Tulsa World: Federal aid boosts care for child trauma

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Federal aid boosts care for child trauma
A local agency will be able to expand therapy for infants and children.

By MIKE AVERILL World Staff Writer
Published: 11/9/2009 2:20 AM
Last Modified: 11/9/2009 3:58 AM

Family and Children's Services is expanding its child trauma therapy programs, thanks to a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Through the grant, the agency is going to implement a new child-parent psychotherapy model to treat children from infancy to 6 years old.

This model focuses on the relationship between child and parent, unlike other models that focus on the child and the parent's understanding of the child, said Christine Marsh, the agency's director of child abuse and trauma services.

"It's looking at what the parent brings to the relationship and any past trauma they've had and how it's affecting the infant and also the abuse the infant has seen," she said.

Marsh said that many times parents bring in their child and want the problem fixed but don't understand the role they play in it.

"I'd like to think we're really important, but the most important part is the caregiver's involvement and support and understanding," she said. "To work with a young child that's so developmentally dependent on the caregiver, to not look at that is not being as comprehensive as we can be."

The treatment's main use is to treat kids who have been exposed to physical or sexual abuse.

The grant will allow the agency to consult with the model's developers and other national experts.

"This really brings us up to speed on a national level to really work with these young families," she said. "It's one of those treatment models that you can read about and start implementing but having national expertise and feedback, we're really going to be able to have much more efficiency and effectiveness."

The grant also will allow the agency to work with infants. Before, it could work with children only 2 and older.

"We really wanted to bring that to Tulsa and Oklahoma," Marsh said. "We see the need so much and saw a slight gap in the services we were providing."

Family and Children's Services is one of 26 community treatment programs across the country to receive funding to provide the evidence-based prevention, screening and treatment service for children who have been exposed to traumatic events such as abuse, neglect, violence and natural disaster.

"It's all about making sure that children who have been harmed at no fault of their own have a chance to heal and live their lives fully," said Gail Lapidus, CEO of Family and Children's Services.

Mike Averill 581-8489
mike.averill@tulsaworldcom By MIKE AVERILL World Staff Writer

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EagleMom, Classified (11/9/2009 11:01:35 AM)

Great news for a worthy cause.

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