Date of Award

Summer 8-22-2026

Document Type

Doctoral Research Paper

Degree Name

Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology

Organizational Unit

Graduate School of Professional Psychology

First Advisor

Laura River

Second Advisor

Shelly Smith-Acuña

Third Advisor

Loraine Fishman

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Keywords

Adolescent trauma, Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Clinical psychology education, Evidence-based treatment, Adolescent mental health

Abstract

Adolescent trauma is a significant mental health concern that can profoundly disrupt emotional, cognitive, social, and developmental functioning. Although evidence-based interventions for adolescent trauma are well established, doctoral-level psychology training programs may provide limited instruction focused specifically on the unique developmental, cultural, and clinical considerations required when treating traumatized adolescents. This paper presents the development of a ten-week doctoral-level elective course designed to address this gap in clinical training. The curriculum provides foundational knowledge regarding the prevalence, developmental impact, diagnosis, and treatment of adolescent trauma, with an emphasis on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). Students are introduced to developmentally adapted evidence-based interventions, include Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Additional course content addresses therapeutic alliance, caregiver involvement, multicultural and intersectional considerations, ethical issues, clinician self-care, and strategies to reduce burnout and vicarious trauma. Active learning methods include case conceptualization, discussion, and applied clinical assignments. By integrating adolescent-specific trauma education into doctoral level psychology training, this course aims to improve future psychologists’ preparedness to provide developmentally responsive, culturally responsive, and evidence-based care to adolescents who have experienced trauma.

Copyright Date

7-10-2026

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Jasmine M. Cervantes

Provenance

Received from author

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

51 pgs

File Size

341 KB

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