EMDR-based group therapy for traumatized refugee preschoolers - Results and Impressions of a pilot study
Description
Therapies are lacking, particularly for preschool refugee children, which support coping and prevent chronification of post-traumatic stress. This pilot study examined eye movement, desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) - based group treatment for preschool refugee children.
Methods
The key inclusion criteria for the children were: 1) between the ages of four and six years, 2) attending a public daycare center, 3) having themselves fled from a non-EU country, 4) living in Germany for at least one month, 5) whose parents have applied for asylum, and finally 6) showing evidence of a posttraumatic stress response based on a screening procedure using the Daily Life Test for Children (Lempertz, 2015).
Results
The results indicate that timely psychotherapeutic interventions can be conducted with refugee children displaying PTSD symptoms in daycare centers and the number of PTSD symptoms can be reduced.
Conclusions
The efficacy of this intervention needs to be studied in a larger sample under controlled randomized conditions.
Methods
The key inclusion criteria for the children were: 1) between the ages of four and six years, 2) attending a public daycare center, 3) having themselves fled from a non-EU country, 4) living in Germany for at least one month, 5) whose parents have applied for asylum, and finally 6) showing evidence of a posttraumatic stress response based on a screening procedure using the Daily Life Test for Children (Lempertz, 2015).
Results
The results indicate that timely psychotherapeutic interventions can be conducted with refugee children displaying PTSD symptoms in daycare centers and the number of PTSD symptoms can be reduced.
Conclusions
The efficacy of this intervention needs to be studied in a larger sample under controlled randomized conditions.
Format
Conference
Language
English
Original Work Citation
Lempertz, D., Wichmann, M., Enderle, E., Stellermann-Strehlow. K., Pawils, S., & Metzner, F. (2021, June). EMDR-based group therapy for traumatized refugee preschoolers - Results and Impressions of a pilot study. Presentation at the 20th EMDR Europe Association Conference, Virtual
Citation
“EMDR-based group therapy for traumatized refugee preschoolers - Results and Impressions of a pilot study,” Francine Shapiro Library, accessed May 3, 2024, https://francineshapirolibrary.omeka.net/items/show/26924.