1. Play-based Trauma-informed Counseling: Benefits for Children with a History of Abuse
Jessica Bardenheier, Mikayla L. Norton, Brooklyn D. Thompson, & Annie K. Farrar

2. Introduction
Children with a history of abuse display less emotional regulation
Caregiver support associated with better outcome
Play therapy more appropriate for children than traditional therapeutic techniques
Combination of CBT and play most effective for children with a history of trauma

3. Emotional Regulation Ability to manage one's emotions
Deficits in children with a history of abuse
Ability to do so in infancy predicts better control during childhood as well
Trauma-focused CBT improves emotional regulation
Emotional Regulation- the ability of individuals to manage or control their emotions both internally and externally to function in a healthy manner.
Emotional Dysregulation- the inability of an individual to control their responses to provoking stimulus in the external or internal environment.
Could discuss academic success and the study done by Kwon, Hanrahan, and Kupzyk (2017) did that showed that children's ability to regulate their emotions affected their success in school.
Dysregulation in identifying and expressing emotions in an adaptive way is a manifestation of a trauma response
Sources:
Sharma-Patel & Brown (2016)
Ursache, Blair, Stifter, Voegtline, & The Family Life Project Investigators (2013)

4. Caregivers & Environment
Continuous stress may require specialized treatment
Supportive caregivers associated with better outcomes
Blaming caregivers predict worse outcomes
Source:
Yaskinki, Hayes, Ready, Cummings, Berman, McCauley, & Deblinger (2016)

5. Play-based Trauma-focused CBT
Effective for children from diverse backgrounds
Appropriate for all developmental ages
Play contributes toward a more adaptive coping mechanism when expressing emotions, feelings, and wants/needs
Incorporating play therapy modalities assists in normalizing the therapeutic environment and promotes a climate conducive for safety and growth
Sources:
Cavett (2016)
Langley, Gonzalez, Sugar, Solis, and Jaycox (2015)
Ruiz (2016)
Ryan, Lane, & Powers (2017)

6. Participants Convenience sample Ages 8- 14
Experienced trauma in the form of abuse and/or neglect
Recruited from mental health facilities
Flyers
Recommendation from participants’ personal counselors (school, private, or community-based)
Male and female
Experienced Trauma - anytype of verbal/physical abuse.
Currently receiving treatment for an adjustment disorder.
Rural, southern Virginia

7. Materials and Procedures
Caregiver biases addressed
Pre-test and post-test
Play therapy implementation to accompany the pre-test and post-test to determine a baseline of emotional regulation ability
Scenarios “stories”
Face cards
Behavior cards (i.e. “this story makes me want to: throw things, cry, hurt myself, be calm, etc.)
10 weeks, 1x per week for 50 minutes
Materials and Procedures
All assessments, interviews, and measurements will be done directly with clients.
Pre and post test (establish baseline for the children and to assess emotional regulation ability at end of treatment)
Survey - explain that the survey will be implemented throughout treatment to assess Emotional Regulation of the children
Play therapy- explain the purpose and use of both stories and face cards during treatment. This will be done at the beginning and end of treatment
Only form of treatment (participants will not be allowed to participate in any other form of treatment while in our study)

8. Trauma-focused CBT will increase emotional regulation
Increase cognitive resilience in replacing maladaptive coping mechanisms with healthy alternatives
Decrease emotional reactivity.
Post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depression will decrease
Trauma-focused CBT with play will produce more effective treatment than traditional CBT
The duality of trauma-informed counseling and play techniques produce a more cohesive treatment plan
Predicted Outcomes

9. Cavett, A. M. (2016). Playful trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for school-age children. In A. A. Drewes & C. E. Schaefer (Eds.), Play therapy in middle childhood (pp ). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. Retrieved from
Langley, A. K., Gonzalez, A., Sugar, C. A., Solis, D., & Jaycox, L. (2015). Bounce back: Effectiveness of an elementary school-based intervention for multicultural children exposed to traumatic events. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 83(5), Retrieved from
Ruiz, E. (2016). Trauma symptoms in a diverse population of sexually abused children. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 8(6), Retrieved from
Ryan, K., Lane, S. J., & Powers, D. (2017). A multidisciplinary model for treating complex trauma in early childhood. International Journal of Play Therapy, 26(2), Retrieved from
Sharma-Patel, K., & Brown, E. J. (2016). Emotion regulation and self blame as mediators and moderators of trauma-specific treatment. Psychology of Violence, 6(3), Retrieved from
Ursache, A., Blair, C., Stifter, C., Voegtline, K., & The Family Life Project Investigators. (2013). Emotional reactivity and regulation in infancy interact to predict executive functioning in early childhood. Developmental Psychology, 49(1), Retrieved from
Yasinski, C., Hayes, A. M., Ready, C. B., Cummings, J. A., Berman, I. S., McCauley, T., and Deblinger, E. (2016). In-session caregiver behavior predicts symptom change in youth receiving trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT). Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 84(12), Retrieved from
References

10. Questions/Comments?