The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a trauma-informed approach that was adapted for psychiatric residential treatment (PRT) for children aged 5–17.

Data were extracted from case files of 100 youths who received traditional PRT and 105 youths who received trauma-informed PRT (TI-PRT). Outcome measures included change in functional impairment, physical restraints and locked seclusion room incidents, length of time in care, and discharge placement type.

Results of a repeated measures analysis of variance demonstrated that youth who received TI-PRT experienced greater improvements in functional impairment. Results of a zero-inflated Poisson showed that youth in TI-PRT had fewer seclusion room incidents. Finally, the average length of time in care was significantly shorter for the TI-PRT group.

The results support trauma-informed PRT as a promising approach for helping youth achieve greater stability in functioning and for addressing issues of long-standing concern in residential care settings.