Intensive Trauma-Focused Treatment for Adolescents With PTSD: Feasibility and Preliminary Effects

NCT07052474 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: DNR2023-06501-01
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in adolescents is a debilitating condition that, without timely intervention, risks becoming chronic and severely impairing development. Although evidence-based treatments such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) are effective, they typically require weekly sessions over 6-9 months, which many adolescents struggle to complete. High dropout rates remain a significant clinical challenge. Intensive trauma-focused interventions have shown promising outcomes in adults, including rapid symptom reduction and improved retention. Inspired by a Dutch model, this project evaluates a Swedish adaptation of Korte Intensieve Traumabehandeling (KIT), which combines EMDR, elements of TF-CBT, physical activity, and parental support in a 5-day intensive treatment. This project is a pilot study to examine the feasibility, early effects, and practicality of intensive trauma-focused therapy. The pilot study is the first step toward planning a larger, controlled study in Swedish child and adolescent psychiatry. The following questions are included in the project:

1. 1.Is intensive trauma-focused psychological treatment with EMDR, components of TF-CBT, combined with physical activity and a parent group a feasible, suitable, and acceptable treatment method for PTSD within Swedish child and adolescent psychiatry in terms of:
2. 2.Therapists' ratings of whether they find the intensive trauma-focused treatment acceptable, appropriate, and feasible.
3. 3.The number of patients who complete the treatment without dropping out
4. 4.Patients' self-reported satisfaction with the treatment
5. 5.The proportion of patients with "adverse effects"
6. 6.Does intensive trauma-focused psychological treatment with EMDR, components of TF-CBT, combined with physical activity and a parent group for PTSD, lead to a decrease in symptoms in the expected direction in terms of:
7. 7.PTSD symptoms
8. 8.General mental health

Conditions

PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Keywords

PTSD; Intensive treatment; Adolescents; Brief Intensive Trauma Treatment

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM), Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM), och Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM).

  The therapist rated measures of how acceptable, appropriate, and feasible the treatment is perceived. The measures consist of three scales with four items each and have demonstrated strong psychometric properties. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). Minimum value 4, maximum value 20. A higher value indicates a better outcome. To consider the intervention acceptable, appropriate, and feasible, at least 80% of clinicians must rate the method above 50 on a 0-100 scale on the AIM, IAM, and FIM subscales.

  From treatment start to five weeks after the intensive treatment week.

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 - Child/Adolescent Version (CAPS-CA-5)

  Assessment before treatment start and five weeks after treatment week.

• The Children Impact of Event Scale

  Before treatment, every day during the five-day intensive treatment, and at one, two, four, and five weeks post the treatment week.

• Child and adolescent trauma screen 2

  Pre treatment, one, two, four and five weeks post the treatment week

• Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

  Assessment before treatment and at five weeks follow-up.

• Client Satisfactory Questionnaire-8 (CSQ-8)

  Assessed at five weeks follow-up.

Other Outcomes (2)

• Adverse effects checklist

  Daily during the treatment period and at one, two, four and five weeks post treatment week

• Drop out of treatment

  Any treatment dropout during the five-day treatment period.

Study Arms (1)

Patients with PTSD referred to the trauma unit at Child- and adolescent psychiatry, Stockholm

Patients included in the study receive one week of intensive trauma-focused treatment where two different evidence-based treatments are combined with physical activity and family support.

Behavioral: Intensive trauma-focused treatment

Interventions

Intensive trauma-focused treatment BEHAVIORAL

The treatment program includes components of Trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR), physical activity, as well as parent sessions. The intensive treatment largely follows the Dutch intensive trauma treatment program "Korte Intensieve Traumabehandeling" (KIT) (Albisser et al., 2024). The intensive treatment incorporates core components from TF-CBT for children and adolescents (Cohen \& Mannarino, 2008) as well as the standard EMDR protocol (Shapiro, 2018).

