Early intervention with traumatized children

With the events of September 11th, childhood trauma has come to the forefront of national attention. One of the common psychiatric outcomes of trauma is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Despite the fact that certain vulnerabilities may contribute to the development of PTSD in traumatized youth, the existence of an identifiable stressor provides a unique opportunity for early intervention. Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (CBT) interventions are considered by many to be the mainstay of treatment of children and adolescents with PTSD. More severe cases of PTSD are often treated with medications in the community. In this article we present a CBT program - developed by our site - STAIR - and provide useful guides and rationales for clinicians to work with when treating this population. We will also briefly review the available literature on the psychopharmacologic interventions to help guide the physician when confronted with such treatment decisions.