Kinderterapie is nie kinderspeletjies nie! / Esmé van Rensburg

Abstract

Due to poverty, crime, inequality, political instability and parental and familial dysfunction, children in South Africa are in urgent need of psychotherapeutic interventions. Psychologists are increasingly under pressure to make use of evidence-based practice in psychology. However, it seems as if psychological practitioners do not always understand the difference between evidence-based research versus evidence-based practice, and the application thereof on the therapeutic intervention process. The aims of this article were therefore firstly to explain the difference between evidence-based interventions versus evidence-based practice, and secondly to indicate that failure to utilise an evidence-based practice model may not only be unscientific but also unethical. The implication of the evidence-based practice model in terms of the clinical state and circumstances of the child client/patient’s preferences as well as the values, research evidence and clinical expertise of the therapist were discussed. The different steps in evidence-based practice were indicated and demonstrated in terms of psychotherapeutic interventions with children. Lastly, the spotlight was turned on the link between evidence-based practice and ethical principles. The challenges of evidence-based practice in child psychotherapy were pointed out in terms of training, practice and research.