Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32552778›Full record

ArticleBMC psychiatry2020

Trajectories of posttraumatic stress symptoms during and after Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) in refugees.

Elisa Kaltenbach, Katharin Hermenau, Maggie Schauer, Katalin Dohrmann, Thomas Elbert, Inga Schalinski

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC psychiatry, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02852616 (Progression and Remittance of Traumatic Stress-related Symptoms During and After Narrative Exposure Therapy), which is not on this map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 35% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT02852616 nacompletednot on this map

Progression and Remittance of Traumatic Stress-related Symptoms During and After Narrative Exposure Therapy

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of KonstanzRan2015 to 2018Enrolled85ConditionsPosttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)ArmsNarrative Exposure Therapy
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Observational
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Elisa KaltenbachDepartment of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany. elisa.kaltenbach@iwk.nshealth.ca.ORCID 0000-0002-6724-9973
Katharin HermenauDepartment of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
Maggie SchauerDepartment of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
Katalin DohrmannDepartment of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
Thomas ElbertDepartment of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
Inga SchalinskiDepartment of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
University of Konstanz · DE

Funding

H2020 European Research Council ERC-2012-AdG 323977 MemoTVvivo international e.V. -
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTrauma-focused therapy approaches are recommended as treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This includes the treatment of trauma-related suffering in refugee populations. However, there is a lack of knowledge about symptom trajectories in refugees living in volatile conditions. This has led to fear of "retraumatisation" and general skepticism in clinicians concerning the use of exposure therapy.

methodsTo test the relevance of this concern, we investigated PTSD symptom trajectories and potentially influencing factors during the course of Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) in a refugee sample living in Germany. Refugees filled out the PTSD Checklist prior to each treatment session and also during follow-up interviews. Therapists continuously documented positive and negative life events as well as the content of the treatment sessions. Additionally, structured clinical interviews were conducted pre-treatment and at follow-up time points.

resultsOn average, clients presented with substantial decreases in PTSD symptoms already during and after NET. However, symptom trajectories differed and ranged from fast responders to slow responders to no immediate response during treatment. Importantly, a persistent worsening of symptoms was not observed, also not after exposure to the most distressing events. In contrast, stressful life experiences seemed to aggravate PTSD symptoms.

conclusionsConsistent with earlier studies, NET leads to clinically and behaviorally relevant reductions in PTSD symptoms both throughout and following treatment in refugees living in volatile conditions. Concerns about imaginal exposure in refugees were not substantiated. While stressful life events contributed to transient symptom increases, they weren't found to prevent the overall effectiveness of NET.

trial registrationNCT02852616.

Indexed as

Implosive TherapyNarrative TherapyRefugeesStress Disorders, Post-TraumaticAdolescentAdultFemaleGermanyHumansMaleMiddle AgedYoung AdultImaginal exposurePTSDRefugeeSymptom trajectoriesTrauma therapy

Identifiers

PMID32552778
PMCPMC7298826
OpenAlexW3036216970

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.