Treatment effects among trauma-exposed child populations (≤12 years) are understudied. Practicians must therefore rely on their own clinical experience and evidence from older children when deciding on interventions for young, traumatized children. The present study aimed to review the evidence for 12 psychological treatments employed with trauma-exposed child populations. Systematic literature searches for quantitative studies with pre-post designs were conducted separately for each method across six databases. Results were narratively synthesized and assessed on strength of evidence and methodological quality. For TF-CBT, 1 1 CPP = Child-Parent Psychotherapy, EMDR = Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, KIDNET = Narrative Exposure Therapy for Children and Adolescents, PTSD = Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, TF-CBT = Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. EMDR, play therapy, CPP, and Sandplay, supplementary three-level meta-analyses of controlled studies were conducted. A total of 127 studies involving N = 5689 children were included in the narrative synthesis with most studies concerning TF-CBT. Study methodological quality varied considerably. For five of the assessed treatments (KIDNET, the Neuro-Affective Relational Model, Somatic Experiencing®, the Sleeping Dogs Method, and Compassion-Focused Therapy), no evidence was available. The partial meta-analyses revealed a large effect size for Sandplay (k = 3), moderate-to-large effect for TF-CBT (k = 24) and small-to-moderate effects for EMDR (k = 6), play therapy (k = 10), and CPP (k = 5). TF-CBT is currently the most empirically supported intervention for treating trauma-related symptoms among children ≤12 years. Findings are discussed in light of methodological limitations embedded in the literature reviewed and in relation to current international treatment guidelines for PTSD in children and youth. Future research should focus on studying treatments with meager or no evidence, developmentally sensitive method refinements and more diverse samples e.g., younger ages, cultural background, trauma type(s), and associated symptomatology. • This study focuses on treatment of trauma-exposed children (≤12 years). • The quantitative evidence-base of 12 different psychological methods is assessed. • Evidence was available for TF-CBT, EMDR, play therapy, CPP, Sandplay, Theraplay® & MBT. • Robust evidence was only available for applying TF-CBT with the target group. • Results can assist clinicians in using evidence-based treatment methods.
Alkærsig et al. (Sun,) studied this question.