Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry · Jul 2007
Randomized Controlled TrialA pilot randomized controlled trial of combined trauma-focused CBT and sertraline for childhood PTSD symptoms.
To examine the potential benefits of adding a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, sertraline, versus placebo, to trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) for improving posttraumatic stress disorder and related psychological symptoms in children who have experienced sexual abuse. ⋯ Only minimal evidence suggests a benefit to adding sertraline to TF-CBT. A drawback of adding sertraline was determining whether TF-CBT or sertraline caused clinical improvement for children with comorbid depression. Current evidence therefore supports an initial trial of TF-CBT or other evidence-supported psychotherapy for most children with PTSD symptoms before adding medication.