Treatment Overview
Learning and Empowerment for Adoptive Families (LEAF) is a 10-week interactive group designed for children who were adopted and their parents. LEAF was developed by the Post Adoption Support Services team at CCFH, including mental health clinicians and family partners.
When families participate in LEAF, they learn communication techniques to talk to each other and the outside world about adoption. Children build confidence in how they understand and communicate about their adoption story, all while engaging in games and activities. Parents learn strategies to manage their own emotions and help with children’s emotional reactions to adoption, including grief and loss. Families also have the opportunity to meet and form lasting relationships with other families who share aspects of their unique journeys and learn they are not alone.
Impacts of LEAF treatment:
- Builds on positive parent-child relationships / attachment
- Increases family resiliency
- Builds parent understanding of child’s perspective
- Improves parenting techniques related to emotional support
- Improves use of coping skills for difficult emotion
- Boosts children’s confidence in their adoptive identity
- Expands healthy communication about adoption
Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is a trauma-focused intervention for youth (ages 3 to 18) who are experiencing symptoms directly related to a traumatic event or events and their non-offending caregiver. It targets post-traumatic stress, depressive and behavioral symptoms.
The average length of treatment is eight to 25 weekly, 60- to 90-minute sessions. Maximum benefits are seen when the youth’s primary caregiver is actively involved in treatment. TF-CBT has been successfully delivered in diverse settings, such as clinics, in-home, residential treatment facilities, schools and juvenile detention facilities.