Reducing Intrusive Memories in Refugees and Asylum Seekers With PTSD

The study is being conducted at a specialist National Health Service (NHS) mental health service for refugees, asylum seekers and forced migrants suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We aim to recruit up to 13 participants from this service to take part in the study, which is an extension of a pilot study previously conducted. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, guidance from the trust R\&D and NHS service manager states that face-to-face appointments should not currently take place at the NHS clinical recruitment site. Therefore, until this guidance changes, the research will take place remotely via video calls. The study will have a multiple baseline case-series design (AB), with a randomised duration of baseline length up to three weeks. At the start of the baseline phase, participants will create, with the help of the researcher, a list of their most frequent and distressing intrusive memories of trauma. Each intrusive memory will be given a label (for example; a letter, colour or symbol) so that the frequency of each intrusive memory can be monitored in a pen and paper diary. The frequency of specific intrusive memories the person experiences after they have received the intervention will be compared with the frequency of specific intrusive memories they had during the baseline phase. For each specific intrusion the period prior to that intrusion being targeted in an intervention session will be the baseline phase (A); therefore, the baseline phase will include the minimum baseline duration (lasting up to three weeks) plus the additional weeks in which the specific intrusion remained untargeted by the intervention. The post intervention phase (B) will be the time after the specific intrusion was targeted. Some intrusive memories on the list may not be targeted by the intervention but will be monitored (through the intrusion diary) throughout the duration of the study for comparison. This study is a follow-up to a study conducted in Sweden with refugees. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03760601 Our study is extending previous research to refugees and asylum seekers with a diagnosis of PTSD, accessing a secondary care mental health service and living in the United Kingdom (UK).