An exploratory study of mental health interventions with infants and young children in foster care

Child maltreatment negatively affects the well-being and development of youth in the United States. Infants and young children are disproportionately affected in number and severity by abuse and neglect, yielding short-and long-term developmental challenges requiring the identification of research-informed, trauma-focused early interventions. This exploratory study examines 23 children who startedmental health treatment at, or before, age 5. All children were removed from home for reasons of suspected abuse and neglect, placed into foster care, and provided long-term, relationship-based psychotherapy for an average of 3.35 years through A Home Within, a national nonprofit focused on the emotional health of foster children. Findings indicate substantial reductions in therapist-reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, dissociative symptoms, self-injurious behavior, sleep problems, enuresis, school problems, conduct problems, sexualized behavior, and aggression. These preliminary results support the benefits of early intervention, focused on relationships, with maltreated infants, toddlers, and pre-school children and call for additional research on interventions designed for, and utilized with, foster children.