Bibliographic information
GuidelineWHO Guidelines for the health sector response to child maltreatment
Year of Publication2019
Issuing InstitutionWorld Health Organization
Recommendation
Maintained
Evidence-based psychological interventions, such as cognitive behavioural therapy , may be offered to children and adolescents who have been exposed to maltreatment and are experiencing behavioural disorders
Recommended in favor
Conditional
Certainty of evidence
Low
Notes and Remarks
- PCIT is a behavioural intervention originally developed to improve parenting skillsand parent–child interactions among families struggling with their children’s (aged3–7) behaviour problems (e.g. oppositional defiant disorder). PCIT teaches parentscommunication skills that foster positive parent–child interactions which, in turn,promotes more positive parent-child relationships. PCIT skills are taught viadidactic presentations to parents and direct coaching of parents while they areinteracting with their children. Coaching of parents typically involves PCITtherapists’ observing from a room with a one-way mirror into the playroom andcommunicating with parents as they play with the child using a “bug-in-the-ear”system, which may make implementation in many setting challenging.• While it might not be feasible in many settings to implement PCIT due to a lack oftechnical equipment, the GDG felt it was important to use healthcare encountersto promote nurturing relationships between the caregiver and the child.
Also Featured In
This recommendation also appears in the following guidelines:
Originally Developed
Guideline
Update of the Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guidelines for mental, neurological and substance use disorders, 2015
Year2015
InstitutionWorld Health Organization