Assessing the implementation and effects of a trauma-focused intervention for youths in residential treatment

This paper describes methods being used to implement and assess the effects of a trauma-focused intervention in residential treatment programs for youths with emotional and behavioral problems, and histories of maltreatment and exposure to family or community violence. Preliminary baseline profiles of the therapeutic environments and youths are also presented. The intervention, referred to as the Sanctuary Model (Bloom, 1997), is based in social psychiatry, trauma theories, therapeutic community philosophy, and cognitive-behavioral approaches. Within the context of safe, supportive, stable, and socially responsible therapeutic communities, a trauma recovery treatment framework is used to teach youths effective adaptation and coping skills to replace nonadaptive cognitive, social, and behavioral strategies that may have emerged earlier as means of coping with traumatic life experiences.