Reducing Intrusive Memories in Refugees and Asylum Seekers With PTSD

Reducing Intrusive Memories of Trauma Using a Visuospatial Interference Intervention With Refugees With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A Test of Replication to a New Population

This research study is designed to investigate the use of a simple cognitive task for decreasing the number of intrusive memories of traumatic events experienced by refugees and asylum seekers with a diagnosis of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) currently living in the UK. The intervention includes a memory reminder cue, a 10-minute time gap and then around 20 minutes playing the mobile phone game Tetris, using mental rotation instructions. The study will have a multiple baseline case-series design (AB), with a randomised duration of baseline length up to three weeks. Thus, participants will complete a no-intervention phase of up to three weeks, followed by an intervention phase. Please see the intervention section for more details about the intervention sessions. Follow ups are conducted after each week to monitor the frequency of intrusive memories of trauma in a pen-and-paper diary. It is predicted that participants will report fewer intrusive memories after receiving the intervention than in the preceding baseline phase.

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).

Inclusion Criteria:

• are on the wait list for treatment (trauma focused therapy) at Woodfield Trauma Service
• aged 18-65
• have experienced intrusive memories in the past two weeks, as assessed by scoring 1 or above on question 1 of the PCL-5
• are able to communicate with the researcher, with or without an interpreter
• have a fixed abode. This is operationalised as having a current address (including B&B or open access hostel) and evidence indicating that the person is likely to have a reliable address throughout the study. This is necessary to avoid sample attrition.
• can commit to attending regular appointments and keeping an intrusion diary throughout the duration of the study.
• if recruited remotely, have access to the internet and a device such as a mobile phone, I-pad or laptop, to engage in video calls and to play Tetris on.
• if recruited remotely, are able to find a quiet space for 1 hour a week to have an appointment e.g. without distraction from other family members.

Exclusion Criteria:

• a current diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder type 1
• Intelligence Quotient (IQ) < 80
• acute suicide risk
• substance dependence
• have been unable to complete the routine questionnaires given to new patients in the service at assessment