The Anna Freud Centre, London, United Kingdom.
University College London, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2023 Aug 17;18(8):e0289503. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289503. eCollection 2023.
The majority of children referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in the UK will present with mixed emotional and behavioural difficulties, but most mental health treatments are developed for single disorders. There is a need for research on treatments that are helpful for these mixed difficulties, especially for school-age children. Emotion Regulation (ER) difficulties present across a wide range of mental health disorders and mentalizing may help with regulation. The ability to mentalize one's own experiences and those of others plays a key role in coping with stress, regulation of emotions, and the formation of stable relationships. Mentalization Based Therapy (MBT) is a well-evidenced therapy that aims to promote mentalization, which in turn increases ER capacities, leading to decreased emotional and behavioural difficulties. The aim of this study is to test the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of MBT compared to treatment as usual for school age children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. If effective, we hope this approach can become available to the growing number of children presenting to mental health services with a mix of emotional and behavioural difficulties.
Children referred to CAMHS aged 6-12 with mixed mental health problems (emotional and behavioural) as primary problem can take part with their parent/carers. Children will be randomly allocated to receive either MBT or treatment as usual (TAU) within the CAMHS clinic they have been referred to. MBT will be 6-8 sessions offered fortnightly and can flexibly include different family members. TAU is likely to include CBT, parenting groups, and/or children's social skills groups. Parent/carers and children will be asked to complete outcome assessments (questionnaires and tasks) online at the start of treatment, mid treatment (8 weeks), end of treatment (16 weeks) and at follow up (40 weeks).
Clinical trial registration: ISRCTN 11620914.
在英国，大多数转介至儿童和青少年心理健康服务（CAMHS）的儿童都表现出混合的情绪和行为困难，但大多数心理健康治疗都是针对单一疾病开发的。对于这些混合困难的治疗方法，尤其是对于学龄儿童，需要进行研究。情绪调节（ER）困难存在于广泛的精神健康障碍中，而心理化可能有助于调节。心理化自己的经验和他人的经验的能力在应对压力、调节情绪和形成稳定关系方面起着关键作用。基于心理化的治疗（MBT）是一种经过充分验证的治疗方法，旨在促进心理化，进而增强 ER 能力，从而减少情绪和行为困难。本研究的目的是测试 MBT 与常规治疗相比对有情绪和行为困难的学龄儿童的临床和成本效益。如果有效，我们希望这种方法能够提供给越来越多的因情绪和行为困难而转介到心理健康服务的儿童。
被转介到 CAMHS 的年龄在 6-12 岁之间的儿童，如果他们的主要问题是混合心理健康问题（情绪和行为），可以和他们的父母/照顾者一起参加。儿童将被随机分配接受 MBT 或 CAMHS 诊所内的常规治疗（TAU）。MBT 将每两周提供 6-8 次，并且可以灵活地包括不同的家庭成员。TAU 可能包括 CBT、育儿小组和/或儿童社交技能小组。父母/照顾者和儿童将被要求在治疗开始时、治疗中期（8 周）、治疗结束时（16 周）和随访时（40 周）在网上完成结果评估（问卷和任务）。
临床试验注册：ISRCTN 11620914。
