HOW WE HELP
Mental Health Services
Individual, group, and family therapy that helps children and families feel safe again, free of charge and in English and Spanish.
Our Mental Health Program
Our mental health team is dedicated to helping children and their non-offending caregivers heal from trauma using evidence-based treatment modalities. Our team includes a dedicated group of full-time social workers, a psychologist, and gifted interns.
We offer outpatient therapy in our child-friendly clinic to children who have experienced abuse or neglect, and short-term in-home services to children who have been removed from their families and placed in kinship care or foster care.
In FY2026, the Tree House provided 6,247 mental health sessions, more than any other service we offer.
Types of therapy
Every child is different, so we offer several kinds of therapy and match each child with the approach that fits them best. A therapist will help you understand which option is right for your child. Select a therapy to read the full description.
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is an evidence-based treatment for children who have experienced traumatic events and their supportive, non-offending caregivers. The goal is to help children recover from their trauma, reducing symptoms of post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, and problem behaviors. TF-CBT teaches children and caregivers coping skills they can use to manage traumatic stress, helps families process the traumatic experiences, and enhances the child's future safety and development. Treatment includes individual sessions for the child, individual sessions for the caregiver, and conjoint sessions for the child and their caregiver. The therapy typically requires 6 -12 months to complete.
Ages 7 - 14
Trauma-Focused CBT with Problematic Sexualized Behavior CBT
TF-CBT with Problematic Sexualized Behavior Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (PSB-CBT) is an advanced, hybrid treatment that lets clinicians use aspects of PSB-CBT within the TF-CBT framework. It addresses problematic sexual behaviors a child is exhibiting when the origin of those behaviors seems related to trauma the child has experienced. Building on TF-CBT, it provides children and caregivers with sexual behavior rules, coping skills, and additional psychoeducation that specifically addresses the problematic behaviors. Treatment includes individual sessions for the child, individual sessions for the caregiver, and conjoint sessions for the child and caregiver. This therapy typically requires 6 to 12 months to complete.
Primarily ages 7 to 12
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an evidence-based treatment for young children with externalizing problems, such as emotion regulation and behavioral difficulties, and it is successful with children who have experienced trauma. The goal is to increase the warmth and security of the parent-child interaction and to teach parents how to give effective commands that increase a child's cooperation with daily instructions. Children and caregivers are seen together. PCIT therapists coach caregivers in delivering therapy skills using bug-in-the-ear technology while observing the caregiver and child during play. Treatment typically requires 18 to 35 sessions.
Ages 2 to 7
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured therapy that encourages the patient to briefly focus on the trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (typically eye movements), which is associated with a reduction in the vividness and emotion of the trauma memory. EMDR is an extensively researched, effective method proven to help people recover from trauma and PTSD symptoms, with ongoing research supporting its use for anxiety, depression, OCD, chronic pain, and other distressing life experiences. It does not require talking in detail about the distressing issue or completing homework between sessions; instead, it allows the brain to resume its natural healing process and resolve unprocessed traumatic memories. For many clients, EMDR can be completed in fewer sessions than other psychotherapies.
Ages 4 to 18
Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI)
Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI) is a brief, evidence-based early intervention for children who have recently experienced a traumatic event. It is delivered during the peritraumatic phase, starting within 45 days of the event or its disclosure. The goal is to treat acute trauma symptoms and help prevent the development of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other trauma sequelae. It works by teaching caregivers and children about common traumatic reactions, helping them identify and communicate about these symptoms, and using targeted behavioral interventions. This treatment involves 5 to 8 sessions, an optional 1-month follow-up, and a 3-month follow-up.
Ages 7 to 18
Transitional Trauma Therapy (T3)
Transitional Trauma Therapy (T3) is a collaborative service developed by the Tree House CAC and Montgomery County Child Welfare Services to provide short-term mental health services to children who have been sheltered by the Department and placed in kinship or foster care. T3 is a short-term service of no more than 6 sessions, geared toward mitigating the trauma of being removed from one's family of origin and placed in a new household, often with strangers. T3 provides psychoeducation to caregivers, facilitates communication between the child and their new caregivers, and fosters trusting, healthy relationships, all to improve the child's experience and minimize placement disruptions.
Ages 0 to 18
Problematic Sexual Behavior CBT (PSB-CBT)
Problematic Sexual Behavior Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (PSB-CBT) is an evidence-based therapy for children who exhibit intrusive sexualized behaviors and for their caregivers. The goal is to eliminate sexual behavior problems in school-aged children. Therapists teach children and caregivers about appropriate and inappropriate sexual behaviors, how to set and respect personal boundaries, social skills, and ways to manage emotions, behaviors, and impulses. The treatment also teaches caregivers how to respond to and address problematic sexual behavior through behavior management techniques. It typically requires weekly group attendance for about 4 to 6 months.
School-age group model, ages 7 to 14
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