Comorbid conditions

Excerpted from Part 4: Special Issues - TAPP-C: Clinician’s Manual for Preventing and Treating Juvenile Fire Involvement.

Considerations

Fire involvement typically occurs in the context of other psychopathology or difficulties. Accordingly, it is essential that children and youth involved with fire receive a comprehensive assessment not only of their fire involvement, but also of their general mental health needs.

In the context of disruptive or anti-social behavioural difficulties, fire involvement may be just one example of many difficult behaviours that the child is exhibiting.

Often, fire involvement occurs in the context of difficulties with impulsivity. In rarer circumstances, fire involvement may be part of a mood and/or thought disorder. Sometimes fire may be used as a self-harming technique. At other times, fire involvement may occur in the context of pervasive developmental disorders or limited intellectual functioning. A child or youth may also develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress following a particularly serious fire episode.

Intervention modifications

Despite the presence of other difficulties or conditions, restricting access to fire materials and improving supervision and monitoring of the child are still key to eliminating fire involvement in the short term. This ensures the safety of the child, allowing caregivers and others to focus on the child’s other mental health needs. Appropriate treatment for other difficulties should reduce the likelihood of further fire involvement. Appropriate referrals for additional treatment should be facilitated, as appropriate.

In situations where a child’s fire involvement has resulted in significant trauma to the child, it may be necessary to reduce, delay or eliminate some of the child treatment components. It is important, however, that the caregiver treatment component proceed.

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