The objective of this study was to review the literature on recent research in child psychotherapy, focusing on child psychoanalytic psychotherapy. All articles addressing outcome research in child psychoanalytic psychotherapy obtained from online scientific publications and textbooks were included and discussed in the review. The study revealed that, although important advances can be identified in outcome research, there is still a lack of research in this field, especially concerning the effectiveness of psychoanalytic-oriented psychotherapies in children. In conclusion, further studies using more sophisticated methodology are needed to assess outcome in child psychotherapy.
Outcome research; children; psychoanalysis; psychotherapy