Partners /

Child Witness to Violence Project

 

Contact Info

Address

Boston Medical Center
801 Albany Street, 1st Floor North
Boston, MA
02119

Contact Name

Neena McConnico,
Project Director
Ashley Schiffmiller,
Program Manager

 

Services Provided

The Child Witness to Violence Project is an intervention program for young children and families affected by violence. 

A. Child: CWVP provides therapeutic services for children affected by violence and other trauma. Age range: 0-8 years old

B. Family: Support for caretakers and advocacy for children and their families affected by violence and other trauma.

 

Specialized Evidence-based Mental Health Services:

Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP)
Child- Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) is one of the very few evidence-based practices for working with very young children. Working in this model, the clinician balances her attention on meeting the child's needs, meeting the caregiver’s needs, and supporting and strengthening the caregiver-child relationship.  The key premise of CPP is that trauma, especially interpersonal trauma or trauma at the hands of those whom are supposed to love and protect you, does not just impact one person in the family system; it impacts every person in the family system. Therefore, to truly support that healing process, one cannot just work with one person or the other, but promote healing through relationships. For our youngest victims and survivors of trauma, the caregiver-child relationship has the power to be the mediator against deleterious effects of trauma and the meaning-maker that create some cohesion after crisis.