Guided approach to decide on the order of attachment-based intervention, parental trauma therapy and children’s trauma therapy: Case report of integrated treatment after domestic violence

Background Parents and children who experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) might need treatment for their posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and problems in their relationships. As deciding on the prioritization of these treatments is often difficult because of the complexity of the problems, the current case study describes the application of a newly developed guidance document to help therapists in deciding the order of parental trauma therapy, children’s trauma therapy, and attachment-based intervention. Basic Procedure Following the guidance document, the participating dyad first received an attachment-based intervention (i.e., the Dutch short-term intervention on atypical parenting behavior) and then the mother received trauma therapy (i.e., Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy). Main findings Results revealed that the guidance document was perceived as helpful in deciding on the order of treatment and treatment satisfaction of the participant and the therapist were high. In addition, there was a small positive change in sensitive parenting behavior, and a clinically relevant reduction in parental PTSD symptoms and child PTSD and emotional and behavioral symptoms. No meaningful improvement was shown for disrupted parenting behavior. However, no causal relations can be assumed based on this single case, and findings should be interpreted in light of the study’s limitations that are described in the Discussion. Principal conclusions The example of this case may be instructive for future use of the guidance document and for evaluating to what extent it improves the decision-making process for treatment for IPV exposed families with young children.