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Incorporating Race and Identity into Trauma Treatment: How the Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools Addresses Racial Trauma

As a result of many years of research, clinical psychologists have a toolbox of evidence-based treatments they can use to address post-traumatic stress and its impact on children’s mental health. Post traumatic stress disorder encompasses the presence of mental health symptoms that emerge after experiencing any one of a number of traumatic events. Traditionally, racism is not considered to be one specific traumatic event that can result in traumatic stress. Even so, we do have a significant amount of evidence supporting the fact that experiencing repeated acts of racism can have a significant impact on one’s mental health. To address the traumatic stress that can impact kids following continued experiences of racism, the Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) includes a specific trauma module during treatment.

CBITS is an evidence-based group therapy approach to treating symptoms of traumatic stress for kids between the ages of 10 and 18. Through the treatment modules, group members will learn about traumatic events, symptoms of traumatic stress, and skills they can use to combat these symptoms and the impact on their mental health. The racial trauma module in CBITS aims to engage the group in productive conversation about race and the impact that race-related stress can have on mental health. Group facilitators are responsible for approaching the module with cultural humility to create a safe and supportive space for group members to learn about race-related stress and share their own experiences.

Facilitators will introduce and define common language used when talking about race and racism. These topics include defining and teaching about racism, structural racism, racial microaggressions, unconscious racial bias, discrimination, and prejudice. Explicitly discussing these terms helps to create a mutual understanding of their meanings that will be applied throughout the conversation. Next, the group will address how the experiences of racism can be linked to symptoms of traumatic stress. Then, group members will be encouraged to think about how skills learned in CBITS can be applied to race-related stress. Facilitators will provide examples of fictional kids that are experiencing race related stress, and the group will discuss what the kid is experiencing and brainstorm some possible skills that they could apply in that situation. The goal is to give a name to the kinds of race-related stress that kids may experience and help them to problem solve ways to identify and manage these events and the resulting impact on their mental health. Throughout the module, clinicians aim to validate experiences, create space for sharing individual perspectives, and empower youth to actively work towards healing.

The racial trauma module in the CBITS treatment plan aims to name and address the very real impact of race-related stress on mental health and to begin the process of healing race-related trauma wounds. The general understanding of traumatic experiences often encompasses only specific traumatic events, where this racial trauma module helps kids to understand that race-related experiences can also be traumatic. For many kids, this module may be the first opportunity for them to identify the impact that race has on their lives and the ways that experiences of racism may have impacted their own mental health. Putting their experiences within the framework of traumatic stress can be validating, and it can also provide youth with the skills that they need to address the very real impact they feel in their lives.

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Sources:
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