Meta-Analysis of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Treating PTSD and Co-occurring Depression Among Children and Adolescents

We evaluated the effectiveness of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) for treating posttraumatic stress disorder and co-occurring depression symptoms across 21 between-group studies representing the data of 1,860 children and adolescents (1,106 girls and 754 boys). Separate meta-analytic procedures were conducted for studies that implemented wait-list/no treatment and alternative treatment comparisons to estimate aggregated treatment effect of TF-CBT and moderators of effect size magnitude. Limitations of our findings and implications for counselors are discussed.