Behavioral Health Recovery Strategies

The following are recovery strategies that involve stabilizing and restoring all behavioral health supports, returning children and their families to their pre-disaster level of functioning, and/or creating a new normal.

[Insert image here related to recovery strategies]

Licensed Behavioral Health Clinicians

Evidence-based interventions shown to be effective for children and adolescents in the response to disasters are trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) and trauma and grief component therapy for adolescents (TGCT-A). TF-CBT core treatment components are summarized by the acronym PRACTICE (psychoeducation, parenting skills, relaxation skills, affect modulation skills, cognitive coping skills, trauma narrative and processing of the traumatic event, in vivo mastery of trauma reminders, conjoint child-parent sessions, and enhancing safety). TF-CBT also has an add-on grief component to core treatment with its features summarized by the acronym GRIEF (grief psychoeducation, resolving ambivalent feelings, integrating positive memories, enhancing current relationships, and finishing treatment and graduation). Training can be obtained in-person and online. This training is required if a behavioral health clinician wants to obtain certification. TGCTA is a modular-based approach. This intervention addresses a broad range of clinical problems such as coping with reactions to distress, managing reminders of trauma or loss, and addressing the interplay between posttraumatic stress and grief. TGCTA can be adapted for individual or group intervention. Training is available, and a manual can be used for facilitation.

Related readings:

Saltzman, W., Layne, C. M., Pynoos, R. S., Olafson, E., Kaplow, J., & Boat, B. (2017). Trauma and grief component therapy for adolescents: A modular approach to treating traumatized and bereaved youth. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316443132