The lausanne trilogue play as a psychodiagnostic and therapeutic tool - an innovative clinical experience with psychiatric children and adolescents.

Introduction: Considering the whole family as a structured subsystem defined on the basis of the members’ different functions, this work focuses on the Lausanne Trilogue Play (LTP), which is a semi-structured interview procedure. Aim: to test the LTP as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool for planning effective therapy tailored to each family and of evaluating their efficacy on children psychopathology, parenting skills and family’s interactions. Methods: The research is a longitudinal 36 months study ending in June 2016. The sample is being recruited at a Neuropsychiatry Unit in Padua, Italy, and consists of 3-18 y.patients and their parents, referred for psychodiagnostic assessment due to emotional - behavioral problems during one year time. The sample (a hundred families) is divided into two groups: in one the child is administered individual psychotherapy (30-50 sessions, held weekly or fortnightly); in the other, the child’s treatment is associated with intervention to support parenting (20-35 sessions, monthly or bimonthly). The tests used during the diagnostic workup are the YSR 11-18, the SCL 90 R, the 20 TAS, the CBCL, the FES and the LTP, and the sample is to be retested every 6 months. The LTP is associated with video feedback for some of the parents (randomly grouped for said purpose). Results and conclusion: Data confirm the value of the LTP as part of the diagnostic and therapeutic armamentarium in developmental psychopathology, both for identifying a family’s dysfunctional and functional characteristics with a view to offering them early interventions, and for optimizing the use of resources by planning tailored therapies for children and parents. Specifically, results from the 3 years follow up study of the taken in charge families will be described.