ABSTRACT
The traumatic avoidance of friends or family members may create significant disruptions in interpersonai relationships in which others assume the role of trauma or loss reminders. This chapter describes the content and organization of the UCLA program, and provide recommendations for its successful implementation within a variety of school and community-based settings. The UCLA Trauma/Grief-Focused Intervention Program was designed to identify and provide specialized psychological services to youths whose histories of violence exposure place them at significant risk for severe, persisting posttraumatic distress reactions and developmental disruptions. A comprehensive intervention for traumatized adolescents should systematically address both objective and subjective features of traumatic experiences. In trauma/grief-focused group treatment, an adolescent boy disclosed that he was confronted with a distressing trauma reminder each morning when he dressed in front of the bathroom mirror. The traumatic death of a family member or close friend often generates a complex interplay between the processes of posttraumatic adjustment and bereavement.
