Trauma-Focused Group Therapy for Adults With Trauma-Related Symptoms in Primary Care

Overview

Psychological trauma is common and can lead to long-lasting emotional distress, difficulties in daily functioning, and reduced quality of life. Despite the availability of effective psychological treatments, access to trauma-focused interventions in primary care remains limited. This study will evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of a trauma-focused group intervention delivered within a collaborative stepped-care model in primary care. Adults with trauma-related symptoms will be randomly assigned to either receive the trauma-focused group intervention or treatment as usual. The intervention integrates evidence-informed principles from Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and is delivered in a structured group format. The study hypothesizes that participants receiving the trauma-focused group intervention will show greater improvements in trauma-related symptoms, emotional regulation, psychological distress, functioning, quality of life, and treatment satisfaction than participants receiving treatment as usual. The study will also evaluate implementation outcomes, including acceptability, feasibility, and participant engagement, to determine whether this intervention can improve access to trauma-focused care within the public healthcare system.

Psychological trauma is highly prevalent and is associated with substantial psychiatric and physical morbidity, functional impairment, reduced quality of life, and increased healthcare utilization. In primary care, trauma-related disorders are frequently underrecognized because of their heterogeneous clinical presentation, high rates of comorbidity, and organizational barriers that limit access to evidence-based psychological treatments. Although trauma-focused interventions such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) are recommended by international clinical guidelines, their implementation in routine primary care remains limited. To address this gap, this study evaluates a trauma-focused group intervention implemented within a collaborative stepped-care model in primary care. The intervention integrates evidence-informed principles from EMDR and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy within a phased treatment framework emphasizing stabilization, trauma processing, and integration. The group format was selected to improve accessibility, facilitate implementation in routine healthcare settings, and increase the capacity of public mental health services while maintaining a trauma-informed approach. This is a pragmatic randomized controlled trial conducted in adults presenting with trauma-related symptoms referred from primary care. Participants will be randomly allocated to receive either the trauma-focused group intervention or treatment as usual. Clinical assessments will be performed at baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up to evaluate changes over time. The primary objective is to determine whether the trauma-focused group intervention is more effective than treatment as usual in reducing trauma-related symptoms. Secondary objectives include evaluating improvements in emotion regulation, psychological distress, functional impairment, quality of life, and treatment satisfaction. The study will also assess implementation outcomes, including feasibility, acceptability, participant engagement, and the potential integration of the intervention within routine primary care services. This trial is intended to generate clinically relevant and implementation-focused evidence regarding the effectiveness and scalability of a trauma-focused group intervention delivered in real-world primary care. The findings may contribute to improving access to evidence-based trauma treatment and support the development of collaborative stepped-care models within public healthcare systems.