Treating Traumatized Children

Abstract

This article reviews and summarizes existing research that has examined treatment outcome with traumatized children. Methodological challenges in this line of research are addressed. Additionally, there is a review of types of treatment study designs as well as the kinds of treatment that have been used with traumatized children. Treatment studies for children exposed to specific stressors—including disaster situations, school and community violence, severe medical conditions, war, sexual and physical abuse, and domestic violence—are summarized and critiqued. Major findings are that (a) no single treatment approach will likely be applicable for all traumatized children as this population presents with a diversity of emotional and behavioral difficulties, (b) research on abused children has accumulated the greatest amount of empirical treatment outcome data for traumatized children, and (c) cognitive-behavioral therapy has been demonstrated in several recent empirically sound studies to be effective in treating traumatized children. Implications from these findings for clinical practice, research, and public policy are addressed.