Providing Access to Trauma Healing for Victims of Child Abuse

Who Will Benefit: 

Funding from the Dudley Dougherty Foundation will allow Sequoia Springs to meet community mental health needs and serve the most vulnerable among us, children and teens who have experienced abuse and whose families lack financial resources.

The stresses of post pandemic life have been compounded by rising rates of poverty, child abuse, social pressures, substance abuse and domestic violence. Long waiting lists for mental health care are the norm in Tucson, and 17 of the 23 areas of Tucson were designated as Health Care Worker Shortage Areas in the 2021 Community Health Needs Assessment. Children in need of mental health care in Tucson face barriers to receiving services due to a lack of financial resources and the inability of many providers to take new clients. Funding will allow Sequoia Springs to play a part in meeting the overwhelming demand for trauma informed child and adolescent mental health care in Tucson. 

Clinical Methods For Achieving Results: 

Modalities used by therapists at Sequoia Springs include but are not limited to: child-parent psychotherapy (CPP), family systems therapy, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), cognitive behavior therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), sand play therapy, and trauma focused play therapy. 

We recognize the integral role that family systems play in the experience of trauma and in healing, so our work involves children and their families. We aim to strengthen the relational networks of children to provide needed support, to reduce trauma symptoms, and to encourage the process of growth and healing after traumatic experiences. 

Therapists will use the Child PTSD Symptom Scale for DSM V (CPSS V) to assess symptoms and therapeutic goals will include a 50% increase in sense of safety, 50% reduction in trauma symptoms, and 50% increase in the use of coping skills.

How Grant Money Will Be Used: 

Grant funds will be used to provide approximately 225 low cost to no cost psychotherapy clinical hours to children ages 6-18 who have experienced physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, and support will also be provided to the child’s caregiver when clinically appropriate. Sequoia Springs will carry out its mission of providing accessible trauma healing by providing services to low to no income families. We will determine which clients qualify for low to no cost services on the basis of household income information collected during intake. Ten percent of the budget will be allocated to administrative expenses that support our clinical programming, client communication, and continuity of services.