Treating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder using Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR) and Narrative Story Telling (NST): A Case Study of a Male Juvenile Offender

Abstract

It has been suggested that treatment for children with an abusive history should not merely target the more overt symptoms of PTSD, but also the emotional and interpersonal difficulties in order to recover the lost resources. Cloitre and colleagues (Cloitre etal., 1997; Cloitre et al., 2005; Cloitre et al., 2011a) have a nearly 20-year history of developing and gaining empirical support for recommending adding components to treatment of PTSD that focus on the development of skills to improve the ability to manage feelings and negotiate relationships. Combining skills training and prolonged exposure, Cloitre, Koenen, Cohen, and Han (2002) demonstrated significant improvements in affect regulation, interpersonal skills, and PTSD symptoms using Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation Followed by Exposure (STAIR- modified PE) in a randomized clinical trial. This paper discusses the treatment of Mr. Smith (not real name). a 19-year-old Caucasian male, currently incarcerated at a juvenile correctional facility. Mr. Smith has been incarcerated for approximately four years and was adjudicated at age 15 on multiple sexual offences perpetrated against his younger siblings and a child of a family friend. He reported a long history of physical abuse and neglect starting in early childhood and continuing until his incarceration at age 15. Mr. Smith also reported several occasions of sexual abuse as a child.