The Montpellier Regional Psychotrauma Center (CRPM) for Children and Adolescents*, located at Saint-Eloi hospital, is dedicated to the evaluation and care of children and adolescents, between 3 and 18 years old, who have been exposed to one or more traumatic events which jeopardized their physical or psychological integrity. The team is made up of psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses and healthcare executives, offering specialized psychotrauma care.
Resilience and adaptation to heal
Resilience and adaptation in the face of adversity are dynamic concepts that can be learned at any age. Indeed, the team is inspired by an approach based on the resources and skills of each individual. In this unit, the assessment and overall management of. psychotrauma and its consequences go hand in hand with the
mobilization of resources around the child/adolescent. The acquisition/learning of adaptive skills and strategies will allow the child to manage post-traumatic symptoms and restore interpersonal bonds altered by the traumatic experience. The involvement of parents and/or caregivers is central to this practice. The specialized care offered is based on evidence and recommended internationally.
Early family intervention validated in the United States
In the event of traumatic events dating back less than three months, the service offers acute and sub-acute care: Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention. This is an early family intervention validated in the United States and adapted to the French context which aims to strengthen family support in the post-traumatic period and to soothe acute symptoms.
CBT, EMDR, guidance and psychoeducation
In the event of traumatic events dating back more than three months, the service offers a standardized psychological and/or medical assessment of post-traumatic stress symptoms and associated disorders. Several methods are offered such as Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy or EMDR. For young people and their families, the team also offers guidance and psychoeducation, to encourage social and family support, improve intra-family communication, mobilize resources, and strengthen adaptive strategies. Significant coordination is put in place with the treating physician and the referring psychiatrist. The service emphasizes the training of actors of 1ere line on psychotrauma, research development and resilience.
*The Montpellier Regional Psychotrauma Center (CRPM) for Children and Adolescents was created in 2022. It was able to be strengthened in 2023 thanks to funding from the Occitanie Regional Health Agency. This unit is part of the Child and Adolescent Psychological Medicine department (MPEA1) whose head of department is Professor Diane PurperOuakil. The children/teens CRPM works in collaboration with the adult CRPM of Montpellier coordinated by Dr Matthieu Fraigneau in the department of Professor Philippe Courtet at Lapeyronie hospital.
Contact – Dr Hala Kerbage: Psychiatrist in charge of the unit; hala.kerbage@abosantementale
• Press release from the Montpellier University Hospital, Saint-Éloi hospital, “Launch of the child/adolescent psychotrauma unit at the Montpellier University Hospital? October 17, 2024.
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