About Us

Who We Are


The Child Trauma Research Program (CTRP) is a program within the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Psychiatry. In existence since 1996, CTRP is located at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG) in the heart of the Mission District. Since 2001, CTRP has been the lead program of the Early Trauma Treatment Network, a center of the federally-funded National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

Our team of multi-cultural, multi-lingual staff is dedicated to helping young children and families who experience traumatic events. We develop and research effective treatment models, provide training across settings and disciplines, and offer direct service to children and their families. 

 

 

Mission Statement

Our mission is to develop, evaluate, implement, and disseminate science-based, relationship-focused, family-centered, culturally-informed interventions for trauma-exposed young children and their families, starting during pregnancy and through age 5 for children who witness or directly experience violence in their homes or communities; the death of a loved one; or life-threatening accidents, illnesses, or disasters.

 

What We Do


Treatments

We provide mental health services to families from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, with special commitment to low-income ethnic minority families, immigrant groups, and those who might otherwise lack access to services. Treatment is provided free of charge. Bilingual services in Spanish are available. 

  • Child-Parent Psychotherapy
  • Perinatal Child-Parent Psychotherapy
  • Co-Parenting Child-Parent Psychotherapy
  • Attachment Vitamins
  • Building Bridges

 

Trainings

We provide trainings locally, nationally, and internationally to mental health professionals and providers in other systems who work with young children and their families. 

  • Child-Parent Psychotherapy
  • Perinatal Child-Parent Psychotherapy
  • Attachment Vitamins
  • Building Bridges

 

Our faculty provide clinical supervision to students and trainees as part of multiple pre-doctoral internship programs and post-doctoral fellowships.

  • APA-accredited Multicultural Training Program at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital Child and Adolescent Services
  • APA-accredited Clinical Psychology Training Program at University of California, San Francisco
  • Tipping Point Community Mental Health Initiative

 

Research

Our research examines the effects of trauma on young children and their families and the effectiveness of relationship-based treatments including child-parent psychotherapy. Our goal is to increase access to services and raise the standard of care for young children and families exposed to trauma.

Please visit the CTRP Publications page for a comprehensive list of recently published research conducted by CTRP staff.

 

Workforce Development

CTRP is the lead program in the Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consortium (IECMHC), along with the Infant-Parent Program and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland Early Interventions Services. IECMHC is working with 10 Northern California counties to offer an array of professional development opportunities and resources that are tailored to each communities' unique strengths and challenges. The goal is to develop a strong infant and early childhood workforce in every community that is equipped to meet the needs of all children and families. 

The ten counties are:

  • Butte
  • Del Norte
  • Glenn
  • Humboldt
  • Lake
  • Mendocino
  • Modoc
  • Shasta
  • Siskiyou
  • Tehama

 

Partnerships