Patients with PTSD referred to the trauma unit at Child- and adolescent psychiatry, Stockholm

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 13 Years - 17 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients referred to the CAP Stockholm Trauma unit

You may qualify if:

• Diagnosis of PTSD
• No or stable medication involving antidepressants, stimulants, and/or antipsychotics
• At least one caregiver can participate in the treatment

You may not qualify if:

• High risk for suicide
• IQ below 75
• Current substance abuse

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Karolinska Institutet: lead
• Region Stockholm: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Centre for Psychiatry Research

Stockholm, 17177, Sweden

RECRUITING

Related Publications (22)

• Pynoos, R. S., Weathers, F. W., Steinberg, A. M., Marx, B. P., Layne, C. M., Kaloupek, D. G., ... & Kriegler, J. A. (2015). Clinician-administered PTSD scale for DSM-5-child/adolescent version. Scale available from the National Center for PTSD at www. ptsd. va. gov.

  BACKGROUND

• Mevissen L, Ooms-Evers M, Serra M, de Jongh A, Didden R. Feasibility and potential effectiveness of an intensive trauma-focused treatment programme for families with PTSD and mild intellectual disability. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2020 Jul 14;11(1):1777809. doi: 10.1080/20008198.2020.1777809.

  PMID: 33029319 BACKGROUND

• Hendriks L, de Kleine RA, Heyvaert M, Becker ES, Hendriks GJ, van Minnen A. Intensive prolonged exposure treatment for adolescent complex posttraumatic stress disorder: a single-trial design. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2017 Nov;58(11):1229-1238. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12756. Epub 2017 Jun 14.

  PMID: 29057522 BACKGROUND

• Ooms-Evers M, van der Graaf-Loman S, van Duijvenbode N, Mevissen L, Didden R. Intensive clinical trauma treatment for children and adolescents with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning: A pilot study. Res Dev Disabil. 2021 Oct;117:104030. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2021.104030. Epub 2021 Jul 24.

  PMID: 34314951 BACKGROUND

• Wachen, J. S., Dondanville, K. A., Evans, W. R., Morris, K., & Cole, A. (2019). Adjusting the Timeframe of Evidence-Based Therapies for PTSD-Massed Treatments. In Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry (Vol. 6, Issue 2, pp. 107-118). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40501-019-00169-9

  BACKGROUND

• Weiner BJ, Lewis CC, Stanick C, Powell BJ, Dorsey CN, Clary AS, Boynton MH, Halko H. Psychometric assessment of three newly developed implementation outcome measures. Implement Sci. 2017 Aug 29;12(1):108. doi: 10.1186/s13012-017-0635-3.

  PMID: 28851459 BACKGROUND

• Attkisson CC, Zwick R. The client satisfaction questionnaire. Psychometric properties and correlations with service utilization and psychotherapy outcome. Eval Program Plann. 1982;5(3):233-7. doi: 10.1016/0149-7189(82)90074-x.

  PMID: 10259963 BACKGROUND

• Goodman R. Psychometric properties of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2001 Nov;40(11):1337-45. doi: 10.1097/00004583-200111000-00015.

  PMID: 11699809 BACKGROUND

• Dyregrov A, Kuterovac G, Barath A. Factor analysis of the impact of event scale with children in war. Scand J Psychol. 1996 Dec;37(4):339-50. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9450.1996.tb00667.x.

  PMID: 8931390 BACKGROUND

• Nader, K., Kriegler, K. A., Blake, D. D., Pynoos, R. S., Newman, E., & Weathers, F. W. (1996). Clinician-administered PTSD scale for children and adolescents.

  BACKGROUND

• Sachser C, Berliner L, Risch E, Rosner R, Birkeland MS, Eilers R, Hafstad GS, Pfeiffer E, Plener PL, Jensen TK. The child and Adolescent Trauma Screen 2 (CATS-2) - validation of an instrument to measure DSM-5 and ICD-11 PTSD and complex PTSD in children and adolescents. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2022 Aug 1;13(2):2105580. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2022.2105580. eCollection 2022.

