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Using ‘Expressive Therapies’ to Treat Developmental Trauma and Attachment Problems in Preschool-Aged Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2016

Jenni Southwell
Jenni Southwell*
Affiliation:
Strategy & Research, yourtown, GPO Box 2469, Brisbane QLD 4001, Brisbane, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Ms. Jenni Southwell, Senior Research Officer at yourtown, Strategy & Research, GPO Box 2469, Brisbane QLD 4001, Brisbane, Australia. Phone: +61403 754 993. E-mails: jsouthwell@yourtown.com.au
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Abstract

yourtown's Expressive Therapies Intervention (YETI) is a trauma and attachment informed creative arts and play therapy intervention developed for young children with emotional and behavioural problems stemming from traumatic exposure. YETI aims to improve participants’ emotional and social wellbeing; behavioural adjustment; quality of attachment relationships and self-concept. The intervention is integrated within holistic family support programmes, chiefly a domestic and family violence refuge and a young parents programme. This paper describes YETI's therapeutic model and presents findings of a two-year outcome evaluation. The findings suggest that the intervention can achieve significant positive outcomes for preschool-aged children associated with healing from developmental trauma and attachment difficulties. Analysis of pre/post assessments of participants’ social, emotional and behavioural functioning using the Child Behaviour Checklist revealed significant improvements from intake to exit in children's internalising, externalising and total problems. There were also marked decreases in the proportion of children with symptoms in the clinical or borderline clinical ranges. Thematic analyses of parent/carer surveys and therapists’ end-of-therapy reports similarly indicate widespread improvements in social, emotional and behavioural functioning as well as improvements in children's self-confidence and self-esteem, and in the quality of the parent–child attachment relationship.

Keywords

complex traumaattachmentchild developmentexpressive therapy
Type
Articles
Information
Children Australia , Volume 41 , Issue 2 , June 2016 , pp. 114 - 125
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016 

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