The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) is an American organization whose "mission is to raise the standard of care and improve access to services for

traumatized Psychological trauma, mental trauma or psychotrauma is an emotional response to a distressing event or series of events, such as accidents, rape, or natural disasters. Reactions such as psychological shock and psychological denial are typical. ...

children, their families, and communities throughout the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

". According to its website, the NCTSN "offers training, support, and resources to providers who work with children and families exposed to a wide range of traumatic experiences, including

physical Physical may refer to: *Physical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...

and

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

;

domestic Domestic may refer to: In the home * Anything relating to the human home or family ** A domestic animal, one that has undergone domestication ** A domestic appliance, or home appliance ** A domestic partnership ** Domestic science, sometimes c ...

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

, and community violence;

natural disaster A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econ ...

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

, or military family challenges; and life-threatening injury and illness." NCTSN supports

trauma-informed care Trauma- and violence-informed care (TVIC) describes a framework for working with and relating to people who have experienced negative consequences after exposure to dangerous experiences. There is no one single TVIC framework, or model, and some go ...

with a well-regarded program called the Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit.

History

The NCTSN is coordinated by the

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

-Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress, and is a collaboration that has 60 members and a network of more than 150 centers and thousands of partners throughout the US. It was named in honor of Yale physician

Donald J. Cohen Donald Jay Cohen (September 5, 1940 – October 2, 2001) was an American psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and director of the Yale Child Study Center and the Sterling Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology at the Yale School of Medic ...

, and was established in 2000 by the

US Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

. The NCTSN is a resource for dealing with tragedies like the

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and t ...

References

External links

National Child Traumatic Stress Network website
{{Duke University Mental health organizations in California

History

References

Further reading

External links