"In the wake of the Newtown massacre, the answer is no...
"Ms. Forman-Hoffman, Adam Zolotor and other members of the federal research team waded through a database containing more than 6,000 study abstracts and found only 25 that were relatively large, randomized and controlled -- but nonetheless relatively inconclusive.
This silo approach to child trauma, "in which each treatment is studied individually rather than recognizing commonalities that unify children's trauma experiences and responses," is wrongheaded, Dr. Cohen said. "More recently the field has recognized therapies that work for multiple types of traumas so it is really disheartening to see the previous silo approach perpetuated in the current study."...
"Ms. Barrett, a family therapist and social worker, agreed with Dr. Cohen's criticism of the Pediatrics study's decision to focus only on nonrelational trauma. "The child is always in a relational situation. A young adult came to me the other day and said his friend had just committed suicide. That was one event, but it brought up all sorts of other traumas he had suppressed."...
"It depends on whether there are healthy attachments and also the response by the family -- what happens if the parents are so wrapped up in their own responses that they are not be able to meet the child's emotional needs." Indeed, she said, "Everybody's trying to come up with a simple approach to what will always be a complex problem."
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/us/does-science-know-how-to-treat-traumatized-children-676657
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