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Trauer bei Kindern

Wann ist eine Psychotherapie indiziert?

Published Online:https://doi.org/10.1026/0942-5403/a000170

Durch aktuelle Entwicklungen in der Erforschung pathologischer Trauerformen bei Erwachsenen entsteht ein vermehrtes Interesse nach Übertragbarkeit der Ergebnisse auf das Kindes- und Jugendalter. Bislang werden Trauertherapien für Kinder nach dem Tod von Bezugspersonen weitgehend ohne empirische Grundlage empfohlen, eine Evaluation der Therapien steht für den Großteil aus. In dieser aktuellen Kontroverse werden neben Pro- und Contra-Argumenten einer Behandlung die Diagnosekriterien und der aktuelle Forschungsstand zur anhaltenden Trauerstörung vorgestellt. Vor diesem Hintergrund wird diskutiert, wann eine Psychotherapie für trauernde Kinder indiziert ist.


Grief in Children: When is Psychotherapy Helpful?

Owing to the progress in research in the area of pathological grief in adults, there is a growing interest in how to transfer these results to childhood and adolescence. Yet, research on intervention is sparse, and making recommendations for or against grief therapy for bereaved children is difficult as the majority of proposed interventions lack evaluation. In addition to describing the pros and cons for the treatment of grieving children, we present diagnostic criteria and recent research regarding prolonged grief disorder. Furthermore, we discuss if and when psychotherapy for grieving children is indicated.

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