Stabilizing group treatment of complex trauma: A randomized controlled trial
Categories: Research project completed
This project was a randomized controlled trial investigating the efficacy of stabilizing group treatment for patients with PTSD related to childhood abuse and for patients with dissociative disorders.
Harald Bækkelund, Ph.D.
Part-time senior researcher, Clinical psychologist
Head of Research at NKVTS, Section for Implementation and treatment research
Harald Bækkelund is a clinical psychologist, Head of Research at Norwegian Center for Violence and Traumatic Stress Research, and senior researcher at Modum Bad. This project formed the basis for his PhD in Psychology.
About the Project
The project consisted of two sub-studies, where two different manualized stabilizing group treatments were examined in the treatment of patients with PTSD and dissociative disorders. Both sub-studies had a randomized controlled design with a delayed-onset control group.
Results
The project resulted in three scientific articles. The first article investigated dissociative difficulties and looked at differences between patient groups in light of a theoretical model for understanding dissociation.
The other two articles reported the results from the clinical investigations of stabilizing group treatment. Neither in the group with PTSD nor the group with dissociative disorders was stabilizing group treatment related to significantly better outcomes, compared to the control condition.
Background
The project was based on existing guidelines for the treatment of complex PTSD and trauma-related dissociative disorders, which recommended stabilizing treatment, although the evidence-base for the recommendations were weak. The treatments that were examined were both developed and implemented at Modum Bad’s Trauma Clinic in Oslo and the data collection took place at this clinic.
Funding
The project was internally funded by Modum Bad.
Collaboration
International collaborators were PhD Suzette Boon-Langelaan from the Netherlands, Professor Paul Frewen and Professor Ruth Lanius from Canada.
Contact Information
Project Contact: Harald Bækkelund
Project participants
Harald Bækkelund, Ph.D.-candidate
Ph.D Espen Arnevik, main supervisor
Ph.D Asle Hoffart, co-supervisor
Ph.D Akiah O. Berg, co-supervisor
Publications
Bækkelund, H., Ulvenes, P. G., Boon-Langelaan, S., & Arnevik, E. K. A. (2022). Group treatment for complex dissociative disorders: a randomized clinical trial. BMC Psychiatry, 22(1). doi:10.1186/s12888-022-03970-8
Bækkelund, H., Karlsrud, I. S. J., Karlsrud, I., Hoffart, A., & Arnevik, E. K. A. (2021). Stabilizing group treatment for childhood-abuse related PTSD: a randomized controlled trial. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 12:1859079(1), 1-12. doi:10.1080/20008198.2020.1859079
Bækkelund, H., Frewen, P., Lanius, R., Berg, A. O., & Arnevik, E. K.Arnevik, E. A. (2018). Trauma-related altered states of consciousness in post-traumatic stress disorder patients with or without comorbid dissociative disorders. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 9:1544025, 1-12. doi:10.1080/20008198.2018.1544025
Researchers studying trauma disorder at Modum Bad:
Harald Bækkelund, Ph.D.
Part-time senior researcher, Clinical psychologist
Head of Research at NKVTS, Section for Implementation and treatment research
