CBT
What are the three parts of the Cognitive Triangle?
Thoughts, feelings, and behaviors!
What are two goals of TF-CBT?
To help develop coping strategies for traumatic stress reactions & to reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, or acting out behavior which are common in children exposed to trauma!
True or False: Trauma changes the way our brain functions.
True! Trauma impacts thinking, learning, and memory skills and makes it hard for your brain to tell the difference between past dangerous situations and present safe situations.
What are Cognitive Distortions?
What does the "P" in PRACTICE stand for?
Parenting Skills and Psychoeducation!
What is the amygdala?
What does CBT stand for?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
What is an example of gradual exposure in TF-CBT?
...
What is the prefrontal cortex?
The prefrontal cortex is the judgement and decision-making part of the brain! It helps us make good and safe choices and sends and retrieves memories to and from the hippocampus. Fun fact: this part of the brain isn't done developing until we are 21-25 years old!
What are some questions you can ask yourself to see if a thought is inaccurate or unhelpful?
Is there evidence for or against my thought? What kind of emotions and behavior does this thought lead to? Does thinking this help me feel good about
myself? Does thinking this help me in my relationships with friends and family? Does thinking this help me in my daily life? Does thinking this help me accomplish my goals?
True or false: in TF-CBT, you have to tell the whole story of the traumatic event right at the beginning.
False! Although we talk a little at a time about trauma through gradual exposure in each session, we build relaxation, affect modulation and regulation, and cognitive coping skills before we work on the trauma narrative together.
What is the hippocampus?
The hippocampus is the part of the brain where memories live, also known as the "time-keeper" or "librarian" of the brain. When the amygdala is upset, the hippocampus has difficulty storing memories and properly bringing them to mind. After trauma, the hippocampus has a hard-time putting a time-stamp on memories, making it hard to tell if the trauma is over or if it is still happening.
What are some examples of positive self-talk?
I can do this; I'm doing the best I can; I know coping skills that can help with this; This situation won’t last long, so I can make it; I have people who love me and I feel safe with.
Describe the pool analogy.
TF-CBT starts out slow, like learning to swim in the shallow end of the pool! We build skills for safety before going into the "deep end" and talking about the full trauma narrative.
What happens when our "internal alarm system" goes off?
Our brain fires off chemicals or "flips its lid." Our amygdala is in the driver's seat and we go into either the fight, flight, freeze, or fawn survival response!