DEVELOPMENT OF A GUIDED SELF-HELP (GSH) PROGRAM FOR THE TREATMENT OF MILD-TO-MODERATE POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD): Research Article: Development of a GSH Program for PTSD
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: There is a shortage of suitably qualified therapists able to deliver evidence-based treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), precluding timely access to intervention. This work aimed to develop an optimally effective, feasible, and acceptable guided self-help (GSH) program for treatment of the disorder. METHODS: The study followed Medical Research Council (MRC) guidance for the development of a complex intervention. A prototype GSH program was developed through an initial modeling phase. Systematic reviews of the literature informed a portfolio of up-to-date information for key stakeholders to consider and discuss in a series of focus groups and semistructured interviews, which included 10 mental health professionals with expertise in the fields of GSH and/or PTSD, and seven former PTSD sufferers. Data were analyzed through a process of Inductive Thematic Analysis and used to inform the content, delivery, and guidance of a GSH program for PTSD. The prototype was piloted with 19 PTSD sufferers in two pilot studies, and refined on the basis of their quantitative results and qualitative feedback. RESULTS: The final version was available online and in hardcopy. It included 11 modules, some being mandatory and others optional, allowing tailoring of the intervention to meet an individual's specific needs. Qualitative and quantitative results of the pilot studies supported its efficacy in terms of reducing traumatic stress symptoms and its acceptability to PTSD sufferers. CONCLUSIONS: Delivering psychological treatment in a GSH format shows promise as an effective and acceptable way of treating mild-to-moderate PTSD.
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17 of the 27 included studies used the MRC 2000 framework, the updated 2008 version, or a combination of the two.
“In particular, 17 of the 27 studies included in this review used the MRC 2000 framework, the updated 2008 version or a combination of the two [24–40].”
From Optimisation of complex health interventions prior to a randomised controlled trial: a scoping review of strategies used (2016) · cites this paper as [28]
Interventions were delivered in a variety of settings (e.g. inpatient, outpatient clinics and home-based settings) and targeted a wide range of conditions, such as mental health conditions, stroke, cancer and other chronic illnesses.
“Interventions were delivered in a variety of settings (e.g. inpatient, outpatient clinics and home-based settings) and targeted a wide range of conditions, such as mental health conditions [28, 30, 35, 40, 47], stroke [31, 36, 39], cancer [29, 32, 33, 37, 42] and other chronic illnesses [25, 34, 38].”
From Optimisation of complex health interventions prior to a randomised controlled trial: a scoping review of strategies used (2016) · cites this paper as [28]
Several included studies used mixed methods, combining qualitative strategies to explore stakeholders' perspectives and quantitative analysis to estimate the intervention effect.
“Several studies used mixed methods, combining qualitative strategies to explore stakeholders’ perspectives and quantitative analysis to estimate the intervention effect [24, 27, 28, 33, 35–37, 40, 42].”
From Optimisation of complex health interventions prior to a randomised controlled trial: a scoping review of strategies used (2016) · cites this paper as [28]
Six included studies evaluated more than one element; they explored the acceptability to different stakeholders together with either the intervention's effectiveness or cost-effectiveness.
“Six studies evaluated more than one element; in particular, they explored the acceptability to different stakeholders together with either the intervention’s effectiveness [25, 26, 28, 35, 38] or cost-effectiveness [33].”
From Optimisation of complex health interventions prior to a randomised controlled trial: a scoping review of strategies used (2016) · cites this paper as [28]
The majority of included studies (n = 16) subsequently refined the intervention to then test the optimised version within pilot studies or full-scale RCTs.
“The majority of studies (n = 16) subsequently refined the intervention to then test the optimised version of the intervention within pilot studies or full-scale RCTs [24–32, 34, 38–40, 43, 47, 48].”
From Optimisation of complex health interventions prior to a randomised controlled trial: a scoping review of strategies used (2016) · cites this paper as [28]
Retrospective strategies tend to explore stakeholders' feedback once they have piloted the drafted intervention.
“last category, the retrospective strategies tend to explore stakeholders’ feedback once they have piloted the drafted intervention; thus, as in the optimisation study conducted by Lewis [28], a group of patients affected by post-traumatic stress disorder who took part in the piloting of the drafted intervention were interviewed to explore their perspectives on the intervention and its components,”
From Optimisation of complex health interventions prior to a randomised controlled trial: a scoping review of strategies used (2016) · cites this paper as [28]
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Lewis, C., Roberts, N., Vick, T., & Bisson, J. I.
- Affiliations
- University Hospital of Wales (GB)
- Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Lewis, Catrin
- Venue
- Depression and Anxiety
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2013-05-13
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1121-1128
- ISSN
- 1091-4269 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2104099801
- Cited by
- 28
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 1.11
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Depression and Anxiety (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Keywords
- post-traumatic stress disorder, guided self-help, complex interventions, therapist shortage, treatment accessibility, treatment acceptability, traumatic stress symptoms, online intervention, intervention tailoring, stakeholder engagement
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Feasibility Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pilot Projects, Psychotherapy, Severity of Illness Index, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Program Development, Treatment Outcome, Qualitative Research, Young Adult
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