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NEST: A Group Intervention for Parents With Complex PTSD

NCT07766265 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 32

Last updated 2026-08-14

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The goal of this pilot clinical trial is to learn whether NEST, a new trauma-informed group therapy program, is feasible and acceptable for parents with Complex PTSD, a condition that can develop after prolonged or repeated traumatic experiences. Parenting can be especially challenging for people with this condition, and few treatment programs currently address this specific need. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Is the NEST group intervention feasible to deliver and acceptable to parents with Complex PTSD?
* Do parents' trauma-related symptoms and their experience of the parenting role change from before to after the intervention?

Participants will:

* Complete online questionnaires about trauma-related symptoms and parenting before the group therapy, after it ends, and again three months later
* Take part in nine weekly 90-minute group therapy sessions, co-led by a member of the study team and a mental health professional from the treatment site
* Some participants will additionally be invited to a short interview about their experience with the group therapy

Conditions

  • Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Trauma-Informed Parenting Group Intervention

The NEST group intervention is a manualized, trauma-informed program consisting of nine weekly 90-minute group sessions, co-led by a member of the study team and a mental health professional from the treatment site. Groups are closed and comprise 6-8 parents. Sessions address parenting-related challenges associated with Complex PTSD, including self-concept and self-efficacy as a parent, emotion regulation within the parent-child relationship, setting boundaries, regulating closeness and distance in the parent-child relationship, and age-appropriate communication with children about the parent's diagnosis. Sessions are trauma-sensitive but not trauma-focused; traumatic memories are not processed within the group.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Swiss National Science Foundation

    collaborator OTHER

  • St.Gallen University of Applied Sciences

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Rahel Bachem, PhD · Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences

  • Joelle Schenkel, MSc · Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-08-31
Primary Completion
2027-06-30
Completion
2027-06-30

Countries

  • Switzerland

Study Locations

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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 NCT07766265 on ClinicalTrials.gov