Treating children with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following an accidental injury

Very little research has examined the potential interventions for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder in children following accidental injury. This trial aims to evaluate and compare child only and child plus parent versions of a cognitive-behavioural early intervention. It is hypothesised that children within the treatment conditions will significantly reduce in their post-trauma symptoms compared to those children who do not receive any therapeutic intervention. Furthermore, it is hypothesised that children in the child plus parent condition will reduce in their post-trauma symptoms at a greater rate than those children who receive the intervention without parental assistance. The principal clinical question under investigation is the efficacy of an early, trauma-focused cognitive-behavioural intervention for the treatment of PTSD in children following accidental injury. Specifically, we compare the efficacy of two active treatments (child-focused and family-focused CBT) and a waitlist control (no therapy) to determine which is associated with greater reductions in psychological and health-related outcome measures over time. The primary outcome will be a reduction in trauma symptoms on a diagnostic interview in the active treatments compared to the waitlist control and greater reductions in the family- compared to the child-focused condition. In doing so, this project will also trial a method of stepped screening and assessment to determine those children requiring early intervention for PTSD following accidental injury.