Parents and Young Children under Extreme Stress - PYCES

Update Il y a 4 ans
Reference: ISRCTN35018680

Woman and Man

  • | Country :
  • -
  • | organs :
  • -
  • | Specialty :
  • -

Extract

Background and study aims Following horrific or life-threatening events around 10-15% of young children develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The symptoms of this are distressing – nightmares, flashbacks, anger outbursts and disturbed play. These can cause major disruption to all areas of the child’s functioning and, if left untreated, can persist for many years. As yet there are no established and clinically validated treatments for this disorder in young children. Trauma-focussed cognitive behaviour therapy is a psychological intervention that is effective in treating the disorder in older children and adults. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a developmentally appropriate form of trauma-focussed cognitive behaviour therapy which we have developed for children as young as 3 years. Who can participate? This study aims to recruit 60 children (boys and girls) aged 3-8 years who have been involved in or witnessed a traumatic event like a car crash or an assault. It does not matter how long ago the event happened. What does the study involve? All children involved in the study will have an initial assessment (a parent will complete some interviews and questionnaires, and the child will do tasks). If the child is diagnosed with PTSD, then they will be invited onto the study. They will be randomly allocated to have the treatment straight away (12 weekly sessions) or to wait for 12 weeks. Children assigned to the wait-list are still able to access any help outside of this study. Both groups will be assessed half way through the 12 weeks (by parents completing some more questionnaires). At the end of the treatment/waiting period all children will have another assessment – parent interviews and questionnaires, and child tasks. If a child still has PTSD at the end of the waiting period, they will then be offered the treatment. What are the possible benefits and risks of participating? The main benefit to children who do have PTSD is that they will be offered psychological treatment (trauma-focussed cognitive behavioural therapy). Even participants who are assigned to wait for 12 weeks will receive this treatment (if they still have PTSD) sooner than they may receive help from their local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. Children who do not have PTSD will still have a thorough assessment. The children and their parents may appreciate this and the opportunity to discuss the trauma in a non-judgemental, confidential and empathetic setting. The treatment involves talking about the frightening event, and this can sometimes be upsetting. However, other studies have shown that the treatment works well and treats PTSD in older children and adults. Participants will be given breaks whenever they need them, and will be reminded that they are free to leave the study at any time. Clinical psychologists within the team will be available for follow-up phone calls and meetings with people who need them. We have found previously that any distress experienced during therapy is short-lived and outweighed by the benefit of successfully treating PTSD. Where is the study run from? This study is run from the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge. We recruit participants from all over East Anglia – several Emergency Departments are involved in our screening study and anybody can refer a child to us, for example – schools, nurses, GPs or parents. When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for? July 2013 to October 2017 Who is funding the study? National Institute of Health Research, UK. Who is the main contact? Dr Ben Goodall Trial Coordinator and the main Clinical Psychologist working on the project [email protected] Isobel Chadwick is the Assistant Psychologist [email protected]


Inclusion criteria

  • Topic: Mental Health Research Network; Subtopic: Anxiety; Disease: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Links