Which components are core to TF-CBT for children and adolescents?

• A. Psychoeducation, relaxation skills, affect modulation, cognitive processing, trauma narration, in vivo mastery, conjoint parent-child sessions, and gradual exposure with caregiver involvement.
• B. Psychoeducation and relaxation skills only.
• C. Exposure therapy without caregiver involvement.
• D. Pharmacotherapy as the primary treatment.

Answer: (B)

TF-CBT for children and adolescents uses a set of integrated components that address the child’s distress, cognitive processing, and family context. The core elements include psychoeducation for both the child and caregivers, relaxation skills to reduce arousal, affective modulation to help manage emotions, cognitive processing to identify and reframe unhelpful beliefs, trauma narration to process the trauma in a structured way, in vivo mastery of trauma reminders to practice coping in real life, and conjoint parent–child sessions to strengthen communication and support. Gradual exposure to trauma memories and reminders is conducted with caregiver involvement so the child can apply these skills with ongoing support. While medication may be used in some cases, it is not the primary treatment in TF-CBT; the approach centers on these psychosocial components and family involvement. Choices that omit caregiver involvement or essential components, or that emphasize pharmacotherapy as the main treatment, don’t capture the full TF-CBT framework.