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Restore>>Emotion

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Children who have experienced the evil of sex trafficking and complex trauma display intense and often volatile emotions. They have difficulty with self-regulation, experience chronic depressed moods, feel a sense of emptiness or deadness, have chronic suicidal preoccupation, display excessive expressions of anger, and have difficulty communicating wishes and desires. They experience dissociation, amnesia, and numbing out. They have difficulty in controlling impulses, exhibit self-destructive and aggressive behavior, find sleep unattainable, struggle with eating disorders and substance abuse, and have difficulty understanding and complying with rules and respecting those in authority. Some are sexually aggressive and have confusion over their sexual orientation. Many are suspicious and distrustful, have problems with boundaries, and are unable to attach emotionally. Low or no self-esteem is extremely common as are feelings of shame, guilt, and self-hate. They are literally drowning in emotions.

These behaviors and symptoms are common to individuals diagnosed with PTSD, common to those who have experienced complex trauma, and are very normal to our girls. When our girls are in survival mode, living on the streets, they have the ability to stuff their feelings. Many of them have been doing this for years. Identifying and experiencing long-denied emotions is extremely difficult and painful.

After much research and consultation with mental health professionals, each girl’s ULP at Courage House incorporates therapy with a licensed mental health professional who specializes in trauma. Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) as well as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) are evidence-based treatment approaches shown to help children, adolescents, and their caretakers overcome trauma-related difficulties as well as symptoms of PTSD. These therapies are designed to reduce negative emotional and behavioral responses. The treatment addresses distorted beliefs and attributions related to the abuse and provides a supportive environment in which children are encouraged to talk about their traumatic experience.

Restoring a child’s emotions is a long and often complicated process. It requires highly trained professional staff members who exhibit their own emotional health and wholeness, who have immense patience and thick skin. At Courage House, we have found that the restoration process is accelerated by having a warm, safe, and loving home environment as well as mental health professionals who have experience working with this population. State funds are available to some extent for our girls. However, mental health professionals agree it takes years of this type of intensive therapy for a child’s emotions to be completely restored to health and wholeness. Most state placements do not take into consideration this length of time or frequency of treatment needed. Private funds must be raised to offset and provide for the costs associated with consistent and frequent mental health services to restore a child a sense of value, wellbeing, and worth.


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