From Rifts to Riffs: Evidence-Based Principles to Guide Critical Thinking About Next-Generation Child Trauma Treatments and Training

Despite the proliferation of empirically supported treatments in child mental health and the intensive resource investments agencies and training programs make to prepare clinicians, there are no clear guidelines to direct the selection of treatments. Specifically in the treatment of traumatized youth, there is no current mandate to adopt a developmental trauma framework to guide clinical decision making. The authors argue that this lack of knowledge and guiding framework can significantly impair therapists’ abilities to address the complexities chronically traumatized children and families experience that may call for tailoring or adapting treatment models. It is proposed that cultivating a lifelong learning approach, driven by critical thinking, to review the latest scientific knowledge base and to utilize evidence-based trauma-informed assessment is essential. With this knowledge, clinicians are better equipped to engage in critical appraisal as they formulate case conceptualizations and treatment recommendations for traumatized youth and their families. Recommendations for promoting an evidence-based practice approach in the field of child and adolescent traumatic stress applicable to both graduate programs and continuing education for seasoned clinicians are proposed.