Thanos Karatzias1,2, Sandra Ferguson2, Angela Gullone1, Katie Cosgrove3. 1. a Faculty of Health , Life and Social Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University , Edinburgh , UK. 2. b NHS Lothian, Rivers Centre for Traumatic Stress , Edinburgh , UK , and. 3. c Scottish Government, Gender Based Violence Initiative , Edinburgh , UK.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is limited evidence on manualised group interventions that facilitate the development of trauma recovery skills, affect regulation and meaning making for survivors of interpersonal trauma. AIM: The study aimed to provide preliminary evidence on the effectiveness of group psychotherapy (based on Trauma Recovery and Empowerment Model, TREM) for psychological distress in adult survivors of interpersonal trauma. METHOD: Participants were a consecutive series of female patients (n = 71) from the waiting lists of five National Health Service (NHS) Boards in Scotland. Participants completed a set of self-rated measures (PCL, CORE, SCL-90, DES and RSES) at baseline, mid-intervention, post-intervention and 3-month follow-up. RESULTS: Effect sizes were small to medium across measures and assessment points at post-treatment and follow-up. With regard to clinical significance, at post-treatment, a proportion of 9.9% to 54.9% of participants achieved clinical significance across measures. At follow-up, a proportion of 9.9% to 62.0% of participants achieved clinical significance across measures. CONCLUSIONS: Group psychotherapy may be useful for a proportion of participants and especially so for symptoms of dissociation and self-esteem. Survivors of interpersonal trauma should be offered a choice of individual or group treatment modalities to reduce drop-out rate and maximise outcomes.
BACKGROUND: There is limited evidence on manualised group interventions that facilitate the development of trauma recovery skills, affect regulation and meaning making for survivors of interpersonal trauma. AIM: The study aimed to provide preliminary evidence on the effectiveness of group psychotherapy (based on Trauma Recovery and Empowerment Model, TREM) for psychological distress in adult survivors of interpersonal trauma. METHOD:Participants were a consecutive series of female patients (n = 71) from the waiting lists of five National Health Service (NHS) Boards in Scotland. Participants completed a set of self-rated measures (PCL, CORE, SCL-90, DES and RSES) at baseline, mid-intervention, post-intervention and 3-month follow-up. RESULTS: Effect sizes were small to medium across measures and assessment points at post-treatment and follow-up. With regard to clinical significance, at post-treatment, a proportion of 9.9% to 54.9% of participants achieved clinical significance across measures. At follow-up, a proportion of 9.9% to 62.0% of participants achieved clinical significance across measures. CONCLUSIONS: Group psychotherapy may be useful for a proportion of participants and especially so for symptoms of dissociation and self-esteem. Survivors of interpersonal trauma should be offered a choice of individual or group treatment modalities to reduce drop-out rate and maximise outcomes.
Entities:
Keywords:
child sexual abuse; group psychotherapy; interpersonal trauma; mental health
Authors: K H Holgersen; I Brønstad; M Jensen; H Brattland; S K Reitan; A M Hassel; M Arentz; M Lara-Cabrera; A E Skjervold Journal: Trials Date: 2020-05-27 Impact factor: 2.279