STAIR Narrative Therapy for Adolescents

Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR) plus Narrative Therapy—Adolescent Version (SNT-A; Cloitre et al., Skills training in affective and interpersonal regulation for adolescents—revised version (unpublished manual) is an evidence-based psychosocial intervention for adolescents with trauma-related difficulties. As its name suggests, STAIR emphasizes the development of emotional and interpersonal skills that can support present functioning and enhance future resilience. In some settings, due to limited amounts of time available (e.g., inpatient stays), only the skills training component of the treatment (STAIR-A) is implemented. However, in other settings, such as in outpatient services or school-based programs, the treatment is extended to include a review of traumatic events and the creation of a narrative about the trauma in the context of a developing life story (SNT-A). This chapter provides an overview of the rationale for SNT-A as well as a session-by-session overview accompanied by an illustrative case example to highlight how this approach is applied in real-world practice. We subsequently review typical challenges that can arise when implementing the treatment and discuss how to address them. Finally, we provide a brief summary of the evidence base supporting the use of SNT-A.