Reconnecting a Family Torn Apart by Violence and Addiction

National Child Traumatic Stress Network & Center for the Treatment of Developmental Trauma Disorders

In late October 2017, the Center for the Treatment of Developmental Trauma Disorders (DTD) and NCTSN launched the Developmental Trauma Disorder Series entitled "Identifying Critical Moments and Healing Complex Trauma" with its first webinar: Helping an Angry Father Find Common Ground with His Son.

In each webinar in the series, viewers see actual therapists demonstrate how to handle some of the most difficult crises that occur in therapy with traumatized children and families (played by actors).

In Webinar 2 of the DTD series, a family is required to seek therapy after the parents get in a physical altercation while intoxicated. During a family therapy session with their teenage children, a father learns from his wife that she is questioning her gender identity. This discovery challenges the co-therapy team to balance the needs of each family member during the heated confrontation that follows. The team must find a way to keep the family emotionally safe as the father—feeling betrayed and confused—reacts in anger.