Trauma Healing Program at Youth Haven

Service to Evaluate

           This program evaluation will focus on the trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) for children

and adolescents (both male and female) between the ages of 6 and 18 who have posttraumatic stress disorder

(PTSD) as a result of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as abuse and violence.

Program Goal

       The goal of this program is to reduce symptoms of PTSD in traumatized children and youth aged 6-18 who have been admitted to Youth Haven.

Evaluation Question

       Is Youth Haven's TF-CBT program effective in significantly reducing symptoms of PTSD in traumatized children and adolescents between the ages of 6 and 18 who were exposed to adverse childhood experiences?

Evidence

       In order to set the criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of this program, we must first have a clear understanding of what childhood trauma is. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines trauma as the presence of "Three Es": an event, series of events, or condition that an individual experiences, which is physically or emotionally harmful or life-threatening, surpasses one's usual coping mechanisms, and leads to enduring adverse effects on mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being (Rich & DiGregorio, 2025). As a result, the standard that must be met to demonstrate that the program's effectiveness goal has been achieved is the significant reduction of PTSD symptoms in minors who have been admitted to the trauma recovery program at Youth Haven from the time of admission to the time of discharge (nine months).

Data Collection

        The variable that must be assessed to offer evidence for the success of this treatment is posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). The symptoms of PTSD in individuals over the age of six, as defined by the DSM-5 TR, include exposure to a traumatic event (either extreme or repeated), symptoms of intrusion, persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with trauma, alterations in cognition/mood, and disturbances in arousal and reactivity that persist for more than one month and cause clinically significant distress in all areas of functioning (APA, 2022). The data collection methods for PTSD symptomology will include clinical interviews, direct observations, and self-report questionnaires. Data collection could include, for example, the Child PTSD Symptom Scale for DSM-5 (CPSS-5) with self-report (CPSS-5-SR) and interview versions (CPSS-5-I), the Short Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Rating Interview (SPRINT), and direct observation notes (Foa et al., 2018; Connor & Davidson, 2001).

Resources

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed., text rev.).    

https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787

Davidson, J. R., & Colket, J. T. (1997). The eight-item treatment-outcome post-traumatic stress disorder scale: A brief

              measure to assess treatment outcome in post-traumatic stress disorder. International Clinical 

              Psychopharmacology, 12(1), 41–45. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004850-199701000-00006

Foa, E. B., Johnson, K. M., Feeny, N. C., & Treadwell, K. R. (2001). The child PTSD Symptom Scale: A preliminary

               examination of its psychometric properties. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 30(3), 376–384.

ttps://doi.org/10.1207/S15374424JCCP3003_9

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