Efficacy of psychodynamic short-term psychotherapy for children and adolescents with anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorders can be regarded as one of the most prevalent disorders in children and adolescents. Although psychodynamic psychotherapies are frequently carried out in this field, the evaluation of its efficacy for anxiety disorders is still deficient. Therefore the aim of the study was to evaluate psychodynamic short-term psychotherapy (PSTP) comprising 25 therapy sessions for children and adolescents with anxiety disorders. In a controlled trial PSTP was compared to a waiting list control condition. 26 children and adolescents with anxiety disorders were included in the study. Treatment outcome was measured by the Impairment-Score for Children and Adolescents (IS-CA). Moreover, the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Psychic and Social-Communicative Findings Sheet for Children and Adolescents (PSCFS-CA) were administered at the beginning and end of the treatment. The statistical and clinical significance of changes in these measures was evaluated. A significant advantage of the treatment group compared to the waiting control group for the IS-CA was shown. For the IS-CA total score, an effect size of 1.6 was found. Whereas 62 % of the patients in the treatment group showed clinically significant and reliable improvement at the end of therapy, this was the case for only 8 % of the subjects in the waiting list condition. Effect sizes comparable to the IS-CA were found for the PSCFS-CA. In the CBCL significant improvement could be shown for the treatment and control group. The findings support the evidence that psychodynamic short-term psychotherapy (PSTP) is an effective treatment for children and adolescents with anxiety disorders. However, some of the studied children and adolescents seem to be in need of more intensive treatment.