The Effect of Meditation in Treating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children After A Traumatic Event

Abstract

Due to their young age, children and adolescents are extremely vulnerable to developing mental health problems after a traumatic event. Children are also more susceptible to developing secondary symptoms from traumatized family members even if the child was not directly exposed to the event. A child's young age also makes it difficult to assess adequately how to treat possible mental health consequences that can arise after the trauma. There is a great need to develop with a treatment plan for the young population after a traumatic event, because failure to do so could later lead to severe mental illness, suicide, and/or alcohol abuse. A study is proposed to demonstrate how meditation or mindfulness-based therapy can benefit the mental health of 800 New York Public school students aged 10-18 who have been diagnosed with PTSD and/or depression.