Psychodynamic approaches to medically ill children and their traumatically stressed parents.

This article describes the authors' clinical experience of integrating psychodynamic therapeutic approaches in the care of medically ill children and their families. A case report of a boy with severe, chronic liver disease requiring a double organ transplant is described as an illustration of how such approaches cannot only improve quality of life and functioning but may also be life saving. The authors describe original research investigating how parents' traumatic stress and related interference with children's emotional regulation can compromise their ability to make meaning of their experience, thus posing a risk for adherence to the prescribed medical regimen.
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