First Lady, Malones Featured at Child Therapy Conference

April 10, 2015 | April 10, 2015 | Arkansas first lady Susan Hutchinson was among the speakers at a conference April 8-10 sponsored by UAMS, designed to train mental-health care professionals to recognize and treat the symptoms of abuse in children.

More than 350 psychologists, therapists, social workers and counselors from across Arkansas attended the annual AR BEST (Arkansas Building Effective Services for Trauma) conference at UAMS.

The training concentrated on trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), an effective mental-health treatment for youth who have experienced trauma, including sexual and physical abuse.

Hutchinson read an address from the governor’s office proclaiming April Child Abuse Prevention Month in Arkansas.

“We’re very happy to have the first lady take part in this year’s conference and introduce the governor’s proclamation,” said Teresa Kramer, Ph.D., who oversees the AR BEST program. “This is the sixth year for the conference, and every year it becomes more important to spread the word about what we are doing and why it is so necessary.”

Former state Sen. Percy Malone of Arkadelphia and his wife, Donna, opened the advanced training on April 10, where nearly 150 alumnae of previous TF-CBT trainings gathered to advance their skills in working with traumatized children.  The Malones have served as strong advocates of trauma-exposed children in Arkansas and were instrumental in developing legislation to support ARBEST’s initiative to provide evidence-based, trauma-informed treatment through Child Advocacy Centers and community mental health providers.

Arkansas has the sixth highest rate of child maltreatment in the United States, with 14.6 victims per 1,000 children compared to 9.1 victims per 1,000 children nationally. It also has one of the highest rates of sexual abuse in the country, with 21.6 victims per 1,000 children compared to 9 victims per 1,000 children nationally.

A total of 883 mental health professionals have attended the training since 2006. The training has been led each year by Anthony P. Mannarino, Ph.D., director of the Center for Traumatic Stress in Children and Adolescents at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a professor of Psychiatry at Drexel University’s College of Medicine. Mannarino is also one of the developers of the TF-CBT treatment.

TF-CBT is a form of psychotherapy that incorporates trauma-sensitive interventions with cognitive behavioral, family and humanistic principles and techniques. It has proven to be effective in helping children and adolescents with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, sexualized behaviors, feelings of shame and mistrust.

“The AR BEST program has been instrumental in bringing TF-CBT to mental health workers throughout Arkansas, and we think it has made a big difference in how we approach abuse victims,” Kramer said. “Because it is so difficult for children and their parents to talk about it, abuse is not always recognizable. The training provided through the conference equips healthcare professionals with the skills they need to treat young people, many of whom have suffered in silence for years.”