Pilot evaluation of a group stabilisation intervention for refugees and asylum seekers with PTSD.
Behav Cogn Psychother
; 50(1): 111-116, 2022 Jan.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1593729
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is commonly experienced by asylum seekers and refugees (ASR). Evidence supports the use of cognitive behavioural therapy-based treatments, but not in group format for this population. However, group-based treatments are frequently used as a first-line intervention in the UK.AIMS:
This study investigated the feasibility of delivering a group-based, manualised stabilisation course specifically developed for ASR. The second aim was to evaluate the use of routine outcome measures (ROMs) to capture psychological change in this population.METHOD:
Eighty-two participants from 22 countries attended the 8-session Moving On After Trauma (MOAT) group-based stabilisation treatment. PHQ-9, GAD-7, IES-R and idiosyncratic outcomes were administered pre- and post-intervention.RESULTS:
Seventy-one per cent of participants (n = 58) attended five or more of the treatment sessions. While completion rates of the ROMs were poor - measures were completed at pre- and post-intervention for 46% participants (n = 38) - a repeated-measures MANOVA indicated significant improvements in depression (p = .001, ηp2 = .262), anxiety (p = .000, ηp2 = .390), PTSD (p = .001, ηp2 = .393) and idiosyncratic measures (p = .000, ηp2 = .593) following the intervention.CONCLUSIONS:
Preliminary evidence indicates that ASR who attended a low-intensity, group-based stabilisation group for PTSD experienced lower mental health scores post-group, although the lack of a comparison group means these results should be interpreted with caution. There are significant challenges in administering ROMs to individuals who speak many different languages, in a group setting. Nonetheless, groups have benefits including efficiency of treatment delivery which should also be considered.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Refugees
/
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Behav Cogn Psychother
Journal subject:
Behavioral Sciences
/
Psychiatry
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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