Background:
For several years now, a very successful treatment of posttraumatic stress disorders has been offered in the Netherlands and in Germany. The contact between clients and therapists takes place exclusively via Internet. The therapists follow a scientifically tested treatment protocol, that defines fixed treatment elements that are adapted to the specific situation of the client. The participants can write at home, in their familiar environment which makes it easier to work on trauma related issues with their therapist. In the last years the treatment was offered in Arabic as well indicating to be an effective treatment for PTSD in Arabic-speaking countries.
Method:
Traumatized Arabic-speaking participants are allocated at random to a long version (10 sessions) of a manualized writing approach over 6 weeks or to a short version, where the part concerning the cognitive restructuring is excluded. The investigators expect the treatment to be useful for traumatized clients, especially for those who have no access to psychological help otherwise and they hypothesize that both interventions will significantly improve clinical symptoms of PTSD. Furthermore, the investigators expect improvements in secondary outcomes such as anxiety, depression and quality of life. Additionally the investigators are interested, if the short form where the cognitive part is excluded and the focus will be more on confrontation is effective similarly.
Conclusion:
If the interventions prove to be an effective treatment for PTSD in Arabic-speaking countries, the results will lend to support to the establishment of internet-based approaches, especially in countries, where face-to-face therapy cannot be provided. Furthermore a shorter treatment could improve the compliance of the participants, particularly in post-conflict regions where people cannot attend long therapeutic interventions.
