Cognitive-behavioural Group Intervention for PTSD Symptoms in Children Following the Athens 1999 Earthquake: A Pilot Study

Abstract

This study examined the effects of a short-term group cognitive-behavioural intervention in children who were experiencing PTSD symptoms following the Athens 1999 earthquake. Twenty children, aged 8-12 years, referred for treatment to a local child mental health team were assigned, depending on timing of referral to two groups-- Group 1 (N = 10), which started treatment 2 months after the earthquake and Group 2 (N = 10), which started treatment at 4 months postearthquake. A statistically significant reduction in overall PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) symptoms across the three PTSD symptom clusters - intrusion, avoidance, and arousal--as well as in depressive symptoms was reported immediately after the intervention. The treatment also produced a statistically significant improvement in children's psychosocial functioning. Further significant improvement was reported in children at an 18-month follow-up. Treatment gains were maintained at a 4-year follow-up. Despite several limitations to this study, short-term group CBT (cognitive-behavioural therapy) was found to be a useful treatment approach, which can be offered in clinical settings, particularly if resources are limited.

Adolescents' reactions after a wildfire disaster in Greece

“…The total score, which was one of the outcome measures, demonstrated adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .81). A suggested score of 15 and over has been validated in a Greek clinical sample (Giannopoulou, Dikaiakou, & Yule, 2006b), as an efficient cutoff for identifying youngsters at risk for clinical depression (Birleson, Hudson, Buchanan, & Wolf, 1987).…”

“…In the present study, Cronbach's α was .85 for the full scale. The recommended score of 17 and over on the eight items relating to intrusion and avoidance symptoms (Perrin, MeiserStedman, & Smith, 2005), which has been validated in a Greek clinical sample as the cutoff for presumed PTSD cases (Giannopoulou, Dikaiakou, & Yule, 2006b) was used to measure the prevalence of possible PTSD cases. In the present study, Cronbach's α was .85 for the eight items of intrusion and avoidance.…”

Evaluation of a Group-Based Resilience Intervention for Typhoon Haiyan Survivors

“…However, there is also growing literature on group-based CBT interventions in school settings. School-based interventions have been implemented to reduce symptoms of grief and post-traumatic stress among student disaster survivors in Tanzania (O'Donnell et al, 2014) and Palestine (Barron, Abdallah, & Smith, 2013), and in post-earthquake Athens (Giannopoulou, Dikaiakou, & Yule, 2006). School-based interventions have also been implemented for survivors of man-made disasters, including children who have experienced a factory explosion (Rønholt, Karsberg, & Elklit, 2013), as well as those exposed to community violence (Berger, Gelkopf, & Heineberg, 2012;Gelkopf & Berger, 2009).…”

Prevention of Psychopathological Consequences in Survivors of Tsunamis

“…Lanka and Thailand; and cognitive-behavioral group therapy in children between 8 and 12 survivors of the earthquake in Athens in 1999 (Giannopoulou et al, 2006). Also, it has been used Narrative Exposure Therapy for survivors of political violence in Romania, several years after the traumatic experience, achieving promising results in reducing symptoms of PTSD and depression compared with psychoeducation (Bichescu et al, 2007).…”