Our trauma therapy program offers evidence-based, individualized approaches to support healing, reduce symptoms, and build long-term resilience across developmental stages.
How It Works:
Boston Child Study Center provides evidence-based trauma treatment to children, adolescents, young adults, and families. We recognize that trauma presentations vary significantly across individuals and developmental stages, and that effective care involves a thorough understanding of each client’s history, symptoms, and treatment goals.
Our clinicians maintain fidelity to established treatment protocols while tailoring interventions to meet the developmental and clinical needs of each client. Caregivers and other key support people are integrated into the treatment process as clinically indicated, with the overarching goals of supporting symptom reduction, functional improvement, and long-term resilience.
BCSC offers a full range of empirically supported trauma treatments, including:
- Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
- Prolonged Exposure (PE)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- DBT-Prolonged Exposure (DBT-PE)
- DBT for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (DBT-PTSD)
Treatment May Include:
- Individual therapy (in person or virtual)
- Family therapy and caregiver support
- Emotion and Trauma Processing Group
- Between-session phone coaching (if engaged in a DBT-based treatment)
- Weekly consultation meeting for clinicians (if engaged in a DBT-based treatment)
Strategic Solutions + Patient-Centric Care
Our approach utilizes research-backed treatment so you or your child get better results, with less chance of reoccurrence. Plus, by monitoring treatments as they progress, we’re better equipped to avoid roadblocks and troubleshoot immediately should challenges arise.
Evidence-Based Assessments
Personalized Treatments
Compassionate Care
Patient-Centered Outcome Tracking
Why Choose Trauma Therapy at BCSC?
- We offer a range of evidence-based trauma treatments for individuals across the lifespan within a multidisciplinary clinic. This allows for collaborative, wraparound care for complex presentations as well as seamless transitions between trauma treatment and other treatment types and services within BCSC.
- Rather than a one-size-fits-all model, our clinicians identify the evidence-based trauma treatment best suited to each client and family’s needs, and maintain a commitment to thoughtfully adapting care as individual and family needs evolve throughout treatment.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What if my child has other mental health concerns in addition to trauma?
It is common for trauma symptoms to co-occur with other mental health concerns, such as symptoms of depression, anxiety, ADHD, and difficulties with emotion regulation. Since we offer a broad range of clinical services at BCSC, each client’s trauma treatment will be coordinated with other care they may be receiving at our clinic. Each client’s treatment team works with the client and family to develop a treatment plan that prioritizes the most pressing clinical needs while keeping the broader picture in mind. In some cases, this may mean addressing certain concerns before beginning trauma-focused work, or delivering treatments concurrently.
What is the length of trauma treatment?
The length of trauma treatment varies depending on a number of factors, including the nature and extent of the client’s trauma history, the severity of their symptoms, the treatment approach being used, and how they respond to treatment over time. While it can be difficult to predict exactly how long treatment will take at the outset, the treatment team will be able to give each client and family a general sense of the expected timeline once they have a clearer understanding of the client’s needs. Progress is reviewed on an ongoing basis, and treatment length is adjusted accordingly. We aim to help clients achieve meaningful and lasting improvement as efficiently as possible.
How involved will I be as a parent or caregiver in my child's treatment?
Caregiver involvement is an important part of trauma treatment at BCSC, and the degree to which caregivers are involved will depend on the client’s age, clinical needs, and the treatment approach being used. For younger children in particular, caregivers play a central role in treatment — participating in sessions, learning skills alongside their child, and supporting the application of those skills at home. For adolescents and young adults, there is generally a greater emphasis on the client’s autonomy while still keeping caregivers meaningfully informed and engaged. Across all of our trauma treatments, we view caregivers and other key support people as essential partners in the process. Our clinicians will work with the client and their family to determine the level and type of involvement that best supports each client’s progress.
How do I know which trauma treatment is the best fit for me or my child?
A number of factors inform the selection of each client’s trauma treatment, including the client’s age, the nature of their trauma history, their current symptoms, and their individual strengths and needs. At BCSC, we take time to understand each client and family’s history and clinical presentation, and use that information to recommend the approach most likely to be effective. Because we offer a broad range of evidence-based trauma treatments, we are able to match each client to the intervention that is the best fit for them rather than defaulting to a single approach. Our goal is to ensure that every child and family feels confident in the trauma treatment they are receiving and understands the reasoning behind their treatment plan.
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