While the evidence base for psychodynamic therapy with adults is now quite
substantial, there is still a lack of research evaluating the effectiveness of
psychodynamic therapies with children and young people. Those studies that have been
carried out are also not widely known in the field. To help address the second point, in
2011, we carried out a review of the evidence base for psychodynamic psychotherapy
for children and adolescents, which identified 35 studies which together provided some
preliminary evidence for this treatment for a range of childhood disorders. The present
study is an updated review, focusing on research published between March 2011 and
November 2016. During this period, 23 additional studies were published, of which 5
were reports on randomised controlled trials, 3 were quasi-experimental controlled
studies and 15 were observational studies. Although most studies covered children
with mixed diagnoses, there were a number of studies examining specific diagnostic
groups, including children with depression, anxiety and disruptive disorders. whilst
the quality of studies was mixed, some were well-designed and reported, and overall
indicated promising findings. Nevertheless, further high-quality research is needed
in order to better understand the effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy
across a range of different disorders, and to ensure that services can provide a range of
evidence-based treatments for children and young people
