Group psychotherapy for female adult survivors of interpersonal psychological trauma: a preliminary study in Scotland

Background: There is limited evidence on manualised group interventions that facilitate thedevelopment of trauma recovery skills, affect regulation and meaning making for survivors ofinterpersonal trauma.Aim: The study aimed to provide preliminary evidence on the effectiveness of grouppsychotherapy (based on Trauma Recovery and Empowerment Model, TREM) for psychologicaldistress in adult survivors of interpersonal trauma.Method: Participants were a consecutive series of female patients (n¼71) from the waiting listsof five National Health Service (NHS) Boards in Scotland. Participants completed a set of selfratedmeasures (PCL, CORE, SCL-90, DES and RSES) at baseline, mid-intervention, postinterventionand 3-month follow-up.Results: Effect sizes were small to medium across measures and assessment points at posttreatmentand follow-up. With regard to clinical significance, at post-treatment, a proportion of9.9% to 54.9% of participants achieved clinical significance across measures. At follow-up, aproportion 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 especiallyso for symptoms of dissociation and self-esteem. Survivors of interpersonal trauma should beoffered a choice of individual or group treatment modalities to reduce drop-out rate andmaximise outcomes

Acts of Recovery: moving on from childhood abuse.

Evidence-based, survivor-centred self-help booklet for survivors of childhood abuse

Recovering from childhood sexual abuse: a theoretical framework for practice and research.

Research on survivors' experiences of recovering from childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been limited and focused on those with severe mental health difficulties. This study elicited experiences of recovery from CSA in male and female survivors who have/have not utilized mental health services. The tangible end-point was to propose a theoretical model of personally meaningful recovery. This is a qualitative study, which utilized semi-structured individual interviews following the critical incident technique. Transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to identify recurrent themes. A total 22 adult survivors of CSA. Main themes identified were: The Affected Self, Factors Hindering Recovery, Factors Enhancing Recovery, The Hurdles of Recovery and the Recovering Self. The affected self included: lack of boundary awareness and self-blame, over self-reliance, over-vigilance and guilt, shame, aloneness and social stigma. The recovering self was characterized by increasing confidence, assertiveness, ability to self-care and self-acceptance, and by embracing vulnerability. These findings have potentially major implications for clinical practice, service provision, policy development and professional training in this field. The importance of disclosure in the healing process seemed paramount and can have major implications for current service protocols

Acts of recovery: moving on from childhood abuse. (Easy read version)

The booklet has also been adjusted for survivors of childhood abuse who have learning difficulties in collaboration with Eileen Duncan, Project Manager for Health Inequalities with NHS Lothian. This version has been endorsed and is currently being used on the NHS, voluntary sector (e.g. Rape Crisis), and social care services with survivors with learning difficulties, as a tool to aid recovery and support therapy

Acts of Recovery: moving on from childhood abuse.

Evidence-based, survivor-centred self-help booklet for survivors of childhood abuse

Acts of recovery: moving on from childhood abuse. (Easy read version)

The booklet has also been adjusted for survivors of childhood abuse who have learning difficulties in collaboration with Eileen Duncan, Project Manager for Health Inequalities with NHS Lothian. This version has been endorsed and is currently being used on the NHS, voluntary sector (e.g. Rape Crisis), and social care services with survivors with learning difficulties, as a tool to aid recovery and support therapy

Effectiveness and Acceptability of Group Psychoeducation for the Management of Mental Health Problems in Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA).

There has been limited published research on the effectiveness of manualized psychoeducational approaches for the mental health and behavioral problems of child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors. The present study aims to add to the evidence base for the effectiveness and acceptability of such interventions. A total of 37 enrolled into a brief psychoeducation program (i.e., 10 sessions) aiming to help stabilize mental health and behavioral outcomes (e.g., self-harm), while on the waiting list for mental health services. Participants completed a set of self-rated measures at baseline, pre-intervention, post-intervention and 3-month follow-up. Although there was no change over time with regard to general distress, traumatic symptomatology, depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and life satisfaction, completers were less likely to report self-harm and presented with decreased rates of smoking, alcohol and substance misuse, and involvement in illegal and antisocial behaviors at post-treatment and follow-up. Qualitative data also suggested that overall the program is well tolerated by participants, despite the high attrition rate (43%). Although further research is required to establish the efficacy of this intervention, preliminary results indicate that the new intervention may be useful for stabilizing behavioral problems at post-treatment and follow-up. Strategies to improve attrition rates in future research and clinical practice are discusse

Therapeutic Change in Group Therapy For Interpersonal Trauma: A Relational Framework for Research and Clinical Practice

Our understanding of therapeutic change processes in group therapy for complex interpersonal trauma has been limited. The present study aimed at addressing this gap by developing a framework of therapeutic change in this field from a survivor and therapist perspective. This is a qualitative study, which utilized semistructured individual interviews. Transcripts were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to identify recurrent themes. A final sample of n = 16 patients and n = 5 facilitators completed the interview. Main change processes identified by survivors were as follows: self versus others, trust versus threat, confrontation versus avoidance, and “patching up” versus true healing. Therapeutic processes identified by therapist facilitators included managing group dynamics, unpredictability and uncertainty, and process versus content. The proposed framework explains therapeutic change in group therapy in relational terms, that is, therapeutic dissonance, the dynamic interaction of self and experience as well as building empathic trusting relations. The importance of managing dissonance to aid personally meaningful recovery was highlighted. These findings have implications for the usefulness of relational and person-centered approaches to clinical practice in the area of interpersonal and complex trauma, especially in the early identification, prevention, and management of dropouts