Trauma and Grief Component Therapy for Adolescents (TGCTA)

Participants will become proficient at identifying appropriate youth for group versus individual treatment in TGCTA and how to administer the assessments for intake and outcomes. Participants will practice leading individual youth or groups of youth in acquiring skills to manage posttraumatic reactions such as anxiety, PTSD, triggered response to trauma reminders, and reactive aggression. Participants will understand the power of group sharing of some trauma experiences, such as community violence exposure, and will practice in role plays how to do this effectively. Participants will become proficient in standard cognitive processing techniques to identify and challenge trauma and grief-related cognitive distortions and other unhelpful thought that may perpetuate youth symptoms. Participants will learn to guide youth towards building a realistic future orientation plan and way to work with youth to develop step by step strategies to achieve this possible future.