Paeds Vivas · mental-behavioural-and-psychosomatic
Post-traumatic stress disorder and trauma responses — branching viva
Branching viva on the trauma-response continuum, trauma-informed assessment, risk factors, stepped care with trauma-focused CBT first-line, debriefing, pharmacotherapy, and safeguarding disposition.
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Target exams
RACP General PaediatricsRACP DCEMRCPCH ClinicalRCPSC Pediatrics
Prompt
You are the general paediatrician assessing a child after a frightening event. The examiner will test the reaction-to-disorder continuum, trauma-informed assessment, first-line care, pharmacotherapy, and a safeguarding twist.
Stem
The examiner opens with a child seen shortly after a frightening event, then escalates through the timeline, risk factors, first-line treatment, a debriefing request, a pharmacotherapy question, and a safeguarding twist. [1] [11]
References9ShowHide
- [1]Cohen JA, Deblinger E, Mannarino AP, Steer RA A multisite, randomized controlled trial for children with sexual abuse-related PTSD symptoms. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 2004.PMID 15187799
- [2]Scheeringa MS, Weems CF, Cohen JA, Amaya-Jackson L, Guthrie D Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder in three-through six year-old children: a randomized clinical trial. J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 2011.PMID 21155776
- [7]Alisic E, Zalta AK, van Wesel F, et al Rates of post-traumatic stress disorder in trauma-exposed children and adolescents: meta-analysis. Br J Psychiatry, 2014.PMID 24785767
- [8]Trickey D, Siddaway AP, Meiser-Stedman R, Serpell L, Field AP A meta-analysis of risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents. Clin Psychol Rev, 2012.PMID 22245560
- [10]Bisson JI, Roberts NP, Andrew M, Cooper R, Lewis C Psychological therapies for chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2013.PMID 24338345
- [11]Mavranezouli I, Megnin-Viggars O, Trickey D, et al Cost-effectiveness of psychological interventions for children and young people with post-traumatic stress disorder. J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 2020.PMID 31654414
- [12]Cohen JA, Deblinger E, Mannarino AP Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children and Parents. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am, 2026.PMID 41934973
- [9]Catani C, Schauer E, Neuner F Beyond individual war trauma: domestic violence against children in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. J Marital Fam Ther, 2008.PMID 18412824
- [13]Melhem NM, Porta G, Walker Payne M, Brent DA Identifying prolonged grief reactions in children: dimensional and diagnostic approaches. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 2013.PMID 23702449