This study adds to the growing evidence supporting the efficacy of TF-CBT with children suffering PTSD as a result of sexual abuse and suggests the efficacy of this treatment for children who have experienced multiple traumas.

No abstract

To evaluate community-provided traumafocused cognitive behavior therapy (TF-CBT) compared with usual community treatment for children with intimate partner violence (IPV)-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Design: Randomized controlled trial conducted using blinded evaluators.

TF-CBT, regardless of the number of sessions or the inclusion of a TN component, was effective in improving participant symptomatology as well as parenting skills and the children's personal safety skills. The eight session condition that included the TN component seemed to be the most effective and efficient means of ameliorating parents' abuse-specific distress as well as children's abuse-related fear and general anxiety. On the other hand, parents assigned to the 16 session, no narrative condition reported greater increases in effective parenting practices and fewer externalizing child behavioral problems at posttreatment.

New Orleans school children participated in an assessment and field trial of two interventions 15 months after Hurricane Katrina. Children (N = 195) reported on hurricane exposure, lifetime trauma exposure, peer and parent support, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depressive symptoms. Teachers reported on behavior. At baseline, 60.5% screened positive for PTSD symptoms and were offered a group intervention at school or individual treatment at a mental health clinic. Uptake of the mental health care was uneven across intervention groups, with 98% beginning the school intervention, compared to 37% beginning at the clinic. Both treatments led to significant symptom reduction of PTSD symptoms but many still had elevated PTSD symptoms at post treatment. Implications for future postdisaster mental health work are discussed.