Imagery rescripting and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing for treatment of adults with childhood trauma-related post-traumatic stress disorder: IREM study design

BMC Psychiatry

Study Protocol

Arnoud Arntz¹  Katrina L. Boterhoven de Haan²  Christopher W. Lee²  Mariel Meewisse³  Eva Fassbinder⁴  Marisol J. Voncken⁵  Saskia M. Van Es⁶  Simone Menninga⁷  Margriet Kousemaker⁸ 

[1] Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Weesperplein 4, 1018 XA, Amsterdam, Netherlands;Division of Psychiatry, UWA Medical School, Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, 6009, Crawley, WA, Australia;GGZ Noord-Holland Noord, Stationsplein 138, 1703 WC, Heerhigowaard, Netherlands;Lübeck University, School of Psychiatry, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562, Lübeck, Germany;Maastricht University, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department Clinical Psychological Science, P.O. Box 616, 6200, Maastricht, MD, The Netherlands;PsyQ Amsterdam, George Westinghousestraat 2, 1097 BA, Amsterdam, Netherlands;PsyQ Beverwijk, Leeghwaterweg 1A, 1951 NA, Velsen-Noord, Netherlands;Sinai Centrum, Postbus 2063, Laan van de Helende Meesters 2, 1180 EB, Amstelveen, Netherlands;

关键词: Post-traumatic stress disorder;    Childhood;    Imagery rescripting;    Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing;    Treatment;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12888-017-1330-2

 received in 2017-02-27, accepted in 2017-04-24,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that originates from childhood trauma experiences can develop into a chronic condition that has lasting effects on an individual’s functioning and quality of life. While there are evidence-based guidelines for treating adult onset PTSD, treatments for adults with childhood trauma-related PTSD (Ch-PTSD) are varied and subject to ongoing debate. This study will test the effectiveness of two trauma-focused treatments, imagery rescripting (ImRs) and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) in participants with Ch-PTSD. Both have been found effective in treatment of adult PTSD or mixed onset PTSD and previous research indicates they are well-tolerated treatments. However, we know less about their effectiveness for treating Ch-PTSD or their underlying working mechanisms.MethodsIREM is an international multicentre randomised controlled trial involving seven sites across Australia, Germany and the Netherlands. We aim to recruit 142 participants (minimum of n = 20 per site), who will be randomly assigned to treatment condition. Assessments will be conducted before treatment until 1-year follow-up. Assessments before and after the waitlist will assess change in time only. The primary outcome measure is change in PTSD symptom severity from pre-treatment to 8-weeks post-treatment. Secondary outcome measures include change in severity of depression, anger, trauma-related cognitions, guilt, shame, dissociation and quality of life. Underlying mechanisms of treatment will be assessed on changes in vividness, valence and encapsulated belief of a worst trauma memory. Additional sub-studies will include qualitative investigation of treatment experiences from the participant and therapists’ perspective, changes in memory and the impact of treatment fidelity on outcome measures.DiscussionThe primary aims of this study are to compare the effectiveness of EMDR and ImRs in treating Ch-PTSD and to investigate the underlying working mechanisms of the two treatments. The large-scale international design will make a significant contribution to our understanding of how these treatments address the needs of individuals with Ch-PTSD and therefore, potentially improve their effectiveness.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12614000750684. Registered 16 July 2014.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017