The Winter 2014 issue of Trauma Matters is out. It's published by the Connecticut Women’s Consortium and the
Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services in support of the Connecticut Trauma Initiative.
Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services in support of the Connecticut Trauma Initiative. The lead story -- "Reflections on the Impact of the Sandy Hook School Shootings on How We Think About
Children’s Mental Health in Connecticut" -- is by Alice Forrester, executive director of the Clifford Beers Clinic. Here's a part of it:
It seems that one of the problems in the current service de livery model is how our mental health services are delivered according to age; adults’ services are separate from children’s services. It is very clear that children’s mental health issues are often related to what they are experiencing in their environment. The adults in the family can also require support and services; however, unless the adults have a severe and persistent mental illness, there are few clinics in Connecticut where a parent and child can access services in the same place.
At Clifford Beers Clinic we have decided that we need to increase our capacity to treat members of the whole family when needed; sending the adults to another clinic is impractical and ill-advised. For example, we find that many children who have experienced sexual abuse have parents who have had the same thing happen to them, but never had treatment for their abuse. To treat victims of sexual abuse, one of the primary evidenced-based treatments is trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), which requires parent or guardian participation. If the adult is triggered by listening to his or her child’s trauma narrative, we cannot provide the therapy the parent may need, and there is very little we can offer him or her for services. As part of our centennial strategic plan, we are working to create programs that offer services for the whole family, regardless of age.
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