Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Psychotherapy for Sexually Abused Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy for children and adolescents who have been sexually abused. Method: The Cochrane Collaboration’s criteria for data synthesis and study quality assessment were used. Electronic bibliographic databases and web searches were used to identify randomized and quasi-randomized trials comparing psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy with treatment as usual or no treatment/waiting list control for children and adolescents up to the age of 18 who had experienced sexual abuse at any time prior to the intervention. Results: There are no randomized and quasi-randomized trials that met the inclusion criteria. Conclusion: As no eligible studies were identified, we cannot draw any conclusion as to the effectiveness of psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy for this population. This important gap emphasizes the need for further research into the effectiveness of psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy in this population. Directions for future research in this area are discussed.