title: Brief narrative exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress in Iraqi refugees: a preliminary randomized clinical trial.
abstract: Many Iraqi refugees suffer from posttraumatic stress. Efficient, culturally sensitive interventions are needed, and so we adapted narrative exposure therapy into a brief version (brief NET) and tested its effects in a sample of traumatized Iraqi refugees. Iraqi refugees in the United States reporting elevated posttraumatic stress (N = 63) were randomized to brief NET or waitlist control conditions in a 2:1 ratio; brief NET was 3 sessions, conducted individually, in Arabic. Positive indicators (posttraumatic growth and well-being) and symptoms (posttraumatic stress, depressive, and somatic) were assessed at baseline and 2- and 4-month follow-up. Treatment participation (95.1% completion) and study retention (98.4% provided follow-up data) were very high. Significant condition by time interactions showed that those receiving brief NET had greater posttraumatic growth (d = 0.83) and well-being (d = 0.54) through 4 months than controls. Brief NET reduced symptoms of posttraumatic stress (d = -0.48) and depression (d = -0.46) more, but only at 2 months; symptoms of controls also decreased from 2 to 4 months, eliminating condition differences at 4 months. Three sessions of brief NET increased growth and well-being and led to symptom reduction in highly traumatized Iraqi refugees. This preliminary study suggests that brief NET is both acceptable and potentially efficacious in traumatized Iraqi refugees.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Alaa M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hijazi
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lumley
authors.forename: Maisa S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Ziadni
authors.forename: Luay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Haddad
authors.forename: Lisa J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Rapport
authors.forename: Bengt B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Arnetz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D065246:Culturally Competent Care; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007171:Implosive Therapy; D007493:Iraq / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D062525:Narrative Therapy; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology*; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D014481:United States