Does the therapist matter? Therapist characteristics and their relation to outcome in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for children and adolescents
Date
2020
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Publisher
European Journal of Psychotraumatology
Abstract
Background: There is a broad evidence-base for the effectiveness of Trauma-Focused
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) in treating children and adolescents with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The effect of therapist characteristics on patient symptoms has
been neglected in psychotraumatology research and necessitates further investigation.
Objective: This study aims to investigate the impact of therapist characteristics (gender,
clinical experience and theoretical background) on posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in
a heterogeneous and international sample of traumatized children and adolescents.
Method: Data from two RCTs on the effectiveness of TF-CBT in Norway and Germany were
included, comprising N = 52 therapists (78.8% female) and N = 153 patients (72.3% female).
All therapists underwent thorough training and continuous supervision in TF-CBT. The
Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for Children and Adolescents (CAPS-CA) assessed preand post-treatment served as the outcome variable in a linear mixed-effects model with
therapists’ theoretical background, prior clinical experience and gender as independent
variables, adjusted for patient gender, measurement time and country. The possibility of
an interaction between therapist and patient gender was investigated subsequently.
Results: None of the therapist characteristics were significantly related to PTSS. There was
no indication of an interaction between patient and therapist gender (p =.878).
Conclusion:The lack of evidence for a relationship of therapists’ theoretical orientation and
clinical experience with outcome suggests that a wider dissemination of TF-CBT may be
warranted. More studies with larger therapist and patient sample sizes and including only
community practice are needed.
Description
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Article
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Keywords
PTSD, therapist, children, adolescents, trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy, TF-CBT, research
Citation
Pfeiffer, E., Ormhaug, S. M., Tutus, D., Holt, T., Rosner, R., Wentzel Larsen, T., & Jensen, T. K. (2020). Does the therapist matter? Therapist characteristics and their relation to outcome in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for children and adolescents. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 11(1), 1776048.