Evaluating Effective Pediatric Psychological Trauma Treatments Post-Traumatic Natural Disasters

Abstract

What are the best treatment approaches for children experiencing trauma after natural disasters? Historically, the U.S. emergency response system has not provided psychological support to communities impacted by disasters. Instead, the traditional emergency response community focused on ensuring the physical survival of the individuals and communities that it protects. The goal of all disaster interventions, whether physical or psychological in nature, is to restore the individual to his/her level of pre-disaster functioning. Emphasizing psychological intervention and treatment after disasters is essential in restoring health in individuals post-trauma because mental health is necessary for proper physical health, forming of coping mechanisms, and the ability of individuals to move past the trauma and lead normal lives. At young ages, the body is still developing mentally and physically, meaning the impact of a traumatic event may be completely different from that of most adults. For example, children have greater thought suppression, which leads to an associated increase in PTSD and internalizing behaviors. Thus, children require a different treatment approach to ensure that trauma is not long-lasting and prevalent in future adult life, such as through trouble expressing and regulating emotions, as well as vulnerability to future exposure to stress, which may negatively impact individuals’ identity and interpersonal abilities. The purpose of this review paper is to evaluate various memory-related disorders to then explain the pros and cons of various treatment approaches based on their efficiency in treating PTSD-related symptoms post-natural disasters in children. This review identifies the best pediatric trauma treatment approaches used after natural disasters, highlighting a lack of efficient, effective, and specific psychological treatments. By comparing various existing psychological treatments, this paper provides future directions for research by identifying existing gaps in the field and explains contrasting approaches for various memory-related and natural disaster related psychological trauma disorders.