
Psychometric Properties of the International Trauma Interview (ITI) for ICD-11 PTSD and CPTSD
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD)The aim of the project is to evaluate the psychometric properties (e.g. validity, reliability) of the International Trauma Interview (ITI) - German version. The ITI is a structured clinical interview that corresponds to the ICD-11 criteria for diagnosing both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). Eligible participants from psychiatric inpatient and outpatient facilities in Switzerland who have provided informed will complete various self-report measures about trauma-related mental health complaints. In addition, the ITI will be conducted by a trained clinician. Lastly, information from the medical chart will be further used for scientific purpose. The overall assessment will take approximately 1-2 hours to complete.

ICU Doulas Providing Psychological Support
IllnessCritical4 moreMany patients who survive critical illness suffer from symptoms of anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after leaving the intensive care unit (ICU). Memories of frightening and delusional experiences in the ICU appear to be the strongest potentially modifiable risk factor. Research on the formation of fear and associated memories shows that if mitigating information about a traumatic event is introduced during the time between memory formation and its recall, the emotional experience of the memory can be modified in a positive manner. This means that in order to prevent mental health problems in critical illness survivors, psychological support needs to take place in parallel with medical treatment in the ICU. The Researchers hypothesize that early psychological support for the critically ill can decrease mental health morbidity in critical illness survivors. However, providing consistent psychological support intervention is a challenge for busy ICU clinicians. It is not feasible to hire behavioral medicine trained psychologists to become permanent ICU staff nationwide. Doulas, trained lay health care providers who provide emotional support to women in labor, have been identified as reliable yet affordable alternative. Given common elements of their services and our intervention, doulas are in an ideal position to administer early psychological support. The objective of this project is to refine and test a behavioral intervention to be administered in parallel with medical treatment in the ICU. This will be accomplished by training doulas in providing standardized psychological support intervention and refining the intervention based on stakeholder feedback

Memory Inhibition and Delayed Onset Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Older Subjects
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Old AgeIn the elderly, we can see a post-traumatic syndrome associated with an event that occurred before old age that had not previously manifested or not fully manifested. This little-known pathology and notable psychiatric co-morbidities (depression, anxiety) can take in elderly subjects different masks that interfere with diagnosis and treatment. The data in the literature suggest that this Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with Delayed Expression (TSPT-R) may be related to a deficiency of the executive functions of inhibition, and more particularly a deficit of mental memory inhibition and therefore the removal of unwanted memories.

CO-PARENT: COVID-19 - Parent Action in Response to Emotions and Needs for Treatment
AnxietyDepression1 moreThe purpose of this research study is to collect information to better understand caregiver responses to COVID-19 stress and to help caregivers cope with these stressors.

Psychophysiologic Predictors of Post-deployment Mental Health Outcomes
Post-traumatic Stress DisorderThe primary objectives of this proposal are to develop objective pre-deployment predictors of PTSD and test two pre-deployment resiliency interventions.

Testing of a Mobile Web App to Decrease Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Women After Sexual Assault...
Posttraumatic Stress DisorderInterventions are available to all adult women sexual assault survivors to reduce the risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection, yet no interventions are provided to reduce posttraumatic stress. This pilot study tests the ability of a smartphone-based web app to prevent and reduce posttraumatic stress in women sexual assault survivors.

Written Exposure Therapy for Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome
Post Traumatic Stress DisorderTo investigate if written exposure therapy is feasible for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder

"Connected Caesarean Section": Creating a Virtual Link Between Mothers and Their Infants to Improve...
Post Traumatic Stress DisorderChildbirth ExperienceOne third of mothers rate their childbirth as traumatic. The prevalence of childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD) is of 4.7% and the prevalence of childbirth-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (CB-PTSS) of 12.3%. Skin-to-skin contact is a protective factor against CB-PTSD. However, during a caesarean section (CS), skin-to-skin contact is not always feasible and mothers and infants are often separated. In those cases, there is no validated and available solution to substitute this unique protective factor. Based on the results observed in studies using virtual reality (VR) and head-mounted displays (HMDs) and studies on childbirth experience, we hypothesize that enabling the mother to have a visual and auditory contact with her baby could improve her childbirth experience whilst she and her baby are separated. To facilitate this connection, we will use a 2D 360° camera filming the baby linked securely to a head-mounted device (HMD) that the mother can wear during the end of the surgery.

