A Case Study on Integrative Therapy for Children with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
AUTHOR : 조정숙, 김상희
INFORMATION : page. 301~324 / 2010 Vol.17 No.1
ABSTRACT
This study was designed for six-year-old girls with posttraumatic stress disorder caused by traffic accidents. The effect of integrative therapy, (which implemented sand play, art, and music therapy separately in each different session for the whole treatment period), on problem behaviors and anxiety accompanied with posttraumatic stress disorder and enhancing adaptive behavior was investigated by observing target behavior (target behavior observation method). The number of sessions was twelve for sand play therapy, twelve for music therapy and six for art therapy, and all sessions were implemented on a one to one basis in each therapy room. Analysis of behavior changes after the therapy using the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale showed that most symptoms were improved after terminating the therapy and these improvements were sustained when assessed after a one-month follow-up session. Additionally, behavior checklist assessment before and after the therapy was conducted, and led to the following findings. First, the problem behaviors including fear of cars and playgrounds, fearful dreams, sleep problems, and limping were either eradicated or reduced. Second, withdrawal, tension, anxiety, irregular breathing caused by hypertension was considerably reduced and emotions became normalized and stabilized. Third, relationships with family members and peers, and adaptive behaviors in social relationships was remarkably enhanced. These results demonstrated that integrative therapy is effective in reducing problem behaviors and anxiety caused by posttraumatic stress disorder and is effective in improving adaptive behaviors.
Key words : Posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD), integrative therapy, target behavior observation method