Daybreak has transformed its entire organization to become a trauma-informed agency. Our organization has implemented an evidence-based Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) treatment model designed to meet the unique needs of youth who have been victims of violence, abuse, neglect, and other forms of trauma.
A large majority of our clients have experienced some form of trauma whether it’s physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. Many of our clients have three or more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) and some have been victims of domestic violence, neglect, homelessness, and sex trafficking. The population we serve overcomes a number of hurdles and has turned to substance 
abuse as a way to cope with the trauma they’ve experienced. By addressing the underlying source of trauma, TF-CBT helps our clients understand and recognize the cause of their own behaviors and helps them heal in a positive manner.Developed by Drs. Anthony Mannarino, Judith Cohen and Esther Deblinger, TF-CBT was originally developed to address the needs of children who experienced sexual abuse, however, over the past 15 years it has been used and studied for many other populations of traumatized youth.
TF-CBT has six specific components that are addressed in groups and individual work. These six components include:
- Psycho-Education/Relaxation which helps clients learn about different traumas, and teaches clients relaxation techniques while addressing the biophysical outcomes of trauma and reactions
- Affective Regulation/Modulation which helps clients to differentiate between feeling and thought, as well as identifying ways to manage their feelings
- Cognitive Coping which helps youth recognize negative thoughts they have developed over their lifetime and how these negative thoughts influence their behavior and feelings
- Trauma Narrative I & II where clients write their trauma narrative during individual sessions, identify negative thoughts they’ve had and recognize what has prevented them from healing
- In-Vivo where clients participate in systematic exposure to a trauma trigger while in individual therapy to assist the client in managing their anxiety and fear such as difficulty going to bed, taking a shower, etc.
- Safety which helps clients learn to identify risky behaviors, that it is okay to say no, learn how to get help if they need it, and how to recognize risky vs. safe individuals in their lives.
Over the years, Daybreak has observed a significant lack of evidence-based trauma-informed services for youth ages 12-17 struggling with behavioral health disorders and youth who are involved in various systems of care, specifically in the geographic catchment areas of Spokane County and Clark County, WA. Services for youth that do exist tend to not focus on the core issues associated with behavioral health challenges, which oftentimes stems from unaddressed trauma. Spokane and Clark County have high rates of youth experiencing trauma in the form of violence and abuse, as well as mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideations and attempts.
According to the 2019 Changing Our Forecast Women Helping Women Fund report, one in three youth ages 10-17 reported depression, and in a 2018 Healthy Youth Survey, suicide attempts among youth ages, 10-17 increased by 448% from 2000 to 2016 in Spokane, county. According to the 2017 Spokane Regional Health District Confronting Violence Report nearly half of Spokane’s youth ages 10-24 experience violence each year, domestic violence is the leading cause of homicides in Spokane, and Spokane has higher rates of child abuse than the state of Washington. According to the 2018 Healthy Youth Survey in Clark County, 53% of Clark County 12th graders suffered from generalized anxiety disorder and reported experiencing physical abuse, 51% of Clark County 12th graders suffered from generalized anxiety disorder and reported experiencing sexual abuse, nearly 400 15 year-olds attempted suicide in 2018, 4,592 students ranging from 8th, 10th, and 12th grade reported feeling depressed, hopeless and sad for at least a two week period, and from 2007 to 2016 youth suicide in Clark County nearly tripled.
Providing trauma-focused behavioral health treatment to this population will improve health outcomes, treatment completion rates, reduce treatment recidivism, suicide, risky behaviors, substance use, and mental health disorders.
Have more questions about our TF-CBT treatment model? Call 509.624.3227
For more information about TF-CBT visit: https://www.tfcbt.org/about-tfcbt/
