A scoping review on the neurosequential model

Child trauma alters brain development and has profound negative consequences for health and wellbeing. The Neurosequential Model (NM) is a neurodevelopmentally-informed framework for supporting youth impacted by trauma that focuses on improving self-regulation and relational engagement. The NM is not an intervention itself, but it does provide a structured approach to assess the needs of a child, create an individualized treatment plan, and deliver tailored interventions.

As there are no published reviews that comprehensively examine the NM literature, we conducted a scoping review with the goal of identifying what is known about the NM.

Our scoping review identified 38 academic journal articles, 20 book chapters, 12 pieces of graduate research and 10 pieces of gray literature on the NM.

Publication trends indicate that the NM is primarily used by mental health providers and educators. Most empirical studies on the NM focused on the impact of the model on children exposed to trauma, although some articles focused on the impact of NM training on professionals or the impact of implementing the NM on organizations. Almost all studies reported positive impacts of using the NM, including improving self-regulation and post-traumatic stress symptoms over time. Few studies had a comparison group that was not exposed to the NM.

The primary benefits of the NM appear to be related to improving understanding of how trauma can lead to behavioral issues by altering brain development, and by helping providers to select and deliver interventions that support the unique neurodevelopmental needs of clients.