Mental Health Assessment Project on the Thailand-Burma Border (MHAP)

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Status: Completed

Conditions: Posttraumatic Stress; Depression; Anxiety

Treatments: Behavioral: Common Elements Treatment Approach

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01459068

DFD-A-00-08-00308-0 (Other Identifier)

IRB00003601

Details and patient eligibility

About

The aim of the study is to determine the effectiveness of a transdiagnostic psychotherapy intervention - namely, Common Elements Treatment Approach (CETA) - in reducing the severity of mental health symptoms experienced by torture and violence survivors displaced from Burma into Thailand. Specifically, the intervention seeks to measure reductions (if any) in symptoms of depression and trauma.

Full description

The study is part of an award by the USAID Victims of Torture Fund (USAID/VTF) to JHU to work with local and international organizations serving survivors of torture and systematic violence. For this study, the intent is to assist in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of programming to understand and address the psychosocial needs of Burmese displaced across the Thai/Burma border who are living in the area of Mae Sot, Tak Province in Thailand. Specifically this project involves collaboration with the Burma Border Projects (BBP), the Mae Tao Clinic (MTC), the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), and Social Action for Women (SAW), to help improve the quality and effectiveness of psychosocial and mental health programs.

The Common Elements Treatment Approach (CETA) is a transdiagnostic treatment approach developed for delivery by lay counselors in low and middle income countries (LMIC) with few mental health professionals. CETA was designed to treat symptoms of common mental health disorders including depression, PTS, and anxiety, and to provide skills to deal with life stressors. includes engagement, psychoeducation, anxiety management strategies, behavioral activation, cognitive coping/restructuring, imaginal gradual exposure, suicide/homicide/danger assessment and planning, and screening and brief intervention for alcohol.

Enrollment: 347 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Burmese national, 18 or over, living in Thailand outside of refugee camps, meets or exceed the algorithm for the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist 25 (HSCL-25) depression subscale and/or the algorithm for the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) posttraumatic stress scale.

Exclusion criteria

• not Burmese national, under 18, not living in Thailand outside of refugee camps, does not meet meet or exceed the algorithm for the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist 25 (HSCL-25) depression subscale and/or the algorithm for the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) posttraumatic stress scale; active psychosis

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

347 participants in 2 patient groups

Waitlist-Control

No Intervention group

Description:

Eligible study subjects were assigned to the waitlist-control arm on a rolling admissions basis. The waitlist-controls waited for a period equivalent to the duration of the intervention and then were re-interviewed.

Common Elements Treatment Approach

Experimental group

Description:

Eligible study subjects randomized into the CETA intervention were offered ten weeks of counseling sessions, consisting of nine elements designed to treat symptoms of common mental health disorders including depression, PTS, and anxiety and to provide skills to deal with life stressors.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Common Elements Treatment Approach