Multimodal therapy (child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy)
In child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy, multimodal therapy is the combination of various therapeutic approaches ( psychotherapy , pharmacotherapy , psychoeducation , parenting training, etc.) for the treatment - primarily of attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A concept widespread in the German-speaking area was developed primarily by Manfred Döpfner and Hans-Christoph Steinhausen and applied in various interprofessional centers.
Definition of terms
Multimodal therapy in children and adolescents involves combining different modalities in one treatment. The implementation is the responsibility of an interprofessional team of child and adolescent therapists. Usually, multimodal therapy is carried out in children and adolescents under the supervision of a specialist in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy . Specific multimodal psychotherapeutic treatment programs and manuals for children and adolescents often include group modules (including group psychotherapy ).
Multimodal child and adolescent therapy programs are primarily aimed at expansive disorders such as ADHD, aggressive behavior, obesity and, in the course of multimodal pain therapy , pain disorders. In Germany, multimodal therapies are also used for other child psychiatric disorders.
Other forms of multimodal therapy are multimodal pain therapy , multimodal internal therapy (e.g. multimodal diabetes therapy or multimodal therapy of carcinomas) and multimodal behavioral therapy (according to Arnold A. Lazarus ) or multimodal psychotherapy , which are not specific to children and Teens are targeted.
Therapy Concepts
The combination and joint application of the best possible therapy methods is the basic idea of multimodal therapy approaches. Different therapies, different treatment methods and the know-how of different professional groups can be bundled:
In individual therapeutic treatment, the child or adolescent work with an adult therapist. Work topics can be the application of psychotherapeutic techniques, tests, conversations, exercises, role plays or artistic expression work.
In group psychotherapy , therapeutic techniques are used in a group of several children or adolescents. The response from peers reinforces the therapeutic processes.
In family therapy treatment, the interaction between family members is in focus. Psychoeducation aims to improve the handling of problem behavior .
The treatment team at a modern child and youth therapy center is usually composed of specialists in child and youth psychiatry , child psychotherapists , social workers , psychologists , art therapists and, if necessary, other specialist therapists such as music therapists , dance therapists , occupational therapists, speech therapists and learning therapists .
The medical management of such a center enables the patients to be clarified in the best possible way using a differential diagnosis and, if necessary, at the same time as the use of psychotherapeutic techniques, the use of drugs can be checked. Many studies show that psychopharmacological interventions appropriate to the indications can significantly increase the effect of psychotherapeutic interventions in serious mental disorders .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sonja Lehrke, Reinhold G. Laessle: Multimodal Therapy in Overweight Children: Therapy Effects on Psychosocial Variables . In: Behavior Therapy , Vol. 12, No. 4, December 2002, pp. 256–266.
- ↑ Multimodal pain therapy groups . University Hospital Erlangen , accessed on February 14, 2019.
