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.
© Springer International Publishing 2016.