Increasing Treatment Access in Trauma Exposed Children: Developing an Adapted Step One Intervention (RCT)

February 2, 2026 updated by: Leslie Taylor, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
One of the most common and widely disseminated trauma treatments is Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). TF-CBT is a therapist-led, structured and sequential intervention, with treatment organized around P.R.A.C.T.I.C.E. (Psychoeducation, Parent training, Relaxation, Affective Regulation, Cognitive Coping, Trauma Narrative, In-Vivo Exposure, Cognitive Reprocessing, and Enhancing Safety) components. Stepped Care Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children after Trauma (SC-CBT-CT) is an alternative delivery system that incorporates the best available evidence on the treatment of childhood Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) within a stepped care model and utilizes task-shifting with caregiver involvement, which engages caregivers in actively helping their children. Stepped care approaches are characterized by a personalized approach to care in which a lower intensity (i.e., fewer number of sessions) intervention is initially provided before the child is reevaluated or ''stepped up'' for additional care should symptoms persist. The goal of this study is to assess a personalized modification of SC-CBT-CT for Latino families (pSC-CBT-CT). The hypothesis is that personalizing SC-CBT-CT will improve outcomes for Latino children.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
30

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • parent and child agree that the target event/index trauma occurred;
  • report of at least five symptoms of PTSD (1 from re-experiencing category or 1 from avoidance);
  • suicidal ideation does not exclude as long as there is no active plan/intent. Safety planning implemented and continued assessment for plan/intent;
  • children ages 7-12 and a legal guardian willing to participate;
  • can be fluent in English or Spanish;
  • at least 4 weeks since child's exposure to one or more potentially traumatic events;
  • trauma exposure occurred after child was 36 months old.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Children with pervasive developmental disorders or Autism;
  • legal guardian or child with active psychosis;
  • any condition that may limit the legal guardian ability to understand CBT and the child's ability to follow instructions;
  • children who have unsupervised visitation with their perpetrator;
  • perpetrator (person that harmed child) is living in the home;
  • active substance use disorder;
  • child is currently receiving trauma-focused therapy;
  • legal guardian is actively suicidal will be excluded from participation;
  • children who have not been stable on psychotropic medication for 4 or more weeks, and/or for benzodiazepines/stimulants not stable for 2 or more weeks will not be eligible for the trial.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Personalized Stepped Care Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children after Trauma (pSC-CBT-CT)
The SC-CBT-CT intervention in this study is a data driven, stakeholder-informed revision of SC-CBT-CT that incorporates Latino specific values and beliefs, that is, personalized SC-CBT-CT (pSC-CBT-CT). The intervention consists of two steps utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Step one (Stepping Together for Children after Trauma, SC-CT) involves a caregiver-led, therapist-assisted first step with narrative, imaginal, and exposure therapy, and step two consists of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), which utilizes gradual exposure. SC-CT includes three therapist-led caregiver-child meetings over 6-9 weeks, with brief weekly phone support (10-15 minutes) from the therapist to caregiver. During 11 home-based, caregiver-led meetings, the child and caregiver work together on therapeutic tasks (i.e., exposure tasks, a trauma narrative, and in-vivo exposure reminders) guided by an empirically supported activity book.
Behavioral: Personalized Stepped Care Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children after Trauma (pSC-CBT-CT)
The SC-CBT-CT intervention in this study is a data driven, stakeholder-informed revision of SC-CBT-CT that incorporates Latino specific values and beliefs, that is, personalized SC-CBT-CT (pSC-CBT-CT). The intervention consists of two steps utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Step one (Stepping Together for Children after Trauma, SC-CT) involves a caregiver-led, therapist-assisted first step with narrative, imaginal, and exposure therapy, and step two consists of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), which utilizes gradual exposure. SC-CT includes three therapist-led caregiver-child meetings over 6-9 weeks, with brief weekly phone support (10-15 minutes) from the therapist to caregiver. During 11 home-based, caregiver-led meetings, the child and caregiver work together on therapeutic tasks (i.e., exposure tasks, a trauma narrative, and in-vivo exposure reminders) guided by an empirically supported activity book.
Active Comparator: Treatment as Usual (TAU)
Participants in the TAU condition will be given a list of community resources offering child mental health services for trauma survivors. TAU will likely be Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) or another trauma-informed psychotherapy, which may include similar components.
Behavioral: Treatment as Usual (TAU)
Participants in the TAU condition will be given a list of community resources offering child mental health services for trauma survivors. TAU will likely be Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) or another trauma-informed psychotherapy, which may include similar components.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Post-Traumatic Stress Severity and Impairment as Assessed by the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index (RI) for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) (UCLA-RI-5) - Child Reported
Time Frame: baseline, week 7, week 15
Total score ranges from 0 to 73, with a higher score indicating worse symptoms.
baseline, week 7, week 15
Post-Traumatic Stress Severity and Impairment as Assessed by the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index for DSM-5 (UCLA-RI-5) - Parent Reported
Time Frame: baseline, week 7, week 15
Total score ranges from 0 to 73, with a higher score indicating worse symptoms.
baseline, week 7, week 15
Functional Impairment as Assessed by the Columbia Impairment Scale-Parent and Child (CIS-P/C)
Time Frame: baseline, week 7, week 15
Total score ranges from 0 to 65, with a higher score indicating a worse outcome.
baseline, week 7, week 15

