Comparison of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, cognitive behavioral writing therapy, and wait-list in pediatric posttraumatic stress disorder following single-incident trauma: a multicenter randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Practice guidelines for childhood posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) recommend trauma-focused psychotherapies, mainly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a brief trauma-focused, evidence-based treatment for PTSD in adults, but with few well-designed trials involving children and adolescents. METHODS: We conducted a single-blind, randomized trial with three arms (n = 103): EMDR (n = 43), Cognitive Behavior Writing Therapy (CBWT; n = 42), and wait-list (WL; n = 18). WL participants were randomly reallocated to CBWT or EMDR after 6 weeks; follow-ups were conducted at 3 and 12 months posttreatment. Participants were treatment-seeking youth (aged 8-18 years) with a DSM-IV diagnosis of PTSD (or subthreshold PTSD) tied to a single trauma, who received up to six sessions of EMDR or CBWT lasting maximally 45 min each. RESULTS: Both treatments were well-tolerated and relative to WL yielded large, intent-to-treat effect sizes for the primary outcomes at posttreatment: PTSD symptoms (EMDR: d = 1.27; CBWT: d = 1.24). At posttreatment 92.5% of EMDR, and 90.2% of CBWT no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. All gains were maintained at follow-up. Compared to WL, small to large (range d = 0.39-1.03) intent-to-treat effect sizes were obtained at posttreatment for negative trauma-related appraisals, anxiety, depression, and behavior problems with these gains being maintained at follow-up. Gains were attained with significantly less therapist contact time for EMDR than CBWT (mean = 4.1 sessions/140 min vs. 5.4 sessions/227 min). CONCLUSIONS: EMDR and CBWT are brief, trauma-focused treatments that yielded equally large remission rates for PTSD and reductions in the severity of PTSD and comorbid difficulties in children and adolescents seeking treatment for PTSD tied to a single event. Further trials of both treatments with PTSD tied to multiple traumas are warranted.

Predictors and moderators of treatment outcome for single incident paediatric PTSD: a multi-centre randomized clinical trial.

Background: With few RCTs having compared active treatments for paediatric PTSD, little is known about whether or which baseline (i.e. pre-randomization) variables predict or moderate outcomes in the evaluated treatments. Objective: To identify predictors and moderators of paediatric PTSD outcomes for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) and Cognitive Behavioural Writing Therapy (CBWT). Method: Data were obtained as part of a multi-centre, randomized controlled trial of up to six sessions (up to 45 minutes each) of either EMDR therapy, CBWT, or wait-list, involving 101 youth (aged 8-18 years) with a PTSD diagnosis (full/subthreshold) tied to a single event. The predictive and moderating effects of the child's baseline sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, and parent's psychopathology were evaluated using linear mixed models (LMM) from pre- to post-treatment and from pre- to 3- and 12-month follow-ups. Results: At post-treatment and 3-month follow-up, youth with an index trauma of sexual abuse, severe symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, depression, more comorbid disorders, negative posttraumatic beliefs, and with a parent with more severe psychopathology fared worse in both treatments. For children with more severe self-reported PTSD symptoms at baseline, the (exploratory) moderator analysis showed that the EMDR group improved more than the CBWT group, with the opposite being true for children and parents with a less severe clinical profile. Conclusions: The most consistent finding from the predictor analyses was that parental symptomatology predicted poorer outcomes, suggesting that parents should be assessed, supported and referred for their own treatment where indicated. The effect of the significant moderator variables was time-limited, and given the large response rate (>90%) and brevity (<4 hours) of both treatments, the present findings suggest a focus on implementation and dissemination, rather than tailoring, of evidence-based trauma-focused treatments for paediatric PTSD tied to a single event.

Antecedentes: Dado que pocos ECA (ensayos controlados aleatorizados) han comparado tratamientos activos para el TEPT pediátrico, se sabe poco acerca de si las variables basales (es decir, pre-aleatorización) predicen o moderan los resultados en los tratamientos evaluados.Objetivo: Identificar predictores y moderadores de los resultados del TEPT pediátrico para la Terapia de Reprocesamiento y Desensibilización por Movimientos Oculares (EMDR) y la Terapia de Escritura Cognitiva Conductual (CBWT en sus siglas en ingles).Método: Los datos se obtuvieron como parte de un ensayo controlado aleatorizado multicéntrico de hasta seis sesiones (de hasta 45 minutos cada una) de terapia EMDR, CBWT o lista de espera, que incluyó a 101 jóvenes (de 8 a 18 años de edad) con un diagnóstico de TEPT (total/subumbral) vinculado a un solo evento. Los efectos predictivos y moderadores de las características sociodemográficas y clínicas basales del niño y la psicopatología de los padres se evaluaron mediante modelos lineales mixtos (MLM) desde antes y después del tratamiento y desde antes hasta los 3 y 12 meses de seguimiento.Resultados: En el post-tratamiento y en el seguimiento a los 3 meses, los jóvenes con un trauma índice de abuso sexual, síntomas severos de TEPT, ansiedad, depresión, más trastornos comórbidos, creencias postraumáticas negativas y con un padre con psicopatología más severa obtuvieron los peores resultados en ambos tratamientos. Para los niños con síntomas de TEPT auto-informados más graves al inicio del estudio, el análisis del moderador (exploratorio) mostró que el grupo EMDR mejoró más que el grupo CBWT, siendo lo opuesto para los niños y los padres con un perfil clínico menos grave.Conclusiones: El hallazgo más consistente de los análisis de predictores fue que la sintomatología de los padres predijo peores resultados, lo que sugiere que los padres deben ser evaluados, apoyados y referidos para su propio tratamiento cuando esté indicado. El efecto de las variables moderadoras significativas fue limitado en el tiempo, y dada la gran tasa de respuesta (> 90%) y la brevedad (<4 horas) de ambos tratamientos, los presentes hallazgos sugieren un enfoque en la implementación y diseminación, en lugar de la adaptación, de tratamientos centrados en el trauma basados en la evidencia para el TEPT pediátrico vinculados a un solo evento.