Child Grief & PTSD: A New Treatment

A pilot study evaluated the modified 12-session protocol, down from 16 sessions, for cognitive-behavioral therapy for childhood traumatic grief (CBT-CTG). CTG, an “emerging condition,” is a combination of posttraumatic stress and unresolved grief symptoms; the two-module treatment protocol consists of sequential trauma- and grief-focused components. 39 children with CTG, ages 6–17, and their parents received CBT-CTG treatment. PTSD and CTG symptoms were measured at treatment baseline, after trauma-focused treatment, and post-treatment. Children reported “significant improvement” in CTG, depression, PTSD, and anxiety symptoms; parents reported similar improvement in personal PTSD symptoms. This study was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed

-LS