A. Trauma Support Group Sessions (Up to $40,000) - Prevention Services (20,000) and Diversionary Options (20,000) To provide a cognitive–behavioral therapy group prevention and intervention designed to reduce youth's symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression caused by exposure to violence. The program should be a community based open enrollment model for two age groups 10–15 and 16-21 who have had substantial exposure to violence or other traumatic events and who have symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the clinical range. The program will be required to offer two group sessions based on the age range provided. The program addresses risk factors for developing chronic disturbances following trauma, including poor coping skills, cognitive factors, and low levels of social support. Symptom reduction is accomplished by CBT practices—reducing maladaptive thinking that can drive depressive and anxious moods, reducing anxiety directly through relaxation training, reducing anxiety through behavior therapy (exposure to anxiety-provoking stimuli and habituation of anxiety), and processing the traumatic experience to reduce both anxiety and traumatic grief. Goals: 1) to reduce symptoms related to trauma, 2) to build resilience, and 3)to increase peer and parent support. The program is developed to reduce symptoms of distress and build skills to improve children’s abilities to handle stress and trauma in the future. Program should clearly outline prevention services and diversion process. The diversion process should include a description of referrals from community, law enforcement, courts, probation.
