Individual psychological interventions and therapies for posttraumatic stress disorder and posttraumatic stress symptoms in young children: a systematic review
Creators: name: Moner, Nina
name: Soubelet, Andrea
name: Villard, Philippine
name: Askenazy, Florence
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Medicine
subject: Pharmacology
subject: Biotechnology
subject: Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Cancer
subject: Science Policy
subject: Mental Health
subject: Plant Biology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences

description: <b>Context:</b> Treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in young children (ages 0–6) should be adapted to their developmental characteristics: to their cognitive, social, and emotional abilities, to their specific trauma reactions and adjustments, and finally, to their degree of dependency on adults. Due to the lack of official recommendations for the treatment of PTSD in young children and considering the high prevalence of PTSD among this population, there is a growing need for targeted psychological interventions and psychotherapies for the youngest children with PTSD or posttraumatic symptoms. <b>Objective:</b> To provide an update on effective psychological interventions available for the treatment of PTSD and posttraumatic symptoms in young children (under the age of 6). <b>Design:</b> Systematic review of automated searches conducted using the search engines Google Scholar, Science Direct, PsycInfo, and PubMed. <b>Results:</b> This review identified 17 articles reporting on the efficacy of an individual therapy for treating PTSD or posttraumatic stress symptoms in young children. The therapies identified are TF-CBT, CPP, PCIT, DET, early pathway, EMI and EMDR. <b>Conclusion:</b> No treatment can currently be identified as a level-one evidence-based treatment (Well-Established Treatment) in children younger than 6 years old with PTSD or posttraumatic symptoms. Further research is essential to validate existing findings on the effectiveness of trauma-focused therapies in young children in order to establish internationally recognized recommendations. Due to the lack of official recommendations, there is a growing need for targeted psychological interventions and psychotherapies for the youngest children with posttraumatic symptoms. This systematic review appears to be the first comprehensive review focused on this topic.This work identified 17 articles reporting on the efficacy of an individual therapy for treating posttraumatic stress symptoms in young children. The therapies identified are the trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy, the eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, the child–parent psychotherapy, the parent–child interaction therapy, the dyadic exposure therapy, the early pathway with trauma components, and the eye movement integration therapy.This review discusses how each treatment proposes to respond to the needs of this specific population (cognitive, social, and emotional abilities, specific trauma reactions and adjustments, specific assessment, dependency on adults) but no treatment can currently be identified as a level-one evidence-based treatment in children younger than 6 years old with posttraumatic symptoms. Due to the lack of official recommendations, there is a growing need for targeted psychological interventions and psychotherapies for the youngest children with posttraumatic symptoms. This systematic review appears to be the first comprehensive review focused on this topic. This work identified 17 articles reporting on the efficacy of an individual therapy for treating posttraumatic stress symptoms in young children. The therapies identified are the trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy, the eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, the child–parent psychotherapy, the parent–child interaction therapy, the dyadic exposure therapy, the early pathway with trauma components, and the eye movement integration therapy. This review discusses how each treatment proposes to respond to the needs of this specific population (cognitive, social, and emotional abilities, specific trauma reactions and adjustments, specific assessment, dependency on adults) but no treatment can currently be identified as a level-one evidence-based treatment in children younger than 6 years old with posttraumatic symptoms.