Group Therapy with and without Animal Assistance to Help Children and Teens with Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to understand how including animals in trauma-focused group therapy affects the motivation of children and adolescents who have experienced post-traumatic stress. The study involves 80 young participants aged 9 to 17 years who have gone through at least one traumatic event resulting in symptoms of post-traumatic stress. The goal is to see if animal-assisted therapy can help these young people attend therapy more regularly, stay motivated, and complete their treatment successfully. Participants are randomly assigned to one of two groups one group receives animal-assisted trauma-focused therapy AA TF-CBT, which includes animals as part of the therapy sessions based on a structured manual, while the other group receives standard trauma-focused therapy TF-CBT without animals, also following a structured approach. Both therapies last for 10 weeks, and alongside these sessions, parents or guardians join three meetings to support the process. During the study, childrens therapy motivation is measured before treatment, after the 10 weeks of therapy, and four weeks later to track changes over time. Researchers also assess therapeutic alliance, PTSD symptoms, self-efficacy, and quality of life at these same points. Participants will share their experiences of the group therapy during a follow-up four weeks after treatment. The study includes regular questionnaires and evaluations to monitor progress and outcomes throughout the trial period.

Animal-assisted Trauma-focused Therapy for Children and Adolescents