For many years psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapies have been considered to lack a credible evidence-base and have consistently failed to appear in lists of ‘empirically supported treatments’. This study systematically reviews the research evaluating the efficacy and effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy for children and young people. The researchers identified 34 separate studies that met criteria for inclusion, including nine randomised controlled trials. While many of the studies reported are limited by sample size and lack of control groups, the review indicates that there is increasing evidence to suggest the effectiveness of psychoanalytic psychotherapy for children and adolescents. The article aims to provide as complete a picture as possible of the existing evidence base, thereby enabling more refined questions to be asked regarding the nature of the current evidence and gaps requiring further exploration.

The great majority of children living in foster or residential care have been abused and neglected. Mental health problems are common and the nature of these problems may be rooted in early attachment relationships. The carers of 82 children in care in Scotland and 125 children from local schools completed questionnaires on mental health problems including Reactive Attachment Disorder. More than half (53%) of the children in care fulfilled criteria for mental health problems compared with 13% of the control group, and children living in care scored significantly higher for conduct problems, emotional problems (anxiety and depression), hyperactivity, problems with peer relations and Reactive Attachment Disorder. This has important implications for service development for this vulnerable group of children.