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

NCT07052474 · Status: RECRUITING · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 20

Last updated 2025-09-23

No results posted yet for this study

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. 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:

1. Therapists' ratings of whether they find the intensive trauma-focused treatment acceptable, appropriate, and feasible.
2. The number of patients who complete the treatment without dropping out
3. Patients' self-reported satisfaction with the treatment
4. The proportion of patients with "adverse effects"
2. 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:

1. PTSD symptoms
2. General mental health

Conditions

  • PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Intensive trauma-focused treatment

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).

Sponsors & Collaborators

Principal Investigators

  • Maria Helander, PhD · Karolinska Institutet

Eligibility

Min Age
13 Years
Max Age
17 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2024-02-12
Primary Completion
2025-10-30
Completion
2025-12-30

Countries

  • Sweden

Study Locations

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Entities

Companies

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07052474 on ClinicalTrials.gov