The NNCTC staff are trained educators, counselors and psychologists who work closely with community agencies, tribal programs, clinicians, school personnel, technicians, and families to identify the needs of the community in addressing child traumatic stress. Below is a list of interventions and trainings that are offered by the NNCTC staff:
- Community development for comprehensive behavioral health initiatives
- Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS)
- Child Development/Community Policing (CDCP) for domestic violence
- Traumatic grief intervention
- Trauma, academic achievement and school climate programs
- Historical/intergenerational trauma community awareness
- Mental health recovery to emergencies (Psychological First Aid)
- Suicide prevention gatekeeper trainings: Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) and Applied Suicide
Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)
- Mental health practitioner and school consultations
Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS)
CBITS is a 10 week evidence-based small group treatment procedure with an emphasis on symptom reduction and skill building. CBITS has been utilized effectively by the NNCTC in multiple reservation communities for children between ages 6 to 19 who have experienced significant traumatic experiences and are suffering from emotional and/or behavioral problems related to that experience.
Our staff (in conjunction with MSSC/MCCT) have also successfully implemented CBITS in schools outside of Indian Country inclding, during the 2008/09 school year, with Jefferson Parish Public Schools in New Orleans, LA.
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).
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.
Psychological First Aid in Schools (PFA-S)
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.
The most comprehensive guide to Psychological First Aid (2nd edition available here) was created by the National Center for PTSD and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. A school specific PFA is curretnly being formally adapted from the original model. DERS/NNCTC staff are serving on a lead authorship role of this school based adaptation, alongside colleagues at the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress at UCLA and colleagues across the NCTSN. The detailed PFA-S publicaiton and handouts will likely be published summer 2009.
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. NNCTC saff are currently working with Yale and local agencies for the implementation and adaptation of CD-CP in native communitites and with native law enforcemnt agencies.
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Funding for this project (1 U79 SMO58145-01) was made possible (in part) by SM-06-005 cooperative agreement from SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). The views expressed in written materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.