Since 2015, terrorists in Burkina Faso have caused the loss of relatives in families, resulting in widows, injuries and orphans. Also, there is an increase in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), including children and their mothers who show signs of major psychological distress. The objective of this research-intervention was to assess the situation of children, to identify the symptoms of post-traumatic stress and to apply projective therapeutic methods aimed at mitigating the consequences of violence and brutal separation from parents over children. We adopted a quantitative and qualitative crosssectional study of a sample of 97 children aged 3 to 7 years who were victims of terrorism in Bourzanga, a town in northern Burkina Faso. The majority of participants were orphans who witnessed their fathers being murdered by terrorists. We opted for the game, the family drawing and the clinical interview as methods of investigation of the psychopathology of the child, at first. Then, the parents and the social workers were received in a second time for a semi-directive interview on the psychopathological signs and manifestations of the children. The results of the clinical evaluation identified 30 out of 97 children, or 30.93%, with symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Psycho-projective therapeutic techniques, such as psychodrama and musicodrama have had restorative effects in these children, we recommend them for the care of child victims of terrorism.

Child Victims Terrorism Child Psychopathology