Trauma & PTSD Treatment

Children and teens can be deeply affected by experiences that feel frightening, overwhelming or unsafe. After a traumatic experience, children may struggle in their ability to regulate their emotions, deepen connection within relationships, and feel safe in typical everyday environments.

At Momentum Psychology, we provide compassionate, evidence based support for children and adolescents who have experienced trauma. Our goal is to help young people make sense of what happened, develop healthy coping skills, rebuild a sense of safety, and improve one’s confidence moving forward.

Understanding Trauma

Trauma can take many forms. It may involve a single frightening event, ongoing experiences of stress or adversity or abrupt changes in a child’s relationships and sense of safety.

Children & teens may experience trauma related to abuse, domestic or community violence, serious accidents or injuries, medical experiences or hospitalization, the loss of a loved one, caregiver separation or instability, or other exposure to frightening events.

How Trauma can Impact Children

Not every child responds to trauma in the same way. Some children may talk openly about what had happened, while others may show signs of distress through changes in behavior, emotions or relationships.

Following a frightening experience, children and teens may experience:

Increased fear, worry, or difficulty feelings safe

Nightmares or difficulty sleeping

Avoiding people, places, or activities that remind them of what happened

Memories or upsetting thoughts

Changes in behavior or emotional regulation

Changes in relationships with caregivers or peers

Increased physical complaints such as headaches or stomachaches

Our Treatment Approach

Effective trauma treatment is developmentally appropriate, collaborative and paced to the needs of each child. Depending on the child’s age, needs, and experiences, treatment will utilize evidence-based approaches such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT).

For younger children, treatment often includes caregivers as an important part of the process. Through Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), treatment often includes supporting the adults in a child’s life to create greater safety, consistency and connection outside of therapy.

With a strong support system, children and teens can strengthen relationships, regain a sense of safety and continue on with greater confidence and resilience.

Ready to get started? Reach out today.