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of participants with a PTSD Diagnosis as Assessed by the Diagnostic Interview for Anxiety, Mood, and Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Related Neuropsychiatric Disorders Child and Adolescent Version (DIAMOND-KID) Clinical Interview
Time Frame: baseline, week 7, week 15
A PTSD diagnosis using the DIAMOND-KID Clinical Interview is indicated by answering "yes" to the presence of 4 types of PTSD symptoms.
baseline, week 7, week 15
Anxiety as Assessed by the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS-C/P) - Anxiety Subscore
Time Frame: baseline, week 15
Total score ranges from 0 to 111, with a higher score indicating greater symptom severity.
baseline, week 15
Depression as Assessed by the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS-C/P) - Depression Subscore
Time Frame: baseline, week 15
Total score ranges from 0 to 30, with a higher score indicating greater symptom severity.
baseline, week 15
Clinical Severity of Trauma Symptoms as Assessed by the Clinical Global Impression-Severity/Improvement (CGI-S/I) Scale
Time Frame: baseline, week 7, week 15
Total score ranges from 0 (no illness) to 6 (extremely severe), with a higher score indicating a greater severity of trauma symptoms.
baseline, week 7, week 15
Clinical Improvement in Trauma Symptoms as Assessed by the Clinical Global Impression Severity/Improvement (CGI-S/I) Scale
Time Frame: baseline, week 7, week 15
Total score ranges from 0 to 7, with a higher score indicating a worse outcome. A score of 1, 2 or 3 will be used to indicate treatment response.
baseline, week 7, week 15
Parent Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSS) as Assessed by the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5)
Time Frame: baseline, week 15
Total score ranges from 0 to 80, with a higher score indicating a worse outcome.
baseline, week 15
Parent Depression as Assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
Time Frame: baseline, week 15
Total score ranges from 0 to 27, with a higher score indicating a worse outcome.
baseline, week 15
Parent Anxiety as Assessed by the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) Scale
Time Frame: baseline, week 15
Total score ranges from 0 to 21, with a higher score indicating a worse outcome.
baseline, week 15
Parent Stress as Assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)
Time Frame: baseline, week 15
Scores range from 18 to 90, with a higher score indicating higher parenting stress.
baseline, week 15

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Baylor College of Medicine
University of South Florida
University of Houston
Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Leslie K Taylor, PhD, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 2, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 2, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
February 9, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
February 9, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 2, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • HSC-MS-25-0929 (RCT)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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