• A Film Series

    Understanding
    Transition Age Youth

    A film about the importance of using a complex trauma lens in our work with child-serving systems

  • A Short Film

    JADE

    A story about healing from racial trauma and systemic racism

  • A Two-Part Film

    Remembering Trauma

    Connecting the dots between complex trauma and misdiagnosis in youth

    Examining trauma through a new lens

    Introducing CCTASSI FILMS, by the Center for Child Trauma Assessment, Services & Systems Integration (CCTASSI).

    CCTASSI Films is a new endeavor brought to you by the Center for Child Trauma Assessment, Services & Systems Integration at Northwestern University. Inspired by our extensive partnerships with educational, justice and child welfare systems, CCTASSI Films aims to shine a light on the complex developmental effects of trauma in youth with an emphasis on misdiagnosis, racial trauma, and transition age youth. CCTASSI Films’ mission is to create informative, relatable, and challenging films for the public to raise awareness and educate those providing and seeking to help address these systemic issues.

    Increasing what you know about Transition Age youth

    learning skills that promote healing and resiliency may be the most important step child serving systems (or providers on the front line) can take.

    We created these films (and related resources)  to illustrate the critical importance of using a trauma lens in our work across child-serving systems and the potentially detrimental impact of not incorporating this trauma framework.  When providers and systems do not have necessary knowledge and skills, the youth they interface with are at risk of being misunderstood, mislabeled and potentially mistreated. By enhancing their understanding, empathy and skills, and training and education to support professionals working with  youth and families to recover from the impact of trauma.

    We believe these resources can serve as a powerful educational and awareness raising tool for both professionals, family members and the general public.

    Trauma impacts people from all
    racial and ethnic groups

    Trauma impacts people from all racial and ethnic groups AND it is necessary to recognize the specific ways People of Color are exposed to, impacted by, respond to and cope with trauma. The films center People of Color as they share their experiences of race-based trauma and their experiences in therapy when race is and is not included and the impact this has on the individual and process. The films aim to validate youth and families’ personal experiences of race-based trauma and share real world experience of structural racism and the importance of incorporating and addressing these experiences within and as part of the therapeutic process. The films and the resources are intended to create opportunities for dialogue to build capacity for the transformation of systems by challenging commonly held perspectives, offering insight and ideas, and inspiring change in policies and practices.