Pre-Conference Clinical Workshop: Cognitive Therapy for Childhood PTSD

In English About 1 in 4 children exposed to a traumatic event will develop symptoms of PTSD, separation anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, specific phobia, generalised avoidance and/or depression that persist more than one month after the trauma, and greatly interfere with individual and family functioning. Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioural therapy (TF-CBT) can reduce these symptoms and greatly improve overall functioning, with possible benefit to non-treated family members. The available treatment outcome studies suggest that some form of repeated therapeutic exposure (in situ, in vivo, imaginal) with attention to avoidance and sleep behaviours, are effective. This workshop will address current treatment approaches but emphasize explicitly cognitive interventions derived from the work of Ehlers & Clark (2000) that are suitable for use with children aged 10 years and above, and which have been subjected to a randomised controlled trial in this age group by the workshop presenter and colleagues. Interventions will also be addressed.