How Can Compassionate Resilience Help People with Complex PTSD?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding the Process of a Compassionate-Resilience Group within Phase-Based Treatment for Complex PTSD: A Grounded Theory Study.
IRAS ID
173529
Contact name
Emily Ashfield
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Oxford Health NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 24 days
Research summary
What changes do clients experience through attending a Compassionate Resilience Group and how does this change occur?
Complex Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a pattern of difficulties that some people develop after prolonged or repeated traumatic experiences, e.g. childhood abuse, or domestic violence. Individuals experience the symptoms of PTSD, such as heightened anxiety and physiological arousal, and re-experiencing the trauma. In complex PTSD individuals also experience additional difficulties, including finding it harder to tolerate and manage difficult emotions, experiencing increased shame and difficulties in relationships.
There is some evidence that Compassion-focused therapy (CFT), which aims to reduce difficulties through developing self-compassion, is effective at treating difficulties similar to those in complex PTSD. Specifically, it can reduce feelings of shame and improve ability to tolerate difficult emotions. It is not yet, well understood how this approach can bring about change.
The Berkshire Traumatic Stress Service runs a group based on CFT, called the Compassionate-Resilience group. This aims to treat the additional difficulties of complex PTSD before clients complete individual therapy for PTSD. This study hopes to understand whether this group brings about change for individuals with complex PTSD, and to develop a theoretical model of how this change occurs. This will develop understanding of what aspects of treatment are most beneficial for this client group. The study will be an interview-based study, which will draw on the experiences of people who have completed the group.
All clients who have completed the group will be invited to interview for the study for up to eight weeks after completion. It is anticipated that around 12 participants will be recruited in total. Participants will attend one interview at the Trauma Service, of approximately 1-1.5 hours, which will focus specifically on their experiences of the group.
REC name
South Central - Oxford B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/SC/0401
Date of REC Opinion
17 Jul 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion