SELECTIVE MUTISM: theoretical considerations and the contributions of therapy cognitive-behavioral

Abstract

The Selective Mutism is a disorder that affects children, characterized by the lack of oral communication in social exposure environments, being mainly identified at the beginning of the school term. This is a review article, in order to analyze in literature studies on the contributions of Therapy Cognitive-Behavioral at work with children diagnosed with Selective Mutism, and the use of techniques effective for treatment. The literature review occurred through the search for articles in the databases: Pepsic, Scielo, BVS-Psi e Google Scholar. Throughout this research, boolean descriptors and operators were used: “Selective Mutism” AND “Childhood” AND “Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy” AND “Treatment”. From the review critical reading of articles, twelve journals were selected, in the period between 2014 and 2020, in which the data was collected and organized through file, until they are analyzed and included in relevant information for the topic. The results found demonstrate that, the treatment of children diagnosed with Selective Mutism must be performed early, considering the social and learning losses related to it. The Cognitive-Behavioral Model has been shown to be effective and supported by methods and techniques that help the treatment of Selective Mutism and other childhood anxiety disorders.