A Multi-Modal Treatment Program for Childhood Trauma Recovery: Women Recovering from Abuse Program (WRAP)

ABSTRACT

This article describes the Women Recovering from Abuse Program (WRAP), an outpatient day-hospital program for women suffering from the sequelae of childhood abuse. WRAP was conceived in 1998 by clinicians who advocated for its development based on a growing need to provide women who had experienced childhood trauma an alternative to an inpatient program. WRAP draws from a Stage 1 treatment approach to address chronic interpersonal trauma and dissociation by incorporating psychopharmacology, individual and group psychotherapy. The program is structured into two phases: a preparatory Building Resources Group (BRG) and an intensive multi-modal segment comprised of seven types of group therapy. Each group is described in terms of the treatment rationale and its structure and process. Two research studies to date support the effectiveness of WRAP.

KEYWORDS:

• Childhood trauma
• child abuse
• treatment program
• psychotherapy