Creating tools for addressing child trauma in Canada: Caregiver online PsychoEducation (COPE)

Abstract

Childhood trauma refers to deeply distressing or profoundly overwhelming experiences, such as abuse or violence, that are associated with long-term health and mental health challenges. In the absence of psychological interventions and support, children exposed to trauma are at risk of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health difficulties. Most children and families face long waitlists for trauma treatment, despite evidence suggesting that addressing child trauma symptoms early is beneficial for their recovery. While families wait to receive treatment, there is a window of opportunity where resources could be provided to reduce the development of trauma symptoms and help families cope with the acute impacts of trauma exposure. To meet this need, clinicians and researchers partnered to launch Caregiver Online PsychoEducation (COPE; www.copewithtrauma.org) to provide caregivers with easily accessible, evidence-based information on how to understand and support their child's child trauma symptoms. From the perspective of clinicians and researchers, this paper describes the rationale and development of COPE, provides a brief overview of its contents, reviews plans for evaluation and implementation, and discusses its potential reach.