TITLE:
Evaluating Effective Pediatric Psychological Trauma Treatments Post-Traumatic Natural Disasters
AUTHORS:
Shivani Jayaprakasam
KEYWORDS:
Natural Disasters, Pediatric, Psychology, Mental Health, Trauma, Psychotherapy, CISD, CBT, CPT, Prolonged Exposure, TF-CBT, Psychological First Aid
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Psychiatry,
Vol.12 No.3,
July
27,
2022
ABSTRACT: What are the best treatment approaches for children experiencing trauma
after natural disasters? Historically, the U.S. emergency response system has
not provided psychological support to communities impacted by disasters. Instead, the traditional emergency response community focused on
ensuring the physical survival of the individuals and communities that it
protects. The goal of all disaster interventions, whether physical or
psychological in nature, is to restore the individual to his/her level of
pre-disaster functioning. Emphasizing psychological intervention and treatment
after disasters is essential in restoring health in individuals post-trauma because mental health is necessary for proper physical health,
forming of coping mechanisms, and the ability of individuals to move past the
trauma and lead normal lives. At young ages, the body is still developing
mentally and physically, meaning the impact of a traumatic event may be
completely different from that of most adults. For example, children have
greater thought suppression, which leads to an associated increase in PTSD and internalizing behaviors. Thus, children require a different
treatment approach to ensure that trauma is not long-lasting and prevalent in
future adult life, such as through trouble expressing and regulating emotions,
as well as vulnerability to future exposure to stress, which may
negatively impact individuals’ identity and interpersonal abilities. The
purpose of this review paper is to evaluate various memory-related disorders to then explain the pros and cons of various
treatment approaches based on their efficiency in treating PTSD-related symptoms post-natural disasters in children. This review identifies
the best pediatric trauma treatment approaches used after natural disasters,
highlighting a lack of efficient, effective, and specific psychological
treatments. By comparing various existing psychological treatments, this paper
provides future directions for research by identifying existing gaps in the
field and explains contrasting approaches for various memory-related and
natural disaster related psychological trauma disorders.