Complex posttraumatic stress disorder (cPTSD) is characterized by chronic and pervasive disruptions in emotion regulation, identity, and relationships following prolonged or multiple exposures to trauma. It is frequently found in patients with addiction. Individuals with cPTSD have more severe addiction. In addition, the co-occurrence of these two disorders is often associated with certain transdiagnostic processes such as impulsivity. Indeed, PTSD is linked to a higher impulsivity score, which in turn promotes increased substance use. A second process also associated with trauma and addiction is hostile attribution bias. Thus, the trauma-addiction comorbidity generates multiple behavioral consequences (aggression, increased substance use, etc.) that impact patients' quality of life and represent an important treatment target. Many authors and clinicians have worked on creating treatment programs targeting both disorders, although group format treatment lacks empirical support. Indeed, even though the Seeking Safety program has been shown to be effective in reducing PTSD symptoms and substance use, there is currently no evidence to suggest its superiority. The ECCCLORE program is a new 6-month cognitive behavioral therapy protocol initially designed for patients with borderline personality disorder, in whom addictive and traumatic issues are common. It is shorter than the standard dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) program, which focuses on emotional dysregulation, impulsivity, and the traumatic dimension and lasts at least 1 year. It also integrates techniques from other approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which promotes the acceptance of internal experiences and engagement in actions consistent with values. It notably contains tools for developing emotional, distress tolerance, and interpersonal skills that could adapt to the difficulties generated by trauma and addiction. The objective of this research is to test the feasibility and acceptability of a 12-week ECCCLORE program adapted for patients with addictive and traumatic problems. The study investigators hypothesize that the implementation of this program will demonstrate satisfactory feasibility and acceptability.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
30
2-hour sessions in groups of up to 10 people, once a week for 12 weeks plus 30-minute individual sessions after each group session At the beginning of each session, there will be a discussion about the past week and home practices. This will be followed by an alternation between presentations/explanations of key concepts and associated practices. In the individual sessions the previous session and any difficulties encountered during the group session will be reviewed, as well as to address the implementation of home practices.
CHU de Nîmes
Nîmes, Nîmes, France
RECRUITINGFeasibility of a shortened 12-week ECCCLORE program for patients with addiction and trauma issues
Percentage of participants who attended 8 or more sessions
Time frame: Week 12
Dropout rate of a shortened 12-week ECCCLORE program for patients with addiction and trauma issues.
Percentage of participants missing 5 or more sessions
Time frame: Week 12
Acceptability of the home practice section of the ECCCLORE program
Percentage of participants completing the exercises 8 or more times out of 12 sessions
Time frame: Week 12
Patient-reported trauma
International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ), where PTSD requires the presence of at least one symptom in each of the three symptom clusters plus at least one indicator of functional impairment corresponding to a score ≥ 2 on one item. CPTSD further requires confirmation of at least one symptom in each cluster of disturbance in self-organization and associated functional impairment.
Time frame: Baseline
Patient-reported trauma
International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ), where PTSD requires the presence of at least one symptom in each of the three symptom clusters plus at least one indicator of functional impairment corresponding to a score ≥ 2 on one item. CPTSD further requires confirmation of at least one symptom in each cluster of disturbance in self-organization and associated functional impairment.
Time frame: Week 12
Patient-reported trauma
International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ), where PTSD requires the presence of at least one symptom in each of the three symptom clusters plus at least one indicator of functional impairment corresponding to a score ≥ 2 on one item. CPTSD further requires confirmation of at least one symptom in each cluster of disturbance in self-organization and associated functional impairment.
Time frame: Week 24
Patient-reported addiction
Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), for alcohol a score 0-10 is classed as low risk, 11-26: moderate risk, 27 or more: high risk and for other substances: 0-3: low risk, 4-26: moderate risk, 27 or more: high risk.
Time frame: Baseline
Patient-reported addiction
Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), for alcohol a score 0-10 is classed as low risk, 11-26: moderate risk, 27 or more: high risk and for other substances: 0-3: low risk, 4-26: moderate risk, 27 or more: high risk.
Time frame: Week 12
Patient-reported addiction
Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST), for alcohol a score 0-10 is classed as low risk, 11-26: moderate risk, 27 or more: high risk and for other substances: 0-3: low risk, 4-26: moderate risk, 27 or more: high risk.
Time frame: Week 24
Patient-reported impulsivity
UPPS-P questionnaire used to measure positive urgency, negative urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance and sensation seeking
Time frame: Baseline
Patient-reported impulsivity
UPPS-P questionnaire used to measure positive urgency, negative urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance and sensation seeking
Time frame: Week 12
Patient-reported impulsivity
UPPS-P questionnaire used to measure positive urgency, negative urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance and sensation seeking
Time frame: Week 24
Hostile Attribution Bias
Word Sentence Association Paradigm-Hostility (WSAP-H), in which hostile attribution biases are calculated by averaging the scores across the 16 trials with a hostile word. The higher the score, the greater the hostile attribution bias.
Time frame: Baseline
Hostile Attribution Bias
Word Sentence Association Paradigm-Hostility (WSAP-H), in which hostile attribution biases are calculated by averaging the scores across the 16 trials with a hostile word. The higher the score, the greater the hostile attribution bias.
Time frame: Week 12
Hostile Attribution Bias
Word Sentence Association Paradigm-Hostility (WSAP-H), in which hostile attribution biases are calculated by averaging the scores across the 16 trials with a hostile word. The higher the score, the greater the hostile attribution bias.
Time frame: Week 24
Patient-reported aggressivity
Aggression Questionnaire (AQ-12). Items are rated using a 6-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 "does not apply to me at all" to 6 "applies to me completely".
Time frame: Baseline
Patient-reported aggressivity
Aggression Questionnaire (AQ-12). Items are rated using a 6-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 "does not apply to me at all" to 6 "applies to me completely".
Time frame: Week 12
Patient-reported aggressivity
Aggression Questionnaire (AQ-12). Items are rated using a 6-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 "does not apply to me at all" to 6 "applies to me completely".
Time frame: Week 24
Patient-reported flexibility
Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory Short-Form (MPFI-24), only items 1 to 12 will be tested: acceptance, awareness of the present moment, defusion, self as context, contact with values, and committed actions.
Time frame: Baseline
Patient-reported flexibility
Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory Short-Form (MPFI-24), only items 1 to 12 will be tested: acceptance, awareness of the present moment, defusion, self as context, contact with values, and committed actions.
Time frame: Week 12
Patient-reported flexibility
Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory Short-Form (MPFI-24), only items 1 to 12 will be tested: acceptance, awareness of the present moment, defusion, self as context, contact with values, and committed actions.
Time frame: Week 24
Patient-reported depression
Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-21)
Time frame: Baseline
Patient-reported depression
Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-21)
Time frame: Week 12
Patient-reported depression
Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-21)
Time frame: Week 24
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