Graduate Psychology
Education (GPE)
Trainees Help Violent
and Abused Children
Helping Children Exposed to Trauma. Although I work with many underserved children
exposed to trauma, I can recall a specific child where the GPE funded Interdisciplinary Training
Initiative for Underserved Children (ITIUC) gave me all of the necessary tools to assist with her
symptoms. I was able to use Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) on a
weekly basis with this child and involve the foster parents in understanding the trauma and
creating a home that would foster healing. During my work with the child she was required to
testify in court against the alleged perpetrator. The ITIUC program gave me the opportunity to
learn and see a program at the Care Center known as Kids Court that prepares children to testify.
I was able to attend this with my client. She did a phenomenal job testifying in court which
resulted in other children being kept safe from this perpetrator. I also work in a general pediatric
clinic conducting consults for children that are in foster care. The ITIUC program allowed me to
interact with people from a variety of disciplines such as law, medicine, nursing, and social
work. The experience of getting to meet on a weekly basis in a multidisciplinary team taught me
how to interact and use other fields to appropriately help underserved children exposed to
trauma. I use these experiences on a daily basis working with physicians and am thankful that I
am better able to serve children through my education acquired through ITIUC.
Working with Teen Abusers. I worked with cognitively
delayed male adolescent who was living in a group
home because he had committed sex offenses against
younger children. The adolescent had been living in the
group home for two years and had never received any
sex-offender specific treatment. The Office of Juvenile
Affairs wanted to work toward reunifying the
adolescent with his family, who lived an hour and a
half away from the adolescent’s group home. I
conducted individual and family therapy with the
adolescent and his parents for several months. The
adolescent learned about appropriate and inappropriate
ways to deal with sexual feelings as well as impulse
control skills. His family learned how to supervise him
appropriately, enforce rules, and to help him engage in
positive peer relationships. The adolescent was returned to his home and community and will
graduate from high school this spring. He is working a part-time job and maintaining appropriate
behavior in the community. The ITIUC program provided training in the necessary skills and
clinical supervision to work successfully with this adolescent boy.
-Over-
Nina G. Levitt, Ed.D. * American Psychological Association * (202) 336-6023 * 2009
Providing Services to Sexually Abused Children.
I saw a boy, age 7, who had been sexually abused
by his father. He was removed from his parents’
care and placed with a family member. Over the
course of a year that I worked with this child, we
experienced several difficulties with providing
consistent treatment, often due to the complexity
of agencies and professionals involved in this
case. Through my experiences and training from
the ITIUC program, I felt I had more knowledge
and experience to work with the multitude of
services provided and made significant gains that
helped this child in multiple ways. For example, the child was placed temporarily in an inpatient
facility but through my efforts and those of my supervisors we were able to work with the
agency and caseworker to return him to his caretakers and continue with our outpatient services.
All in all if I had not received the intensive, multidisciplinary opportunities provided through the
ITIUC program, I do not feel I would have been as successful with help a child in need.
GPE Funding Providing Critical Integrated Health Care Training and Invaluable Experience.
The ITIUC has proven to be essential to my training in helping underserved families affected by
maltreatment. Through the ITIUC program I have been exposed to training in many empirically
supported treatments such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Parent
Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), and Children with Sexual Behavior Problems. Additionally,
through participating in ITIUC interdisciplinary hours, I was able to travel all over the Oklahoma
City area and meet with providers to see firsthand the available services for children exposed to
maltreatment. These training opportunities in addition to extensive weekly didactics have been
vital in assisting me in serving children exposed to trauma.
GPE Program Promotes and Encourages Careers in Helping Underserved Children. I feel
that the ITIUC is a model program that should be replicated nationwide to assist psychologists
working with children exposed to maltreatment. Although working with these children can be
one of the most difficult populations to serve, I feel that the GPE funded ITIUC program gave
me not only the training, but also the confidence, to treat them adequately. ITIUC also created a
passion in me to develop a career in helping underserved children exposed to maltreatment.
Barbara Bonner, PhD, Tatiana Balachova, PhD, GPE Grant Co-Project Directors
Interdisciplinary Training Initiative for Underserved Children
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Nina G. Levitt, Ed.D. * American Psychological Association * (202) 336-6023 * 2009