Evaluation of Two Community-based Mental Health Interventions for Violence-Displaced Afro-Descendants...
Post-Traumatic Stress DisorderDepression2 moreThis study is a community prevention randomized trial with three parallel groups: two intervention groups and one control group in Buenaventura and Quibdó. The aim of the trial is to evaluate the impact of two community interventions on mental health; the intervention groups are designed to decrease depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorders symptoms as well as the level of dysfunctionality in Afro-Colombian victims of violence. Adult people (equal or more than 18 years old) belonging to Afro-Colombian communities in both cities will participate in the enter survey. The subjects will be selected based on the severity of symptoms, traumatic experiences and a level of dysfunction identified using the instruments of this research (i.e. those obtaining an score equal or higher than 49 in symptoms (25% of the total of symptoms)). The fieldwork and the interventions will be conducted by people belonging to the community; they are called Lay Psychosocial Community Workers (LPCW). After six (6) weeks of formal training, they will be able to perform two kinds of interventions, Common Elements Treatment Approach (CETA) based on a cognitive behavioral intervention and Narrative Community Group Therapy (NCGT), for the people affected by violence and displacement that were pre-selected according to the baseline instrument. The LPCW will be under the constant supervision by psychologists of the project, and under weekly supervision by a group of experts from Johns Hopkins University, the Heartland Alliance and The Institute for Research and Development in Violence Prevention and Promotion of Peaceful Coexistence Social (CISALVA) by means of phone calls or monthly visits to the cities. Selected subjects will be randomly allocated to any study branch: CETA, NCGT or the waiting control group. The study subjects will follow their allocated treatment, or waiting in the control group, for 8 to 12 weeks; then they will be re-assessed using the project instrument two weeks after the last session of therapy. The study outcome is the differences in instrument scores between the follow-up and the baseline among the interventions (CETA or NCGT) and control group. Control subjects will be assessed by the project psychologist after the follow-up, and they will receive treatment when necessary.

Reducing PTSD in Hospitalized Burn Patients
Posttraumatic Stress DisorderThe investigators propose to develop and pilot-test a short-term cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) for hospitalized survivors of acute burns, in order to reduce posttraumatic symptoms before they consolidate into long-term posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is important because approximately one third of burn survivors develop PTSD after discharge. PTSD is associated with extended psychological suffering and a greater need for medical services in the future. Although there are treatments for chronic PTSD, there are far fewer interventions available to treat acute posttraumatic symptoms before they develop into this disorder, and none to date has focused on adult burn survivors. The little research available on other forms of trauma suggests that interventions developed to treat PTSD may be helpful in preventing PTSD when used in the first weeks following a trauma. The investigators will develop a six-session intervention package for use with patients at the Los Angeles County + University of Southern California Burn Center. The intervention will translate CBT principles that have been validated with trauma survivors, but will be adapted to hospitalized burn patients. After manual development, we will pilot-test this treatment on 15 patients who are medically stable, and not critically ill, intubated, or delirious. Treatment will consist of three 50-minute CBT sessions per week, involving mindfulness-focused relaxation training, graduated exposure to memories of the burn, psychoeducation, and cognitive restructuring. Assessment will include standardized tests of posttraumatic stress, anxiety, and depression, administered at the initiation and termination of treatment, and at one-month follow-up. Also assessed will be number of hospital days to discharge and participant satisfaction with treatment. We will evaluate the overall feasibility of conducting a study on PTSD prevention in burn survivors, as measured by initial recruitment success, subsequent dropout rates at the end of treatment and at the one-month follow-up, and participant satisfaction. These data will then be used to support a subsequent application for funding of a larger-scale randomized clinical trial (RCT) study.