Why is it easier to get mad than it is to feel sad? Pilot study of Regulation Focused Psychotherapy for Children

Abstract

•Objective:: This article reports results of a pilot study of three participants receiving regulation-focused psychotherapy for children (RFP-C), a manualized, short-term, psychodynamic treatment for children with oppositional defiant disorder and other externalizing problems. RFP-C targets implicit emotion regulation while using an intensive, psychodynamic, play therapy approach to decrease the child's need for disruptive behaviors. •Methods:: Three children with oppositional defiant disorder participated in a trial of RFP-C. Externalizing symptoms were assessed with the Oppositional Defiant Disorder Rating Scale, and emotion regulation was assessed with the Emotion Regulation Checklist. •Results:: All three children improved in accordance with expectations. Participants exhibited clinically significant and reliable change, as assessed by the primary symptom measure, and demonstrated improved capacity for emotional regulation. •Conclusions:: Results suggest that RFP-C has the potential to produce significant improvements in emotion regulation capacity and in symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder. This pilot study provides initial support for RFP-C as an efficacious and cost-effective intervention, with high treatment compliance rates, and lays the groundwork for a randomized controlled trial of the intervention.

Description

Scholarly article / Open access

Keywords

Anger, Sadness, Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders/*psychology, Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders/*therapy, Psychotherapy/*methods, Child, Preschool, Humans, Male, Pilot projects, Disruptive, Impulse-control, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Psychodynamic, Psychotherapy, Conduct disorders

Citation

Prout, T. A., Rice, T. R., Murphy, S., Gaines, E. Aizin, S., Sessler, D., Ramchandani, T., Racine, E., Gorokhovsky, Y., & Hoffman, L. (2019). Why is it easier to get mad than it is to feel sad? Pilot study of Regulation Focused Psychotherapy for Children. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 72(1), 2-8. doi:10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20180027