PROTOCOL: Group‐based interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of the role of trauma type

Summary & key facts

This paper is a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis that will study whether group-based treatments help reduce PTSD symptoms. The review will include studies of people diagnosed with PTSD or referred to PTSD treatment groups. It will look not only at overall effects but also at how the type of trauma, whether group members share the same trauma or gender, and social identity or group processes relate to outcomes.

Key facts:

• This document is a protocol for a Campbell systematic review and meta-analysis focused on group-based treatments for PTSD.
• The review will include people diagnosed with PTSD by a clinician or a screening tool, and people referred to PTSD treatment groups by health professionals.
• The authors will include both randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized studies in their review.
• A primary goal is to measure the effect of group-based treatments on PTSD symptoms (such as re-experiencing, hyperarousal, avoidance, and negative mood/cognition).
• The review will test moderators that might change treatment effects, including type of trauma (for example, interpersonal or stigmatized traumas), group fit (shared vs. unshared trauma and gender composition), and recorded social identity o
• The protocol notes an approximate lifetime estimate that 3.5% of people experience PTSD, and it describes PTSD as often chronic and disabling for some individuals.
• The authors cite prior meta-analyses that found trauma-focused group cognitive behavioural therapy reduced PTSD symptoms compared with waitlist or usual care, while evidence for non–trauma-focused group therapies is mixed.
• The protocol says clinical guidelines differ: some do not address group interventions, some recommend trauma-focused group CBT, and the VA/DoD gives a moderate recommendation for group therapy without specifying type.

Abstract

This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The primary objective is to assess the effects of group-based treatments on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomology in people diagnosed with PTSD (by a clinician or screening instrument) or referred to a PTSD treatment group for their symptoms by a medical professional. We will also examine a range of moderators that may affect the efficacy of group-based treatments, including the nature of the trauma (interpersonal, stigmatized) and the group fit (in terms of gender and shared vs. unshared trauma). Further, we will also explore what, if any, group-based and social identity factors are recorded and how they relate to PTSD outcomes.

Topics

Child Abuse and Trauma Migration, Health and Trauma Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research

Categories

Clinical Psychology Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Affect (linguistics) Alternative medicine Clinical psychology Communication Internal medicine Interpersonal communication Medicine Meta-analysis Pathology Posttraumatic stress Protocol (science) Psychiatry Psychological intervention Psychology Psychotherapist Social psychology

Conditions & symptoms

PTSD Anxiety or worry Feeling disconnected from others Poor sleep