Citation

Morgan-Mullane A. Clin. Soc. Work J. 2018; 46(3): 200-209.

Affiliation

New York University Silver School of Social Work, 444 13th Street #2, Brooklyn, NY 11215 USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10615-017-0642-5

PMID

30100639

PMCID

PMC6061120

Abstract

This paper explores children's trauma symptoms related to parental incarceration and lays the groundwork for the implementation of Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) within a clinical community-based setting treating children and adolescents affected by parental incarceration. Children and adolescents who experience parental incarceration are more likely to develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): depression, anger, aggression, and isolating and self-harming behaviors. Although parental incarceration is a known source of trauma, there are no documented studies examining effective clinical treatments to reduce the effects of the trauma experienced by these children and adolescents. Except for children and adolescents affected by parental incarceration, TF-CBT, a promising model for treating and reducing the symptoms of PTSD, has been successfully applied to various populations affected by trauma. Children of incarcerated parents resemble populations treated with TF-CBT in earlier applications. In this paper, we present a case illustration that examines the application of TF-CBT with one child who experienced trauma symptoms related to parental incarceration, while discussing the results of that application and the potential for broader applicability of TF-CBT within community-based organizations that treat the population of children and families affected by parental incarceration.

Language: en

Keywords

Anxiety; Childhood trauma; Children of incarcerated parents; Depression; Incarceration; Parental incarceration; Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy