Psychiatric Treatment Outcomes of Preschool Children in a Family Day Hospital

This study describes the treatment outcomes of preschoolers with severe mental health problems who were treated at the child psychiatric family day hospital for preschool children in Münster, Germany. The eclectic multi-modal treatment combines behavioral and psychodynamic techniques for both parents and children in various settings within an intermittent attendance structure provided by a multi-disciplinary team. This study evaluated 185 children with the Caregiver-Teacher Report Form (C-TRF/1.5–5), which was completed by therapists, and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/1.5–5), which was completed by mothers, at admission and discharge. The mothers’ ratings of their children were statistically adjusted for the distortion caused by their own psychopathology. After treatment, the patients showed significant improvement on the C-TRF/CBCL Total Problem score with an average Cohen’s d = −0.50 based on therapists’ ratings, d = −0.97 for the non-adjusted maternal ratings, and d = −0.68 for the adjusted maternal ratings. We conclude that specialized family day hospitals may successfully treat preschool psychiatric patients.