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Cited by 381Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ResearchGrief, Bereavement, and Mental HealthChild Therapy and Development

Outcome of psychotherapy among early adolescents after trauma

Armen K. Goenjian, Ida Karayan, Robert S. Pynoos, D Minassian, Louis M. Najarian, Alan M. Steinberg, Lynn A. Fairbanks·1997·American Journal of Psychiatry
DOI 10.1176/ajp.154.4.536
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The authors evaluated the effectiveness of brief trauma/grief-focused psychotherapy among early adolescents exposed to the 1988 earthquake in Armenia. METHOD: Posttraumatic stress and depressive reactions among treated and not treated subjects were evaluated pre- and postintervention, at 1 1/2 and 3 years after the earthquake, respectively. RESULTS: Severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms significantly decreased among the subjects given psychotherapy, while severity of these symptoms increased significantly among the subjects not treated with psychotherapy. The improvement in posttraumatic stress symptoms was attributable to improvement in all three symptom categories (intrusion, avoidance, and arousal) of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There was no change in severity of depressive symptoms among subjects given psychotherapy. However, depressive symptoms among subjects not treated with psychotherapy significantly worsened over time. The changes in severity of posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms were positively correlated within both groups. CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate the efficacy of trauma/grief-focused brief psychotherapy in alleviating PTSD symptoms and preventing the worsening of comorbid depression among early adolescents after a catastrophic disaster. The results support the broad use of such school-based interventions after major disasters and demonstrate the cross-cultural applicability of Western psychotherapeutic approaches.

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  • Goenjian and colleagues found that classroom-based trauma and grief therapy improved PTSD and maintained depression symptoms in adolescents 1.5 years after the 1988 Armenia earthquake, while both worsened in controls.

    “Goenjian and colleagues69 assessed a classroom-based trauma and grief component therapy in adolescents 1.5 years after the 1988 earthquake in Armenia and reported that the intervention improved PTSD and maintained depression symptoms (both increased in the control group).”

    From Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings: linking practice and research (2011) · cites this paper as [69]

  • Findings from a study of brief trauma/grief-focused psychotherapy after an earthquake in Armenia suggest that CBT-like methods can be promising interventions in mass disasters.

    “The findings of a study on the effectiveness of brief trauma/grief-focused psychotherapy that has been carried out after an earthquake in Armenia [13] suggest that CBT-like methods can also be promising interventions in the context of mass disasters.”

    From Treating children traumatized by war and tsunami: a comparison between exposure therapy and meditation-relaxation in north-east Sri Lanka (2009) · cites this paper as [13]

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Authors
Goenjian, A. K., Karayan, I., Pynoos, R. S., Minassian, D., Najarian, L. M., Steinberg, A. M., & Fairbanks, L. A.
Affiliations
University of California, Los Angeles (US)
ORCID
Venue
American Journal of Psychiatry
Publisher
American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Published
1997-04-01
Volume
154
Issue
4
Pages
536-542
ISSN
  • 0002-953X (ISSN-L)
  • 1535-7228
DOI
10.1176/ajp.154.4.536
OpenAlex
W2188464625
Cited by
381
References
29
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 37 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 9
FWCI
15.20
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • American Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Therapy and Development
Keywords
trauma-focused psychotherapy, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, early adolescents, 1988 Armenia earthquake, disaster mental health, school-based intervention, PTSD symptom clusters, cross-cultural applicability
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Age Factors, Armenia, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Depressive Disorder, Disasters, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Male, Personality Inventory, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychotherapy, Psychotherapy, Brief, Psychotherapy, Group, Severity of Illness Index, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Students, Comorbidity, Treatment Outcome

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