A new international meta-analysis reveals that psychological treatments for children and teenagers with PTSD are highly unlikely to produce harmful side effects, providing reassurance to families and urging earlier intervention.
A new analysis has found that psychotherapy for children and teenagers with post-traumatic stress disorder is rarely linked to harmful side effects, offering reassurance to families who may worry that treatment could make symptoms worse.
The international team, led by Thole H. Hoppen and Nexhmedin Morina at the University of Münster, said it carried out the first meta-analysis focused specifically on possible negative outcomes of psychological treatment for paediatric PTSD. Writing in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, the researchers reviewed 71 studies covering more than 5,600 children and adolescents and found that symptom worsening after treatment was exceptionally uncommon, while adverse events during therapy were also rare.
That finding builds on earlier research showing that psychological treatments are effective for younger patients with PTSD. Previous meta-analyses have found that trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy, or TF-CBT, and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing, known as EMDR, can both reduce symptoms in children and adolescents, and that treatment remains effective even when young people have experienced multiple traumas. More recent work has also suggested that a range of psychological interventions can help children and teenagers after natural or man-made disasters.
The Münster team said concerns about trauma-focused therapy may still discourage some parents, patients and less experienced therapists from using it, even though such approaches are often recommended as first-line care. Hoppen said the results should encourage families to seek treatment and clinicians to offer it, warning that delaying help for PTSD in childhood or adolescence can have serious long-term consequences.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
