This project will take a new trauma-informed approach to providing therapy to youths who have previously or are currently experiencing sexual abuse. It utilizes a combination of creative, group, and individual therapies in an after-school based setting that has yet to be explored. It is the hope of this project that through creative and group therapy, the participants will learn how to positively express themselves and channel their emotions while also learning to communicate and build positive relationships. The individual therapy will emphasize that each child is important and maintains a sense of identity in light of their specific trauma. The goal of the program is that these therapies will allow the participants, consisting of school-aged youth, to adapt and learn to maintain these healthy types of behaviors and attitudes after experiencing traumatic events. The caretakers of the participants and the school teachers will also benefit from the project by learning comprehensive sexual abuse education to assist the participants when the program is not in session.
Levels of Social Ecological Model
The levels of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Social-Ecological Model that this project will address are the individual and relationship levels (The Social-Ecological Model) At the individual level, there are personal history factors and factors that are specific to the children that could be relevant to their experiences or future experiences with sexual assault. This project will address the individual level by educating the children on the negative impacts of sexual abuse and how they should maintain positive attitudes about their lives and who they are as people. The project will address their attitudes about the sexual abuse and will assist with enforcing the importance of maintaining positive beliefs and attitudes despite the abuse. This is important to address to try to prevent future problems or sexual abuse, either as the victims or the perpetrators. The other level that the project will address is the relationship level. The relationship level focuses on the interactions with peers, family members, and other people that someone may be exposed to on a regular basis. This level will be addressed in the project by teaching the kids what a healthy relationship consists of and how to maintain healthy relationships. It will also educate them on the ways to deal with an unhealthy relationship, as well as ways to deal with emotions, problems, and conflict.
Trauma-Informed Principles the Grant Will Utilize
This project will heavily rely on utilizing the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) trauma-informed principles such as safety, peer support and mutual self- help, and empowerment, voice and choice (Substance Abuse). The safety aspect of the trauma-informed principles will be built into the project because the participants will be those of a vulnerable and they will be in a setting in which they feel comfortable and secure. They will participate in safe activities which help them work through their emotions and find an outlet in which they can express themselves individually or with others. These activities will include sports, crafts, music, theater, or other creative outlets as well as individual and group discussions and activities. They will be in a school setting with peers and individuals that they will build relationships with so that they feel safe from any harm or sexual abuse. This project will also incorporate peer support and mutual self-help. The project will be based on gathering children of the same experiences with sexual abuse, either those who are currently victims or those who have ever been victims. They will be able to talk with each other about their feelings and understand that they are not alone or different because of their experiences. If they do not want to talk about their experiences that is also allowed and they will still be supported by peers who are going through similar situations. They will help each other work through issues and build relationships with one another. The project will also have empowerment, voice and choice built into it. The leaders of the project will facilitate discussions about the sexual abuse through strengths-based approaches and will be properly trained on how to handle virtually any situation that may occur. They will provide the children with sensitive but properly delivered information about sexual abuse and allow them to have the power to make their own decisions throughout the program regarding their activities.
Public Health Framework
This project will utilize a public health framework because it will be both trauma-informed and trauma-specific. This program will gather information on the prevalence of sexual abuse in children and how the trauma is effecting their lives as well as provide an intervention to lessen the severity of the effects of the sexual abuse and help the children begin to heal. This project will provide primary prevention by allowing adults the opportunity to learn information about sexual abuse. The specialists that lead the program will offer informational meeting that parents of children of sexual abuse or just adults and other parents in the community may attend to learn about sexual abuse, how to prevent it, how to talk to children about it, learn the signs of sexual abuse, and how to communicate with children in a trauma- informed way. The secondary prevention from the project will be screening process. The project will screen children in the school or surrounding area to detect those who have or currently suffer from sexual abuse. This is how they will get participants into the program. They can also find those that they feel may be at risk for sexual abuse this way and connect with them as well. The project will offer tertiary prevention by providing care to the children of sexual abuse. The trained specialists will hold group and individual therapy and discussion sessions for the children. They will also teach them ways to cope and express their feelings, and provide the opportunity to channel their emotions into something positive. This can be done through creative therapy in the project, such as the children being involved in physical activity, arts and crafts, music, or other interests.
References:
“SAMHSA’s Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach.”Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.HHS Publication No. (SMA) 14-4884. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2014.
“The Social-Ecological Model: A Framework for Prevention |Violence Prevention| Injury Center|CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control andPrevention, www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/publichealthissue/social-ecologicalmodel.html.
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