Title

Culturally adapted spiritually oriented trauma-focused cognitive–behavioral therapy for child survivors of restavek

School/Department

Rosemead School of Psychology

Publication Date

12-2016

Abstract

Restavek is a form of modern-day slavery that is estimated to affect 300,000 (i.e., approximately 1 in 10) children in Haiti. It typically involves a child from a poor rural family being sent to work as an indentured domestic servant for an affluent urban family. Restavek children experience a high rate of trauma, as well as other mental health concerns. The present study explored the effectiveness of a culturally adapted form of Spiritually Oriented Trauma-Focused Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy (SO-TF-CBT), a treatment model for assessing and treating religious and spiritual issues within the standard TF-CBT protocol (an evidence-based treatment for childhood trauma). This study involved 20 control participants and 38 treatment participants assigned to a 12-session protocol. Results indicated that participants who received the treatment, relative to those who did not, reported lower PTSD symptoms and spiritual struggles (relative to control participants), with medium-to-large effect sizes. Implications of these findings for future research and clinical work with restavek children are discussed.

Keywords

Spiritually Oriented Trauma-Focused Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy (SO-TF-CBT)

Publication Title

Spirituality in Clinical Practice

Volume

3

Issue

4

First Page

224

Last Page

236

DOI of Published Version

10.1037/scp0000101 .

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