766 Clinical Outcome Assessment of a Psychosocial Intensive Retreat for Girls with Severe Burns
Abstract Introduction Burn camps and peer support groups are widely utilized for the psychosocial care of pediatric burn survivors, providing community and recreation. However, camps and support groups often do not involve psychological therapy to assist with potential distress. This abstract presents program development outcome assessments for an alternative approach to psychosocial care: a psychosocial intensive retreat for adolescent survivors of pediatric burns, led by trained mental health professionals, with group therapy interspersed with recreation. Methods A 6-day, residential psychosocial intensive was open to adolescent girls with disfiguring burns. Psychological assessments were administered for clinical utility at the start (T0) and end (T1) of the program and were used to guide programming. Assessments included: Posttraumatic Stress Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL), Satisfaction with Appearance Scale (SWAP), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ) measuring psychological inflexibility. Bivariate correlations and univariate t-tests were used to assess program outcomes. Results Fifteen girls (Mage = 16, SD = 2.04; Mageofburn = 6.64, SD = 5.40) attended. At T0, girls reported subclinical scores (PCL (M = 23.53, SD = 20.20, range 1–65); SWAP (M = 44.93, SD = 11.88); RSES (M = 27.28, SD = 5.76); AAQ (M = 20.71, SD = 9.64) with a subset of 5 reporting clinical distress on PCL. Therapeutic programming was adjusted to primarily focus on typically developing adolescent issues such as communication, boundaries, identity formation, and healthy relationships, with some burns-specific groups (grief and loss, social exposures). Those with clinically significant distress participated in trauma and affect regulation training. AAQ at T0 was negatively associated with RSES (r = -.78, p = .003) and positively associated with PCL scores (r = .82, p < .001). RSES was negatively associated with PCL (r = -.87, p < .001). SWAP was not associated with any measures. From T0 (M = 26.70, SD = 6.07) to T1 (M = 30.18, SD = 5.74) girls reported a significant increase in RSES, t(10) = -3.15, p = .01. As expected given low symptoms reported at T0, no other pre to post changes occurred. TBSA, time since burn and age were not associated with outcome variables. Conclusions Overall, girls suffered burn injury before the age of 7 and current symptom profiles replicated prior literature supporting subthreshold, long-term psychological morbidity for pediatric burns. A brief, 6 day psychosocial intensive may facilitate growth in self-esteem. Use of clinical assessments to inform programming is emphasized. Applicability of Research to Practice Psychosocial intensives that intersperse empirically-supported, assessment-driven therapeutic programming with social connection may be useful in increasing adolescent self-esteem for girls with a history of disfiguring burns.