Affect Management Group for Adult Survivors of Childhood Trauma

Sponsor

University of Zurich (Other)

Overall Status

Withdrawn

CT.gov ID

NCT00383006

Collaborator

(none)

Enrollment

Location

Duration (Months)

0.7

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

Problems of self regulation, e.g. emotional dysfunction, represent a core symptom of adult patients with traumatic childhood experiences. The study intends to evaluate the efficiency of a 14-week group therapy for adult survivors of relational trauma in childhood. Main interventions are psychoeducation about the sequelae of childhood trauma, teaching of skills for affect regulation and techniques for activating resources. The hypothesis is that the group therapy significantly improves the participant's capacity in emotion management and self-soothing.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic	Behavioral: Skills for affect regulation (behavior)	Phase 1

Detailed Description

Problems of self regulation, e.g. emotional dysfunction, represent a core symptom of adult patients with traumatic childhood experiences. Since sufficient capacity for self soothing and emotional regulation are essential for trauma exposure, modern trauma therapy concepts are phase-oriented, beginning with working on "stabilization". The study intends to evaluate the efficiency of a 14-week group therapy for adult survivors of relational trauma in childhood. Main interventions are psychoeducation about the sequelae of childhood trauma, teaching of skills for affect regulation and techniques for activating resources. Inclusion criteria are clinical significant problems with self-regulation and the presence of childhood trauma. Outcome measures are based on self-rating questionnaires, clinical interviews and an experimental computer-task at timepoint pre-, post- and 3-month-follow-up. There is no control condition in the pilot-study phase.

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Anticipated Enrollment :

16 participants

Allocation:

Non-Randomized

Intervention Model:

Single Group Assignment

Masking:

None (Open Label)

Primary Purpose:

Treatment

Study Start Date :

May 1, 2006

Anticipated Study Completion Date :

May 1, 2008

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Score on affect regulation capacity at week 14(post-interventional) and month 3 (follow-up) [2008]

Secondary Outcome Measures

Score on depression at week 14 (post-interventional) and month 3 (follow-up) [2008]
Score on life quality at week 14 (post-interventional) and month 3 (follow-up) [2008]
Score on personal resources at week 14 (post-interventional) and month 3 (follow-up) [2008]

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years to 70 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Inclusion Criteria:

Adults with moderate to severe relational trauma in childhood (emotional, sexual or physical abuse, emotional or physical neglect)
DSM-IV diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder

Exclusion Criteria:

Severe dissociation
Environmental safety problems
Ongoing enmeshment with perpetrators
Psychotic disorders
Severe depression
Acute suicidality
Substance abuse
Severe cognitive decline

Contacts and Locations

Locations

	Site	City	State	Country	Postal Code
1	Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital	Zurich	ZH	Switzerland	8091

Sponsors and Collaborators

University of Zurich

Investigators

Principal Investigator: Christoph Mueller, MD, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
Principal Investigator: Michael Rufer, MD, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland