Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41263885›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2025

Long-term effects of psychotherapy in children and adolescents: protocol for database development and a systematic review in the LaKiJu META project.

Sarah K Schäfer, Clara F Burmeister, Eva Lottermoser, Christian G Schäfer, Lorena Cascant Ortolano, Jutta Stoffers-Winterling, Tabea Flasinksi, Monika Equit, Silvia Schneider, Klaus Lieb and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Sarah K SchäferLeibniz Institute for Resilience Research, Mainz, Germany sarah.schaefer@lir-mainz.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9885-3252
Clara F BurmeisterLeibniz Institute for Resilience Research, Mainz, Germany.
Eva LottermoserMental Health Research and Treatment Center (FBZ), Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Christian G SchäferDivision of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany.
Lorena Cascant OrtolanoDepartmental Library, Translation Studies, Linguistics, and Cultural Studies, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
Jutta Stoffers-WinterlingLeibniz Institute for Resilience Research, Mainz, Germany.
Tabea FlasinksiMental Health Research and Treatment Center (FBZ), Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0493-9424
Monika EquitDivision of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany.
Silvia SchneiderMental Health Research and Treatment Center (FBZ), Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Klaus LiebLeibniz Institute for Resilience Research, Mainz, Germany.
Anke de HaanMental Health Research and Treatment Center (FBZ), Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4676-348X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionApproximately one in every six children and adolescents is affected by mental disorders, which impose significant costs on patients, their families and societies. Psychotherapy is the first-line treatment for many of these disorders, and systematic reviews of post-intervention effects show small to moderate favourable outcomes compared with control groups. However, the long-term effects of psychotherapy remain less well understood. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The LaKiJu META project aims to address this gap by developing an open-access database, which will subsequently be used for data synthesis. This database will be established through literature searches in nine databases for (cluster) randomised controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the long-term effects (≥6 months) of any type of psychotherapy in school-aged children and adolescents (ages 6;00 to 17;11 years) with mental disorders. Outcomes will be prioritised based on their relevance to patients, caregivers and clinicians and will encompass a broad range of measures, including symptom changes, response rates and reliable changes. Syntheses will use multilevel meta-analyses to compare intervention and control groups at follow-up assessments, across both transdiagnostic and disorder-specific symptom outcomes. In secondary analyses, we will examine changes within intervention groups over time. Moderator analyses will focus on the effects of study-, intervention- and patient-level characteristics. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval for public involvement was obtained from the ethics committee of the Faculty of Psychology of the Ruhr University Bochum. For dissemination, we will employ tailored strategies to reach researchers, clinicians, patients and their caregivers, with all groups involved in the development of dissemination plans. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD420251003208 (preregistered on 10 March 2025).

Indexed as

Mental DisordersPsychotherapyAdolescentChildDatabases, FactualHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicResearch DesignSystematic Reviews as TopicTreatment OutcomeChild & adolescent psychiatryCommunity child healthMeta-AnalysisPsychosocial InterventionStress, PsychologicalSystematic Review

Identifiers

PMID41263885
PMCPMC12636970

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.