  PMID: 35928521 BACKGROUND

• Van Woudenberg C, Voorendonk EM, Bongaerts H, Zoet HA, Verhagen M, Lee CW, van Minnen A, De Jongh A. Effectiveness of an intensive treatment programme combining prolonged exposure and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing for severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2018 Jul 10;9(1):1487225. doi: 10.1080/20008198.2018.1487225. eCollection 2018.

  PMID: 30013726 BACKGROUND

• van Pelt Y, Fokkema P, de Roos C, de Jongh A. Effectiveness of an intensive treatment programme combining prolonged exposure and EMDR therapy for adolescents suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2021 May 14;12(1):1917876. doi: 10.1080/20008198.2021.1917876.

  PMID: 34025927 BACKGROUND

• Van Minnen A, Voorendonk EM, Rozendaal L, de Jongh A. Sequence matters: Combining Prolonged Exposure and EMDR therapy for PTSD. Psychiatry Res. 2020 Aug;290:113032. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113032. Epub 2020 May 16.

  PMID: 32454314 BACKGROUND

• Tinghog P, Vagbratt L, Jennstal J, Bragesjo M, Moller N. Acceptability and Preliminary Effects of Intensive Brief Trauma-Focused PTSD Treatment for Refugees. Torture. 2024;34(3):54-63. doi: 10.7146/torture.v34i3.147953.

  PMID: 39878600 BACKGROUND

• Simmons C, Meiser-Stedman R, Baily H, Beazley P. A meta-analysis of dropout from evidence-based psychological treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children and young people. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2021 Aug 5;12(1):1947570. doi: 10.1080/20008198.2021.1947570. eCollection 2021.

  PMID: 34377359 BACKGROUND

• Shapiro, F. (2007). EMDR, Adaptive Information Processing, and Case Conceptualization. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 1(2), 68-87. https://doi.org/10.1891/1933-3196.1.2.68

  BACKGROUND

• John-Baptiste Bastien R, Jongsma HE, Kabadayi M, Billings J. The effectiveness of psychological interventions for post-traumatic stress disorder in children, adolescents and young adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychol Med. 2020 Jul;50(10):1598-1612. doi: 10.1017/S0033291720002007. Epub 2020 Jun 22.

  PMID: 32624017 BACKGROUND

• Post-traumatic stress disorder NICE guideline. (2018). www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng116

  BACKGROUND

• Pietrzak RH, Goldstein RB, Southwick SM, Grant BF. Psychiatric comorbidity of full and partial posttraumatic stress disorder among older adults in the United States: results from wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2012 May;20(5):380-90. doi: 10.1097/JGP.0b013e31820d92e7.

  PMID: 22522959 BACKGROUND

• Cohen JA, Deblinger E, Mannarino AP. Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for children and families. Psychother Res. 2018 Jan;28(1):47-57. doi: 10.1080/10503307.2016.1208375. Epub 2016 Jul 22.

  PMID: 27449400 BACKGROUND

• Albisser, N., Westerveld, M., Kooij, L., de Keizer-Altink, M., & Lindauer, R. (2024). Korte intensieve traumabehandeling bij jongeren. Kind & Adolescent Praktijk, 23(3), 16-24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12454-024-1833-1

  BACKGROUND

Related Links

• Related Info

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Combat Disorders; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Maria Helander, PhD

  Karolinska Institutet

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Maja Vinnerljung, Psychologist

CONTACT

+46 8-123 531 00; maja.vinnerljung@regionstockholm.se

Maria Helander, PhD, Psychologist

CONTACT

+46 702 798916; maria.helander@ki.se

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Target Duration: 5 Weeks
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: PhD, Licenced psychologist

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 26, 2025
• First Posted: July 4, 2025
• Study Start: February 12, 2024
• Primary Completion: October 30, 2025
• Study Completion: December 30, 2025
• Last Updated: September 23, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

SE (1)