June is National Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month. PTSD is a mental health condition that can affect people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event. We recently sat down with Mariela, a Child First Mental Health Clinician at Easterseals PORT Health (ESPH), who shared details about the program’s support of children with PTSD.
Mariela, ESPH Child First Mental Health Clinician
“Child First provides evidence-based therapy to children (aged 0 to 5) who have experienced trauma. For a child navigating PTSD, it’s important to recognize that this can create adverse behaviors such as acting out, emotional outbursts, emotional withdrawal, anxiety, difficulty trusting others and fear,” explains Mariela. “We help create an environment in the home that promotes healing for children who may be experiencing symptoms related to abuse, neglect, domestic violence and/or navigating the foster care system. Our team helps children build secure and healthy attachments with their caregivers while supporting them in processing traumatic experiences.”
The goal of Child First therapy is to strengthen the bond between traumatized children and their caregiver by helping them express feelings, process trauma and build resilience for long-term stability. The team includes a Mental Health Clinician who offers Child Parent Psychotherapy and a Family Resource Partner who assists with care coordination and activities that promote safety, healthy development and emotional well-being.
“One of the main therapies used in Child First is Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP),” Mariela further explains. “CPP helps young children and their caregiver build a stronger relationship, which is key to healing. Therapy starts with an assessment. Our team meets with the child and caregiver to understand the family’s strengths, challenges, needs, trauma history, relationships and daily life. We also gather information through conversations, observations, play and standardized assessments to plan treatment and identify the specific support the family needs. Trauma processing occurs in a developmentally appropriate way through play, reflection, emotional support and therapeutic conversations. This helps the child and caregiver make sense of past experiences while increasing their feelings of safety and connection with each other.”
Navigating PTSD is a process that looks different for everyone. Child First therapy typically takes place over nine to 12 months. During this time, the team focuses on strengthening the child-caregiver relationship, supporting emotional regulation, improving executive functioning and addressing the impact of trauma.
Learn more about Child First at eastersealsPORT.com/child-first-nc.
ABOUT US
Easterseals PORT Health is a trustworthy, compassionate partner providing exceptional disability, mental health and substance use services to help our neighbors live their best lives. Purpose, dedication and empathy drive our in-person and telehealth service delivery. Our diverse and inclusive 2,600 member team provides more than 10.2 million hours of meaningful support to 40,200 kids, adults and families in 11,000 home, facility and community locations across North Carolina and Virginia. Learn more at eastersealsPORT.com.
