trauma

  • Woman with her hands together during trauma informed practice training

    Trauma-Informed Practice Training: Common Trauma Myths

    Looking for trauma informed practice training? Explore common childhood trauma myths, understand PTSD in young people and strengthen your therapeutic approach.

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  • young girl sat on sofa psychologist discussing mental health

    Mentalising and Emotion Regulation in Children and Families

    Midgley et al. (2023) describe the Emotion Regulation in Children (ERiC trial), the first large randomised clinical trial designed to evaluate a brief form of Mentalization-Based Treatment for children aged 6–12 with co-occurring internalising and externalising difficulties. The intervention aims to strengthen children’s and parents’ ability to understand behaviour in relation to thoughts, feelings and intentions, seeking to improve emotion regulation within the child and across the parent–child relationship.

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  • Portrait of little girl aged 5. Moody and confused girl. Mistreated child.

    Why Trauma-Focused CBT Isn’t Reaching Children

    Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT) is one of the best-supported psychological treatments for children and adolescents with post-traumatic stress symptoms. Yet the existence of an evidence-based treatment does not mean that children and families can access it in routine care. Blog by Professor Francisco Musich.

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  • very sad boy. offended a child. close up portrait looking at the camera. feels lonely misses parents. freedom Ukraine

    Assessing and Treating PTSD in Young Children 

    Learn how PTSD appears in young children, why it’s often missed, and how PTSD-YC criteria and CBT-3M improve early identification and treatment. Blog by Professor Francisco Musich.

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  • dark haired boy swinging on a swing

    Trauma in Care Experienced Children: Improving Access to Trauma-Informed Care

    Care experienced children and young people are much more likely to experience trauma and trauma-related mental health difficulties than their peers. Yet many do not receive timely support or access to treatments that are backed by evidence. Recent research highlights that the challenge is not simply identifying distress but ensuring that care-experienced children can access effective interventions, particularly trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapies (TF-CBTs). In this blog, we explore these barriers, as well as what effective trauma-informed care could look like. Blog by Professor Francisco Musich.

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  • Reflections from the room

    Relational trauma: looking beyond the child

    When a child has been affected by relational trauma, it might be easy to assume that the child is the one who needs to be treated. But in practice, working with the child matters just as much as working with the adults who care for them and with the everyday relationships the child lives inside. That second part seems to be the one most easily overlooked.

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  • Autism concept. Lonely little boy covering his ears outdoors 1

    Trauma and Autism: How It Affects Children and Young People

    Autistic children and young people are more likely to experience adversity and traumatic events than their non-autistic peers. Yet, trauma is often missed in autism. Why? Professor Francisco Musich explains.

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  • Kim Golding

    Meet the expert: Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, Parenting and Practice (DDP) intervention, with Dr. Kim Golding CBE

    We caught up with the presenter – Dr. Kim Golding CBE, a clinical psychologist and consultant and trainer, to talk about in DDP – about Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, Parenting and Practice (DDP) intervention.

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  • mother child smiling selfie

    Identifying Mental Health Difficulties in Children Living in Care: Is the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire enough?

    This blog, by Dr. Eva Sprecher, shares new findings that suggest current UK practice may not be sufficient for identifying children in care struggling with their mental health – and we suggest what might help improve things.

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  • shutterstock 2161711363 scaled

    Supporting Children and Young People with Complex Trauma Histories: Rethinking Readiness for Treatment 

    Children and young people who have experienced trauma often present with a range of emotional, behavioural, and relational difficulties. There is robust evidence that trauma-focused psychological therapies are effective for PTSD in children and adolescents. Nonetheless, clinicians sometimes hesitate to offer these approaches to young people whose circumstances are complicated—for example, those with ongoing instability, high levels of distress, suicide risk, or multiple comorbidities. Some are told they are ‘not ready’, or that therapy should wait until other difficulties are managed. However, current evidence suggests that complexities are not, in themselves, a reason to delay treatment.

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