Animal-assisted Trauma-focused Therapy for Children and Adolescents

The study aims to investigate how the inclusion of an animal into a trauma-focused group therapy program (TF-CBT) affects therapy motivation of children and adolescents suffering from post-traumatic stress. 80 children and adolescents aged 9 to 17 years are recruited for the study. Participants must have experienced at least one traumatic event leading to post-traumatic stress symptoms. Participants are randomly allocated to one of two groups: animal-assisted trauma-focused therapy (AA TF-CBT) or standard trauma-focused therapy (TF-CBT). Parallel to the groups the parents/guardians of the participating children and adolescents take part in three parent meetings. The results of the study help to gain insights into how the inclusion of animals in trauma-focused psychotherapy can contribute to children and adolescents attending therapy, being more motivated in therapy, and can successfully complete therapy.

NCT Number	NCT05608551
Lead Sponsor	University of Basel Collaborators: University of Zurich
Conditions	Motivation, Alliance, Therapeutic
Enrollment	80 participants
Start Date	2022-10-01
Primary Completion	2025-12-31 (estimated)
Study Completion	2028-07-31 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2024-07-19