Free Live Webinar September 18 — Examining the Caregivers’ Role in Trauma-focused CBT for Youth: Modeling the Work and Values of Dr. Mary Cover Jones

Thursday, September 18th, 2025

1:00 PM- 2:30 PM Eastern/ 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM Central/ 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Mountain/ 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Pacific/ 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Alaska/8:00 AM - 9:30 AM Hawaii

1.5 CE Credits Awarded

Free to Attend

Abstract:

Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT; Cohen et al., 2017) is a well-established treatment for children with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related mental health problems. Unlike most CBTs developed for children, in TF-CBT, caregivers have their own sessions, parallel to what their children are learning. Specifically, caregivers attend sessions on psychoeducation, parent training, relaxation, affect regulation, and cognitive processing (Phase 1). They are then prepared by the clinician to hear their children’s trauma narration (which the child has developed through gradual exposure) and participate in family sessions for narration sharing, in vivo mastery, and safety planning (Phase 2).

Despite the fact that work with caregivers makes up 50% of TF-CBT, we know little about the impact of TF-CBT on caregivers and how caregiver functioning may influence child outcomes. This is a problem because approximately 90% of caregivers in TF-CBT are trauma survivors and 87% of those caregivers have at least one PTSD symptom (Paul & Brown, 2025). This work is critical to promoting efficient therapies that treat multiple types of symptoms and multiple people at once. Additionally, caregivers knowing that TF-CBT will help them may improve rates of engagement and retention.

Thus, to honor the work of Dr. Mary Cover Jones, the mother of behavior therapy and a groundbreaking scientist, we will present emerging research on caregiver responses to TF-CBT and their influence children’s outcomes. Dr. Tohar Scheininger will present a phase-based analysis of caregiver symptom change in TF-CBT. Dr. Komal Sharma-Patel will examine whether level of harsh discipline at pre-treatment moderates change in children's PTSD over the course of treatment. Katherine Kraemer will explore perceived parental support in relation to children's resilience during TF-CBT. Lastly, Emilie Paul will examine caregiver symptoms at baseline and changes in parent-child relationship quality in response to TF-CBT. Dr. Esther Deblinger, co-developer of TF-CBT and expert in child-parent relationships, will discuss the findings in the context of extant research.

Presenter Biographies:

Elissa Brown, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology and Executive Director of the Child HELP (Heal, Empower, Learn, Prevent) Partnership at St. John’s University.  Her primary clinical and research interests include the prevention and treatment of child trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder.  She is the Director of a Category II site of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and a certified trainer of Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.  

Esther Deblinger, Ph.D., is the Founding Co-Director of the Child Abuse Research Education and Service (CARES) Institute and a Professor of Psychiatry at Rowan University in Stratford, New Jersey, USA. Dr. Deblinger’s research on the impact and treatment of childhood trauma has been funded by the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, the National Institute of Mental Health as well as other organizations. 

Katherine Kraemer, M.A., Katherine is currently a second-year student in the clinical psychology Ph.D. program at St. John’s University in New York, NY. There, she is a member of Child HELP Partnership where she works with families who have experienced trauma, and she also researches treatment-outcomes pertaining to Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. Katherine is passionate about promoting resilience among children and families. 

Emilie Paul, M.A., is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology Program at St. John’s University, currently completing her pre-doctoral internship at the Brattleboro Retreat. Her research interests focus on the impact of trauma exposure on family functioning and the treatment of co-occurring substance use and trauma-related disorders. She is particularly passionate about expanding access to evidence-based trauma therapies across the lifespan.

Tohar Scheininger, Ph.D., earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology from St. John’s University in Queens, NY. Her research focused on the impact of children’s trauma-specific treatment on caregivers’ own symptomatology. As a clinical research scientist, Dr. Scheininger has worked in diverse settings, including community clinics, hospitals, and many others. She currently provides comprehensive assessments and delivers evidence-based therapies to individuals across the lifespan.

Komal Sharma-Patel, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at George Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Sharma-Patel is a Clinical Psychologist at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC, overseeing the Mood and Trauma program and part of the comprehensive outpatient Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) program for teens and their caregivers. She also is a trainer for TF-CBT and AF-CBT.

About the Moderator:

Anne Marie Albano, Ph.D., ABPP, CUCARD, is the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CUCARD) Professor of Medical Psychology in Psychiatry and Director of the NYP Center for Youth Mental Health. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Mississippi. Dr. Albano is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA), Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), Founding Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, and is Board Certified in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. 

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this workshop, the learner will be able to:
1. Discuss the impact of TF-CBT on caregivers who participate.
2. Describe how the parent-child relationship improves over the course of treatment and affects child resilience.
3. Demonstrate how Dr. Mary Cover Jones’ work continues in the current generation of female clinical researchers.

Recommended Readings:

• Brown, E. J., Cohen, J., & Mannarino, A. (2020).  Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: The role of caregivers.  Journal of Affective Disorders, 27, 39-45.
• Brumley, L. D., Pollio, E., Cooper, B., Steer, R. A., & Deblinger, E. (2021). Caregiver satisfaction and perceptions of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-021-00372-y
• Deblinger, E., Pollio, E., Runyon, M. K., & Steer, R. (2017). Improvements in personal resiliency among youth who have completed Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral therapy: A preliminary examination. Child Abuse & Neglect 65, 132-139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.12.014
• Happer, K., Brown, E. J., & Sharma-Patel, K. (2017). Children’s resilience and trauma-specific cognitive behavioral therapy: Comparing resilience as an outcome, a trait, and a process. Child Abuse & Neglect, 73, 30–41. http://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.09.021
• Martin, C. G., Everett, Y., Skowron, E. A., & Zalewski, M. (2019). The role of caregiver psychopathology in the treatment of childhood trauma with Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: A systematic review. Clinical child and family psychology review, 22(3), 273–289.

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All attendees will receive a certificate of completion when the course requirements are satisfied.

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For more information, contact:

Rachel Greeman, ABCT Web Manager
212-647-1890 ext. 208
rgreeman@abct.org

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