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PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS: IS IT EFFECTIVE?

Just like anything product that should be well-tested and but then fit to an individual, the answer always has to be divided into two parts.  So for the general question, have psychotherapies been shown to be effective in children?  Yes, certain forms of psychotherapy have been shown to be effective in children and adolescents, BUT... remember, many products that are sold in an open market society may be defective or ineffective.  There are many psychotherapy "products on the marketplace, and many health care providers are essentially small business owners, and need to pay the rent, just like a clothier or grocer.  Therapists, like all other types of health care providers, must be licensed to practice by their state, but the products that therapists actually deliver behind the doors of their office varies widely in whether it is "evidence-based", that is, shown in multiple independent research studies that "it works" for the disorder and population of interest.

So "Yes, but caveat emptor" (let the buyer beware) is the more complete answer, whether it be a medication or an psychotherapy.

WHAT IS PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR A CHILD OR ADOLESCENT, AND WHAT THE ITS "TECHNIQUES"?

Psychotherapy encapsulates a variety of techniques and methods to help children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral difficulties. The REACH Institute was developed to bridge the gap between science and current child mental health practices, and to offer psychotherapy training courses for clinicians that believe in the prompt application of research findings.

In the past decade, evidence based psychotherapies for children have come to the forefront of clinicians’ minds. The over 500 named therapies that have been used for children and adolescents have prompted questions and curiosity about psychotherapy, but have also left practicing clinicians wondering how they can become trained in evidence based psychotherapies for children. By far, most psychotherapies offered in the market place have not been proven to be effective, or even safe.

Evidence based psychotherapies require an active therapist who, instead of applying older psychodynamic treatment models that focused on a patient’s past, spends considerable time assisting the child and family to develop skills to deal with the present. Evidence is derived from rigorous tests of psychotherapy performance against some type of comparison method, and such therapies can the applied to a specific child or adolescent with greater confidence that they are likely to be effective – hence the name evidence-based psychotherapy – it is based on evidence, not from a single study, but by multiple studies done by independent investigators - not the original developer.

At the REACH Institute, we believe that this scientific approach can reveal truths about what works for children with behavioral and emotional problems, so as science progresses, these new findings must be brought to bear on clinical practices.  The REACH Institute offers psychotherapy training courses and programs in evidence-based psychotherapies to child mental health therapists, to deliver those types of treatments.

Our CATIE program, the Child and Adolescent Training in Evidence-Based Psychotherapies, includes a variety of training sessions that cover specific emotional disorders including ADHD, depression, anxiety, aggression and tantrums, bipolar disorder, and PTSD. These training programs, many of them based on cognitive behavioral therapy or behavior therapy techniques, equip clinicians with specific treatment skills that have been proven to work for children and adolescents, and in some instances, even to benefit their families as well.

The REACH Institute also offers courses on Evidence-Based Approaches for Systems Serving Youth (EASSY). This program is tailored to the needs of a specific organization, whether a school system, mental health program, or juvenile justice setting, and offers comprehensive training in integrated methods, ranging from mental health assessment and diagnosis, child mental health treatment, and parent empowerment.

For more information, we encourage you to browse our website or contact us at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .