Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Dec 14;11(3):269-275.
doi: 10.1007/s40653-016-0126-8. eCollection 2018 Sep.

Emotion Regulation and Interpersonal Group Therapy for Children and Adolescents Witnessing Domestic Violence: A Preliminary Uncontrolled Trial

Fernando Lacasa  1   2 , Mar Álvarez  1   3 , Mari-Ángeles Navarro  1 , María-Teresa Richart  1 , Luis San  4 , Eva-María Ortiz  1
Affiliations

Emotion Regulation and Interpersonal Group Therapy for Children and Adolescents Witnessing Domestic Violence: A Preliminary Uncontrolled Trial

Fernando Lacasa et al. J Child Adolesc Trauma. .

Abstract

Around 19% of the patients who turn to childhood mental health centers are witnesses to domestic violence. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Emotion Regulation and Interpersonal Group Therapy (ERIGT) in a multidisciplinary community program. Specifically, this program addresses domestic violence in reducing post-traumatic and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents who are witnesses to domestic violence. ERIGT was used with 24 patients ranging from 7 to 16 years old. We evaluated at three time points: before treatment, after treatment, and at 3 months following the end of treatment. We observed a reduction in the post-traumatic and depressive symptoms. This was a pilot study carried out with a small sample, but it indicates that ERIGT has the potential to be effective in the treatment of these symptoms.

Keywords: Children and adolescents; Domestic violence; Emotion regulation; Group therapy; Post-traumatic stress.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of InterestAll authors declare that they have no competing interests.

References

    1. Aldao A, Nolen-Hoeksema S, Schweizer S. Emotion-regulation strategies across psychopathology: a meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review. 2010;30(2):217–237. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2009.11.004. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Augustyn M, Groves BM. Training clinicians to identify the hidden victims: children and adolescents who witness violence. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2005;29(5 Suppl 2):272–278. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2005.08.023. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cloitre M. Effective psychotherapies for posttraumatic stress disorder: a review and critique. CNS Spectrums. 2009;14(1):32–43. - PubMed
    1. Cloitre M, Cohen LR, Koenen KC. In: Treating survivors of childhood abuse: Psychotherapy for the interrupted life. 1. Kloitre M, editor. New York: The Guilford Press; 2006. p. 338.
    1. Cohen JA, Mannarino AP, Deblinger E. In: Treating trauma and traumatic grief in children and adolescents. 1. Judith ED, Cohen A, Mannarino AP, editors. New York: The Guilford Press; 2006.