1 - (SYM 41) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Intervention for Psychosocial Trauma Associated with Violence: The Legitimation of Violence in Children in Colombia

In Colombia, sociopolitical, community, and intrafamilial violence generate psychosocial trauma in childhood and consolidate belief systems that normalize and justify harm. This presentation proposes a CBT-based model aimed at deactivating the legitimation of violence in children, conceptualized as a normative-attributional framework that transforms aggression into “defense,” “correction,” or “authority.” The model integrates evidence from a doctoral study involving participants aged 7 to 12 years from rural and urban contexts in the regions of Antioquia and Atlántico. Participants were assessed an online role-playing video game (Role Playing Game – RPG) comprising three scenarios: (1) equality with prior aggression (self-defense), (2) advantage and authority, and (3) disadvantage and threat (last resort). The RPG records coping decisions, sources of legitimation (peers/adults), and justifications linked to mechanisms of moral disengagement (e.g., moral justification, diffusion of responsibility, minimization of consequences). Based on these findings, a modular and brief CBT protocol (5–12 sessions) is presented, applicable in face-to-face, hybrid, or telepsychology formats, structured around four core components: (a) safety, therapeutic alliance, and risk assessment; (b) trauma psychoeducation and emotional self-regulation; (c) restructuring of legitimizing cognitions through Socratic dialogue and cognitive techniques; and (d) problem-solving, social skills training, behavioral experiments, and caregiver involvement to promote non-violent limit-setting, grounded in an ecological framework (Urie Bronfenbrenner, 1979). A pre–post evaluation framework is proposed, combining clinical indicators and situational measures derived from the RPG, aligned with cognitive models of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and evidence-based treatments for children, as well as telepsychology guidelines when applicable. The overarching aim is to reduce trauma-related symptoms and prevent the escalation of violence from early childhood.