EMpower Parents: Effectiveness of EMDR Treatment for Parental PTSD Related to Their Child's Medical Condition.

Academisch Medisch Centrum - Universiteit van Amsterdam (AMC-UvA)

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: All Chronic Pediatric Conditions; All Acute Pediatric Conditions

Treatments: Other: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06776744

NL85854.018.24

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if short EMDR treatment offered in two modalities (face to face and remote) is effective in reducing PTSD symptoms and comorbid symptoms for parents of children with diverse chronic and acute medical conditions.

The main question is:

• Is short EMDR treatment effective in reducing PTSD symptoms in parents of children with chronic or acute medical conditions?

Researchers will compare in person and remote EMDR treatment to a waiting list group to see if the treatment is effective.

Participants in the intervention conditions will participate in four in person or remote EMDR sessions, each lasting 1.5 hours, spread across two half-days. Participants in the waiting list condition will receive this treatment after a period of 3 months.

Full description

Objective: The primary objective is to assess the effectiveness of a brief (two half-day) in person (EMDRip) and remote (EMDRr) EMDR therapy compared to control group in reducing posttraumatic stress symptoms in parents of children with a chronic or acute medical condition.

The secondary objectives are to assess the effectiveness of brief EMDRip and EMDRr for parents of children with a severe chronic or acute medical condition 1) in reducing psychological comorbidity in parents (psychopathology in general: Depression, Anxiety, and Somatization, and parenting stress), 2) in reducing posttraumatic stress symptoms of their child with a chronic or acute medical condition, and 3) in improving relationship quality between the parent and spouse and between the parent and the child with a severe chronic or acute medical condition. 4) To evaluate the feasibility of EMDRip versus EMDRr.5) To describe the traumatic experiences and future worries (targets) the parents of children with a severe chronic or acute medical condition struggle with.

Study design: This study will be a randomized controlled trial with three study arms: in person EMDR (EMDRip), remote EMDR (EMDRr), waiting list (Control).

Intervention: The EMDR intervention in this study consists of four in person or remote EMDR sessions, each lasting 1.5 hours, spread across two half-days, approximately one week will elapse between the two treatment days. EMDR treatment will be offered by licensed therapists at Amsterdam UMC.

Enrollment: 60 estimated patients

Sex: All

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• One of the three conditions below on the PTSD Check List for DSM-5 (PCL-5): A 'moderately or higher' (2-4) score for at least one symptom in each cluster (B, C, D or E), or Three of the four PTSD criteria (one B symptom, one C symptom, two D symptoms and two E symptoms), or A (sub) clinical total score (>24).
• Being motivated for brief EMDR treatment.
• Parenting a child under treatment of a healthcare provider at the Emma Children's Hospital, Amsterdam UMC.
• Having sufficient knowledge of the Dutch language to complete the questionnaires.

Exclusion criteria

• Major interfering acute medical or psychiatric condition, such as psychosis, substance dependence or high risk for suicide.
• Insufficient fluency of the Dutch language.
• Receiving psychological trauma treatment by another therapist at the same time.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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60 participants in 3 patient groups

EMDR in person

Experimental group

Description:

For both intervention conditions (EMDRip and EMDRr), short EMDR treatment, 4 x 1.5 hour divided over 2 half-days, will be offered following the standard eight-phase protocol (14). Parents in the EMDRip condition will receive EMDR treatment at the Emma Children's Hospital.

Treatment:

Other: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR remote

Experimental group

Description:

For both intervention conditions (EMDRip and EMDRr), short EMDR treatment, 4 x 1.5 hour divided over 2 half-days, will be offered following the standard eight-phase protocol (14). Parents in the EMDRr condition will receive EMDR treatment remote via the online web-based tool EMDR platform.

Treatment:

Other: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Waiting list

No Intervention group