Effective therapeutic intervention can help address the immediate and long-term adverse social, emotional, developmental, and health outcomes that victims of child abuse and exploitation may suffer. Family members also may benefit from mental health services so they have the capacity to support the child's recovery, provide ongoing protection, and address the stress the entire family may experience following a child's disclosure.
The Middlesex CAC encourages all victims and non-offending family members to seek evidence-based, trauma-focused mental health treatment services.
On-site Services:
Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI) is a short-term, early intervention developed by the Yale Child Study Center for children and their caregivers. The goal is to decrease traumatic stress reactions and prevent the onset of PTSD by providing a structure for the identification and discussion of trauma symptoms.
Our Mental Health Clinician offers this service in our Woburn Office for children aged 7-18 who have recently experienced or disclosed a potentially traumatic event, such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, family violence, or community violence.
The early phase of trauma response is one of intense vulnerability for the child when they require significant support and understanding from their caregiver. CFTSI helps raise the child and caregiver's ability to identify when symptoms are occurring, acclimates them to talking about symptoms, and increases their ability to use coping strategies to reduce symptoms.
Referrals for Community-based Services:
The victim witness advocate (VWA) will provide you with a list of referrals tailored to your clinical, financial, geographic, linguistic, and cultural needs.
The VWA also can assist you apply for the Victim Compensation Fund that may reimburse you for out-of-pocket crime-related expenses, including mental health treatment.
Use the menu to the left for a list of referrals for mental health services in your community.