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The Family PEACE (Preventing Early Adverse Childhood Experiences) Trauma Treatment Center
CYNTHIA ARREOLA • Program Manager • cya9006@nyp.org WANDA VARGAS, PHD • Senior Psychologist • wav9004@nyp.org
Mission and Goals
trauma-informed system, implement
The goal of Family PEACE (Preventing Early Adverse Childhood Experiences) Trauma Treatment Center (FPTTC) is to help very young children and their families heal after experiencing family violence, abuse, and other forms of trauma. The Center provides holistic treatment to end intergenerational cycles of violence, offering services to young children (ages birth to five years), their primary caregivers, and siblings (ages six-12 years) who have also been impacted by the traumatic event. Services include:
•Dyadic, individual, and group treatment for young children and their caregivers
•Creative arts and integrative therapies
•Case management and crime victim compensation assistance
•On-site legal services
•Psychiatry services
The FPTTC provides trauma-informed and culturally attuned programming that reflects the needs of the community. Staff are bilingual and bicultural, and services are offered in both English and Spanish. The clinical staff consists of mental health professionals who are specialists in early childhood mental health and development, trauma, and parent-child In an effort to identify trauma early and enhance access to treatment for young children and families, the Center implemented the Healthy Steps Model at NewYork-Presbyterian’s pediatric primary care setting. Caregivers and young children were screened for exposure to trauma, provided with information about trauma and health, and streamlined into a plan of treatment to meet their needs. The Center also partnered with local community-based organizations, including early childhood centers, to offer training and consultation on building a
attachment. trauma screening, and provide on-site treatment services. In an effort to identify trauma early and enhance access to treatment for young children and families, the Center implemented the Healthy Steps Model at NewYorkPresbyterian’s pediatric primary care setting.
3,355
560
65
372
55 Number of People Reached
Visits with 303 unique patients. Individuals (267 adults and 293 children) screened for trauma using the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) tool. Medical residents/interns trained on trauma/ACEs and how to screen for domestic violence in the primary care setting.
Direct service providers from NewYork-Presbyterian and partner agencies trained on trauma-informed care).
Individuals (adults and children) received legal services.
Key Accomplishments
Supported by a grant from the New York State Office of Victim Services, the Family PEACE Trauma Treatment Center expanded its treatment interventions to include a creative arts and integrative therapies component. The Center offers music therapy, spirituality groups, and workshops focused on healing the mind-body connection. The expansion and diversification of treatment interventions allows for a holistic approach to healing that is grounded in the cultural values and norms of the community.
The FPTTC’s grant from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network/ SAMHSA for “Increasing Community Access to Early Childhood EvidenceBased Trauma Services” has allowed for the integration of behavioral health services into primary care and community-based organizations; training and education on traumainformed systems of care; early identification of trauma using the ACEs tool; improving access to treatment; and developing a trauma-informed culturally attuned model of care. The FPTTC was selected to participate in the National Council on Behavioral Health’s one-year program on TraumaInformed, Resilience-Oriented Learning Community. The program served to enhance FPTTC’s model of traumainformed service delivery.
The FPTTC remains active in the community’s grassroots and advocacy efforts against domestic and gender-based violence and is a member of the Washington Heights/ Inwood Coalition Against Interpersonal and Domestic Violence and the Upper Manhattan Collaborative. The Center also co-chairs the Intimate Partner Violence Collaborative Group for the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and its affiliates.
