Experiences of Therapy in PTSD Without Trauma Memories
Research type
Research Study
Full title
How do people experience assessment and/or therapy for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder when they lack memory of the trauma event?
IRAS ID
270965
Contact name
Hannah May
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The University of Bath
Research summary
There are well-established psychological treatments available to help people recover from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These treatments (such as cognitive behavioural therapy) have a strong evidence base and are recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) as best practice. NICE state that all psychological treatment for PTSD should ‘involve elaboration and processing of the trauma memories’ and this is a core feature of the treatments offered by NHS services. Whilst it is acknowledged that a degree of memory loss or fragmentation of memory is common in PTSD, best practice guidance appears to require the presence of some form of trauma memory to work effectively with it.
There are however situations in which people lack any memory of the traumatic event, yet still meet the criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD. Examples include trauma occurring in the context of brain injury, asphyxiation, drug-facilitated sexual assault and intensive care treatment. To the author’s knowledge there is very little written about the experiences of people in this situation, and no evidence of whether trauma-focused psychological treatments can be applied to people who lack trauma memories.
This study aims to address this gap in knowledge by exploring people’s experiences of psychological assessment and/or treatment. It may also begin to develop clinician and researcher understanding of the experiences of this unique subset of people with PTSD. To the author’s knowledge it will be the first study to explore this topic and will therefore make an important contribution to the PTSD literature.
Participants will be people 18 years+ who have symptoms of PTSD but cannot recall the trauma that caused these. Taking part will involve a semi-structured interview lasting approximately 1 hour, and completing a memory questionnaire. The study will take place in secondary mental health services, or else over phone/email.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/SC/0209
Date of REC Opinion
23 Jul 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion