Autobiographical Memory Flexibility Training (MemFlex) for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit

Status: Completed

Conditions: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Treatments: Behavioral: Memory Flexibility training (MemFlex)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03634709

MemFlex for PTSD

Details and patient eligibility

About

The experience of trauma not only impacts the way an individual thinks and feels, but can also produce changes in the way someone remembers their personal past. It is not only memories of the trauma that are affected- avoidance of trauma memories can also lead to memories of other events becoming vague, and in particular, memories of positive experiences can seem out of reach. This memory difficulty promotes posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study will explore an intervention that aims to improve memory difficulties, which should then flow on to improve PTSD. The study will be completed with individuals who have experienced a single incident trauma. Twenty five participants will complete MemFlex straight away, and 25 will go on a waiting list. Once this first group has finished MemFlex, the researchers will compare the two groups to see if the programme produced a larger reduction in PTSD symptoms. MemFlex is workbook-based, and as such, if it is successful it may offer an easy, cheap, and accessible way to offer psychological treatment to PTSD sufferers around the world.

Enrollment: 40 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Diagnosis of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (as indexed by the Farsi version of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM disorders [SCID])
• Aged over 18 years

Exclusion criteria

• Lack of oral and/or written fluency in Farsi
• Traumatic brain injury or cognitive impairment, indexed via self-report
• Current experience of psychosis, indexed by SCID

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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40 participants in 2 patient groups

Memory Flexibility Training (MemFlex)

Experimental group

Description:

The MemFlex programme has been adapted from the initial format addressing depression-related memory distortions to facilitate completion with individuals experiencing posttraumatic stress. The workbook and associated materials have also been translated from English to Farsi. The programme consists of one researcher-facilitated session and eight self-guided workbook-based sessions that train memory retrieval skills and are completed over a one month period.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Memory Flexibility training (MemFlex)

Waitlist control

No Intervention group

Description:

After randomisation, the waitlist control group will be informed that they have been placed on a waiting list for the intervention. The participants will complete the baseline assessment and receive no further contact from the researcher until the post assessment one month later, followed by the follow-up assessment three months later. After the three month assessment, wait listed participants will receive the intervention. No further assessments will be completed.