Bibliographic information

GuidelineWHO Guidelines for the health sector response to child maltreatment
Year of Publication2019
Issuing InstitutionWorld Health Organization

Recommendation

Maintained

Psychological debriefing should not be used in an attempt to reduce the risk of post-traumatic stress, anxiety or depressive symptoms.

Recommended against

Strong

Notes and Remarks

Not all individuals with mental health problems need or wish to undergo therapeuticinterventions. Informed consent and assent should be obtained of the child and thenon-offending caregiver, as appropriate. Psychosocial support should be provided to promote well-being and functioning,involving psycho-education, support for managing and coping with stress, andpromoting daily functioning as they recover from their traumatic experience overtime.For detailed guidance on how to do this, see the section in the mhGAP interventionguide for mental, neurological and substance use disorders in non-specialized healthsettings, version 2.0 (2016)

Also Featured In

This recommendation also appears in the following guidelines:

Originally Developed
Guideline

Responding to intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women: WHO clinical and policy guidelines

Year2013
InstitutionWorld Health Organization