Animal-assisted Trauma-focused Therapy for Children and Adolescents

Effects of a Psychotherapy Group Program for Children and Adolescents With Post-traumatic Stress Symptoms

The study aims to investigate how the inclusion of an animal into a trauma-focused group therapy program (TF-CBT) affects therapy motivation of children and adolescents suffering from post-traumatic stress. 80 children and adolescents aged 9 to 17 years are recruited for the study. Participants must have experienced at least one traumatic event leading to post-traumatic stress symptoms. Participants are randomly allocated to one of two groups: animal-assisted trauma-focused therapy (AA TF-CBT) or standard trauma-focused therapy (TF-CBT). Parallel to the groups the parents/guardians of the participating children and adolescents take part in three parent meetings.

The results of the study help to gain insights into how the inclusion of animals in trauma-focused psychotherapy can contribute to children and adolescents attending therapy, being more motivated in therapy, and can successfully complete therapy.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age between 9 and 17 years
• experienced a traumatic event
• remembers at least one traumatic event
• Suffering from posttraumatic stress symptoms (screened via the CATS-2; cut-off ≥ 21; cut-off must be reached by either participant or caregiver)
• Basic knowledge of child and parents in German to be able to understand content of the session and to fill in questionnaires
• Informed consent (given by legal guardian for participants younger than 14 years)
• Positive or neutral attitude towards animals

Exclusion Criteria:

• Inability to complete questionnaires due to lack of language skills or cognitive impairment
• Diagnosed autism spectrum disorder; Exclusion only if interaction with others and group ability is limited due to autism
• Reported significant impairment or safety issue (e.g., active suicidal ideation, acute psychosis)
• Known abuse of substances used for emotion regulation (e.g. cannabis, alcohol, other hard drugs)
• Fear of domestic animals
• Allergic reactions to domestic animals
• Reported aggressive behavior towards animals in the past