La thérapie comportementale-cognitive ciblant les enfants et adolescents : enjeux et perspectives d’avenir

As much as 25% of all children and adolescents present difficulties which engender distress and interference with daily functioning that could lead to a mental health problem (Merikangas et al., 2010). The efficiency of behavioral-cognitive therapies (BCT) was demonstrated in several problems in childhood, especially for anxious disorders (e.g. Rapee et al., 2000), obsessive-compulsive disorder (e.g. March and Mulle, 1998), mood disorders (e.g. David-Ferdon and Kaslow, 2008), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (e.g. Barkley, 2006). However, communications and scientific articles are lesser than concerning the BCT for adults. This thematic issue aims to highlight the French-speaking expertise and evidence-based practice in BCT and psychoeducation concerning mental health problems affecting the child, the teenager, and his/her family. Scientific articles from various Francophonie countries cover a wide scope of issues including symptom reduction and quality of life related to varied themes such as anxious disorders, ADHD, autism and Tourette syndrome. Besides, this editorial will discuss clinical issues related to adaptation of techniques and protocols of intervention that need to be done. Finally, future prospects are underlined. Particularly, we focused on the importance of prioritizing the scattering of studies and intervention manuals in complement to other types of intervention.