@article{ref1,
title="Trauma-informed art and play therapy: pilot study outcomes for children and mothers in domestic violence shelters in the United States and South Africa",
journal="Child abuse and neglect",
year="2020",
author="Woollett, Nataly and Bandeira, Monica and Hatcher, Abigail",
volume="107",
number="",
pages="e104564-e104564",
abstract="BACKGROUND: While intimate partner violence (IPV) has well documented impact on women and children, few interventions have been tested for mothers and children in the domestic violence shelter system.   OBJECTIVE: We used mixed methods to explore effects of a pilot intervention combining trauma focused cognitive behavior therapy (TF-CBT) (verbal therapy method) with art and play therapy (non-verbal therapy methods) in New York City and Johannesburg, to compare efficacy between high and low-middle income contexts.   PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: School-aged children and their mothers from one domestic violence shelter in each city were invited to participate.   METHODS: Children were screened for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Children participated in a weekly group session lasting 1-2 hours over 12 weeks and mothers received 3 group sessions. Quantitative data comprised pre-and post-intervention child self-reports (n = 21) and mother's report (n = 16) of child depressive and PTSD symptoms. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with children (n = 11) and mothers (n = 8) who completed the intervention.   RESULTS: At baseline, children showed high rates of symptoms of probable depression and probable PTSD (33 % and 66 % respectively). By endline, depressive symptoms significantly reduced (mean of 13.7-8.3,p = 0.01) and there was a non-significant trend towards PTSD improvement (40.0-34.4, p = 0.21). Children revealed the art helped them express difficult emotions and experiences with their mothers. Multiple children felt it assisted in managing challenging behaviours.   CONCLUSION: This pilot trauma-informed art and play therapy group intervention holds promise in mitigating the effects of IPV for children and mothers in domestic violence shelters.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0145-2134",
doi="10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104564",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104564"
}