New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College London published in The Lancet Psychiatry found that people with psychosis experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can benefit from a trauma-focused therapy integrated with Cognitive Behavior Therapy for psychosis, according to a June 17 announcement.
The STAR (Study of Trauma And Recovery) study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and led by researchers at King's College London and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. The study recruited 305 participants, making it the largest multi-site randomized controlled trial to date of a trauma-focused therapy for individuals diagnosed with both psychosis and PTSD.
The research addressed concerns that trauma-focused therapies might worsen psychosis symptoms. It showed that an integrated nine-month trauma-focused CBTp intervention was safe and effective. Half of the participants who received the therapy no longer met PTSD criteria after treatment, compared to just over 20 percent receiving treatment as usual. A similar pattern was observed for complex PTSD. Rates of disengagement from therapy were low at 6.5 percent.
Professor Emmanuelle Peters, Professor of Clinical Psychology at King's College London and first author on the study, said: "It is now clear that trauma-focused therapies can be delivered safely and effectively for people with PTSD and psychosis. Our results are robust in demonstrating that this intervention, which includes working on the trauma memory directly, a focus on engagement, and a flexible approach tailored to the individual, is safe, highly acceptable and effective on a range of PTSD, psychosis, and emotional well-being outcomes."
Overall, participants showed significant improvements in 22 out of 27 assessed outcomes, including reductions in paranoia, hallucinations, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation as well as improvements in psychological recovery. Dr. Amy Hardy said: "The results challenge a longstanding gap in mental healthcare, where people with psychosis have been excluded from trauma-focused therapies. Our findings demonstrate that this must change, to ensure those historically denied access can receive evidence-based care." One participant named Shane shared his experience: "STAR therapy gave me the tools to make sense of experiences I had carried for years... It gave me back a feeling of control and the belief that recovery is possible."
