Child-Parent Psychotherapy to Support Preschool Children After the 2023 Kahramanmara Earthquake A Study on Reducing Trauma and Improving Attachment in Children Ages 3 to 6

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating Child-Parent Psychotherapy CPP to see if it can reduce trauma-related symptoms and improve the quality of attachment in preschool children who experienced the 2023 Kahramanmara earthquakes in Trkiye. This randomized controlled trial involves 60 caregiver-child pairs from 11 affected provinces. Children aged 3 to 6 and their caregivers participate to assess the impact of CPP on post-traumatic recovery and emotional well-being. The trial includes two groups one receives 12 weekly CPP sessions lasting about 60 minutes each, delivered by trained clinical psychologists either online or face-to-face, while the other group receives no intervention but completes the same assessments. CPP sessions focus on trauma narratives, emotional regulation, and strengthening the caregiver-child relationship through play-based interaction. Participants undergo assessments at three points before treatment, halfway through after six sessions, and after the full 12 sessions. These evaluations measure child trauma symptoms, social-emotional functioning, attachment security, as well as caregiver stress, reflective functioning, and emotional health. The study monitors changes over the 12-week intervention period to understand the therapys effects and caregiver-child dynamics.

Child-Parent Psychotherapy After the 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake