Children struggling with extreme emotional behaviour helped by group therapy, study finds

The study — conducted by University of Limerick and St Patrick’s Mental Health Services — was carried out among six adolescents, seven parents and six clinicians who worked with them.

Children struggling to deal with extreme emotional behaviour report improvements in tempering their outbursts after taking part in structured group therapy, according to new research.

The study — conducted by University of Limerick and St Patrick’s Mental Health Services — was carried out among six adolescents, seven parents and six clinicians who worked with them.

The research said emotional ‘undercontrol’ is where the child has poor impulse and behavioural control, expresses high emotions and displays a heightened sensitivity to perceived threats.

Cases of ‘overcontrol’ relates to a suppression of behaviours, an excessive delay in gratification and little reaction to external threats or demands.

The 19 participants took part in a 20-week online programme and were afterwards interviewed by researchers.

The programme combined Dialectical Behaviour Therapy — which aims to support people experiencing difficulties with emotions, impulses and behaviours — and Group Radical Openness — which uses relationships in a group to support healthy emotion regulation.

The study, published in Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, said the programme appeared to benefit the adolescents.

“Participants described improvement in symptoms and relational functioning, which they attributed to the development of a shared language for communicating about emotion and the multifamily group context within which the intervention was delivered,” the research said.

It said all the adolescents reported the skills they were taught during the course “supported them to respond differently when in intense emotional states”.

One child said: “I understand it a lot more, and I know how to self-soothe. I still get really intense moods, like my moods would fluctuate really intensely, but when it happens, it happens less, and I can bring myself down from it easier.” 

Parents said the course prompted them to “think differently” about their adolescent’s distress and the role of “their own reactions” played in that distress and to try and respond differently.

“According to parents and clinicians, crucial to parents responding differently was an attempt to sit with adolescent distress rather than rushing to fix it or problem-solve,” the study said.

Most parents said there appeared to be an increased capacity to cope by their child.

“We can’t fix it, but they can cope better,” one parent said.

Some adolescents noticed a shift in their parents’ responses.

“She just now more understands how to comfort me better instead of trying to find solutions to everything,” one child said.

The research said, before the group, all adolescents detailed “self-criticism, feelings of defectiveness, body image difficulties, self-blame and an experience of not liking themselves”.

It said parents reported adolescents were hard on themselves before the group, and clinicians described adolescents as almost ubiquitously presenting with low self-esteem and self-criticism.

The study said adolescents reported improved self-image post-group.

“I always, I'd just be extremely harsh on myself. But I'm a bit better about it now, I'm still working on it,” one adolescent said.

The research did say future studies could interview participants after a “lengthier follow-up period” to see if the initial positive impact was sustained.