What is the MCCT?
The Montana Center for Childhood Trauma is a program of the Division of Educational Research and Service funded by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) under a four year grant (fall 2003- summer 2008). In 2004, the MCCT was formalized by the Montana University System Board of Regents.
The Center continues its work through behavioral health grants, fee for service consultations, and collaboration with DERS' National Native Children's Trauma Center. The work of the National Center (funded by NCTSN fall 2007) is a direct output and expansion of the Montana Center's earlier activities and work scope.
The MCCT's current work includes trauma intervention training for schools, suicide prevention activities, and child-oriented behavioral health collaborations with law enforcement.
Why the need for childhood trauma interventions?
It is reported that 10-50% of children in the United States are victims of violence at school, in the home, or within their community. As a result, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has become an escalating concern in our society. Unfortunately, PTSD often co-occurs with other disorders such as depression and can lead to problematic behaviors such as suicide attempts and juvenile delinquency. In addition, research suggests that children who live in impoverished conditions and who are members of minority groups may be more likely to develop PTSD.
What we do:
The Montana Center for Childhood Trauma (MCCT) team along with school-based counselors and other school professionals work together to implement Cognitive Behavioral Interventions for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) in schools not receiving services under the National Native Children's Trauma Center.
CBITS is a 10 week evidence-based small group treatment procedure with an emphasis on symptom reduction and skill building, that has been used effectively with children ages 8 to 19 who have experienced significant traumatic experiences and are suffering from emotional and/or behavioral problems related to that experience. CBITS was developed and manualized by UCLA and RAND in collaboration with the Los Angeles Unified School District with Asian, Eastern European, and Latino immigrant populations and was validated in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA; Stein at al., 2003). Research demonstrates that it is an effective method for decreasing symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression in Native American secondary students (Morsette, Schuldberg, Swaney, Stolle & van den Pol, 2006).
In addition to CBITS, the MCCT provides training on and helps communities implement the following trauma related interventions:
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Support for Students Exposed to Trauma (SSET)
SSET is an adaptation of CBITS for elementary students and can be delivered by teachers in order to support and reinforce the skills that students are learning in CBITS groups .
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Psychological First Aid (PFA)
PFA is an evidence-based approach to assisting people in the immediate aftermath of disaster. Its aim is to reduce initial distress and to foster short and long-term coping and adaptive skills. As a trauma-informed service to guide recovery, various versions of PFA have been developed: including triage, assessment, psychoeducation, and referral to mental health services for individuals who experience symptoms of trauma.
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Child Development Community Policing (CD-CP)
The CD-CP model program, developed by the Yale Child Study Center in partnership with the City of New Haven and the New Haven Department of Police Services, works collaboratively among law enforcement, mental health professionals, child protective services, and other community agencies to help children and families who have been exposed to violence and to develop a better understanding about the relationship between violence exposure and symptoms of traumatic stress.
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Question Persuade Refer Gatekeeper Training (QPR) - QPR is a simple educational program that teaches ordinary citizens how to recognize a mental health emergency and how to get a person at risk the help they need.
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Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)
- SuicideTALK. ASIST is a 2-day workshop designed to teach the skills to competently and confidently intervene with a youth at risk of suicide. Developed by LivingWorks Education, Inc., the workshop prepares individuals to integrate principles of intervention into everyday practice so they may become effective suicide prevention gatekeepers in their communities. The ASIST curriculum is divided into 4 learning modules: attitudes, knowledge, intervention & resources. Skills and principles are illustrated with case studies presented in videos and live dramatizations, role-play simulations, discussions and in the Suicide Intervention Handbook.
- In spring 2007, The Montana Center for Childhood Trauma (MCCT) and the Division of Educational Research and Service (DERS) was contracted by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) to assist the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and its Native American Community Pilot Initiative.