title: Feasibility of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for traumatized children in Japan: a Pilot Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy is used to treat children who have experienced traumatic events and suffer from trauma-related disorders. Its effectiveness has been demonstrated in several randomized controlled studies. However, most of these studies have been performed in the United States, with few studies conducted in Asian countries. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the feasibility of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy in children who have experienced traumatic events and who suffer from trauma-related disorders in Japan.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-five traumatized children (mean age = 10.9 years; range = 3-17 years; 74.3% girls) who received trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy were included. The effectiveness of the program was evaluated in each case using the University of California at Los Angeles Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index for DSM-IV for trauma-related symptoms and the Children's Global Assessment Scale for social functioning. Pre- and post-treatment outcome measures were analyzed using two-tailed paired t tests. The results for 35 participants indicate that post-traumatic stress symptoms were significantly improved following therapy [t(35) = 8.27; p < 0.01], whereas the assessment of social functioning supported the effectiveness of the program [t(35) = -14.68; p < 0.01]. The pre- to post-treatment effect sizes (Glass's delta) were 1.24 for the University of California at Los Angeles Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index and 1.96 for the Children's Global Assessment Scale.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings indicate that trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy is feasible for treating traumatized children of an Asian population. We discuss the implications of this result for clinical practice and future research.
authors.affiliation: Hyogo Institute for Traumatic Stress, 1-3-2 Wakinohama-kaiganndori, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 651-0073 Japan.
authors.forename: Satomi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kameoka
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Iwate Medical University, 19-1 Uchimaru, Morioka-shi, Iwate 020-8505 Japan.
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yagi
authors.affiliation: Victim Support Center of Tokyo, 3-18-1, Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169-0052 Japan.
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.affiliation: Hyogo Institute for Traumatic Stress, 1-3-2 Wakinohama-kaiganndori, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 651-0073 Japan ; Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, 1-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 Japan.
authors.forename: Sachiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nosaka
authors.affiliation: Victim Support Center of Tokyo, 3-18-1, Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169-0052 Japan ; Faculty of Human Sciences, Mejiro University, 4-31-1, Naka-Ochiai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 161-8539 Japan.
authors.forename: Azusa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.affiliation: Osaka Medical Center and Research Institute for Maternal and Child Health, 840 Murodo-cho, Izumi, Osaka 594-1101 Japan.
authors.forename: Wakako
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Miyake
authors.affiliation: Hyogo Institute for Traumatic Stress, 1-3-2 Wakinohama-kaiganndori, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 651-0073 Japan.
authors.forename: Saeko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takada
authors.affiliation: Hyogo Institute for Traumatic Stress, 1-3-2 Wakinohama-kaiganndori, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 651-0073 Japan.
authors.forename: Sayaka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.affiliation: Osaka Prefectural Child Guidance Center, 28-5 Yasaka-tyou, Neyagawa, Osaka 572-0838 Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Asano
authors.affiliation: Hyogo Institute for Traumatic Stress, 1-3-2 Wakinohama-kaiganndori, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 651-0073 Japan.
authors.forename: Eizaburo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Victim Support Center of Tokyo, 3-18-1, Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169-0052 Japan ; Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, 2-1-6 Kamikitazawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 156-8506 Japan.
authors.forename: Nozomu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Asukai
keywords: Children; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Trauma; Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy; Treatment