Cognitive-behavioral intervention for the management of symptoms associated with divorce in children

The family is the basis of human development, it is the social context that provides the necessary conditions for children to acquire their autonomy at all levels; in addition to the necessary physical care to guarantee their survival. The family is the one that provides the essential affective climate so that there is a process that changes the biological being that is a baby, in a person, in a biopsychosocial being. Marriage arguments emotionally deplete parents and diminish their interest in the emotional needs of their children, who may understand it as rejection or absence of affection, very detrimental to their personal growth. Additionally, marital conflict decreases the parents ability to integrate and participate socially. The provision of affective and emotional stability that child development requires can be seriously threatened by the separation or divorce of the parents, it affects children in the form of coping they use in stressful situations, in the formation of the attachment process, the affective and emotional stability required for child development and how they respond to changes in the family.

Clinical Case of a Child with Algoneurodystrophy

A clinical case of a 12-year-old female child with anxiety symptoms and a diagnosis of Algoneurodystrophy in the left hand is presented. The psychological assessment was carried out using the following instruments: observation, psychological interview, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III), State/Trait Anxiety Questionnaire for children, and Conners Scales for parents and teachers. The intervention aimed to reduce anxiety levels, promote self-esteem, and alleviate the child's grief. For this purpose, a cognitive-behavioral intervention was carried out with the child and their parents. Through education, the child's parents were alerted to the need to express the feeling of loss, providing an environment for the resolution of the grieving process of all family members. Furthermore, they were also warned about the maintenance factors of the child's anxiety symptoms, such as the issue of high parental demand. As a result, it can be concluded that good therapeutic gains were seen, translating into the resolution of the child's problems and, consequently, increasing their psychological well-being.