Dallas CBT provides effective and evidence-based treatment for trauma in children and adults. Many people are exposed to traumatic events in their lifetimes: situations where they directly experience a life-threatening event, serious injury, sexual violence, or exposure to these events happening to others. When these kinds of events happen, we are expected to have strong reactions, including fear and anxiety, thoughts about the experience that “pop up” and intrude into our consciousness, memories, feelings of being tense and alert, and possible avoidance of situations or people that remind us of the experience. For a subset of people, however, these symptoms persist for a substantial period of time, and can greatly affect their ability to function in their daily lives.
Potential Trauma Symptoms:
- Personally experiencing a traumatic event, witnessing one, or hearing about a traumatic event happening to someone you are close to
- Distressing and intrusive memories, thoughts, or images of the traumatic event(s)
- Flashbacks to the experience
- Nightmares about the trauma
- Intense distress or physical symptoms (e.g., heart pounding, sweating) when reminded of the event
- Avoidance of thoughts, people, places, or activities related to the trauma
- Changes in mood
- Feeling irritable, on edge, or startling easily
- Concentration and/or sleep difficulties
Therapy for Trauma
Our therapists specialize in effective and evidence-based therapy for trauma, including Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). These therapies are among the most researched and effective treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma-related symptoms. Each one was developed specifically to help people recover after experiencing trauma and is supported by decades of clinical trials and real-world practice.
CPT, PE, and EMDR are unique approaches to trauma but they share key foundations, including education about common reactions to trauma, relaxation skill-building and nervous system regulation strategies, reprocessing of traumatic memories to allow the memory to be stored in the brain in a safer way, and helping clients safely face what they’ve been avoiding, so that the brain and body can learn: “This is no longer a danger.”
For children and adolescents, we offer Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), which is a scientifically-supported treatment for children and adolescents (ages 3 to 18) struggling with difficulties related to traumatic experiences. This treatment involves both the child and parent in a structured, skill-building program and incorporates exposure-based techniques. The goal is to help the child process and resolve distressing feelings related to the trauma and better manage problematic thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
The recommended number of sessions in trauma therapy can range from 15 to 20 sessions, and, at times, longer 90-minute sessions can be helpful. However, the length of the program can vary based on the unique needs of the individual. These sessions can be held once or twice weekly. TF-CBT for children and adolescents generally consists of 12 to 16 sessions, lasting 60 minutes each.