCTSN.
Facts on Traumatic Stress and Children with Developmental Disabilities Now on NCTSN Website
The NCTSN Adapted Trauma Treatment Standards Work Group has developed a fact sheet to educate the general public and mental health professionals on the range of issues that affect traumatized children with developmental disabilities. This comprehensive report is currently available on the NCTSN Website. For more information about this topic or this work group, e-mail lead author Margaret Charlton,
of the NCTSN's Aurora Mental Health Center.
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