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Completed

NCT Number: NCT07360990

P-CRP for Recent-Onset Severe Trauma

The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new psychotherapy technique called Psychological Cognitive Reprocessing Procedure (P-CRP) in treating trauma symptoms. The P-CRP intervention was developed and manualized by the principal investigator (Z.B.Baydar). Participants were randomly assigned to either the P-CRP intervention group, an active control group, or a waitlist condition. The study aimed to determine if this new method, which focused on episodic buffer processing, significantly reduced trauma-related psychological distress compared to standard approaches. Data collected during the intervention phase were analyzed to assess the efficacy of the P-CRP technique.

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Key information

Conditions

Trauma and Stress Related Disorders Grief (Traumatic Grief and Existential Grief) Mental Disorders Prolonged Grief Disorder Stress Disorder - Post-traumatic (Acute) Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders, Traumatic Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders

Age range

18 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Zahide Betül Baydar

Istanbul, 34876, Turkey (Türkiye)

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Individuals were excluded if they had:

  • An Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) score greater than 7.
  • A history of psychotic disorder or bipolar disorder.
  • Current suicide risk.
  • Substance use disorder.
  • Prior therapeutic contact with the researcher.
  • A target traumatic event that had occurred more than one year earlier.
  • Not meeting clinical DSM-5 criteria for PTSD during the clinician-administered semi-structured interview, regardless of initial self-report scores.
  • Current participation in any other form of psychotherapy or psychiatric intervention.

Individuals were included if they had:

  • Meeting DSM-5 criteria for PTSD symptoms (verified by IES-R scores and clinician-led semi-structured interview).
  • Having experienced a target traumatic event or loss within the past 12 months.
  • Willingness to provide informed consent and participate in all intervention sessions.

Treatment and study plan

Psychological-cognitive reprocessing procedure (P-CRP).

Behavioral

Unlike traditional approaches, the traumatic imagery is not directly targeted in the first session. The intervention begins with the silent repetition of a word or phrase representing the core negative belief associated with the traumatic experience. . During each 1-minute set, bilateral stimulation (synchronized tapping on the shoulders only) is applied, allowing the client to process the traumatic material through spontaneously emerging associations selected by the mind itself. Rather than relying on external direction, the protocol activates internal self-regulation capacities. In this respect, it aims to promote semantic and symbolic reorganization, differing from classical cognitive restructuring or desensitization-based methods. The decision about which aspect of the experience will be processed or desensitized is determined by the client's own mental flow, thereby reinforcing a sense of trust in the mind's capacity despite the traumatic history.

Expressive Narrative and Symbolic Drawing (ENSD)

Behavioral

Following initial anamnesis and psychoeducation, clients recounted their trauma and drew a self-selected symbol of the event using their non-dominant hand. Each session involved discussing the memory and updating this symbol to facilitate indirect processing through creative expression.

Primary outcomes

  1. The Impact of Event Scale -Revised (IES-R)

    Time frame: Baseline (Week 0), Post-intervention (Week 6), and Follow-up (Week 10) .

    The IES-R is a 22-item self-report scale designed to assess the psychological impact of traumatic experiences across three subdimensions: intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale (0 = not at all to 4 = extremely) based on symptom frequency over the past seven days. Total scores range from 0 to 88, where higher scores indicate greater severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms. According to the literature, scores of 33 and above suggest a probable PTSD diagnosis. The Turkish adaptation was used, which demonstrated high validity and reliability.

Secondary outcomes

  1. State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI).

    Time frame: Baseline (Week 0), Post-intervention (Week 6), and Follow-up (Week 10)

    At the beginning of the scale, four demographic questions are included (name, gender, age, and occupation). The instrument uses a four-point Likert-type response format. The State Anxiety subscale consists of 20 items rated on a scale from (1) Not at all to (4) Very much so. The Trait Anxiety subscale also contains 20 items, with response options ranging from (1) Almost never to (4) Almost always. Cronbach's alpha coefficients reported in the Turkish adaptation were α = .72 for the State Anxiety subscale, α = .67 for the Trait Anxiety subscale, and α = .70 for the total scale; overall reliability values for the instrument have been reported to fall between α = .60 and α = .80.

  2. The Body Sensations Questionnaire (BSQ).

    Time frame: Baseline (Week 0), Post-intervention (Week 6), and Follow-up (Week 10)

    It is a 17-item self-report measure assessing fear of bodily sensations associated with arousal and panic. Cronbach's alpha for the scale is reported as .92; in the current study, internal consistency was α = .93.

  3. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS)

    Time frame: Baseline (Week 0), Post-intervention (Week 6), and Follow-up (Week 10)

    Scale is a 20-item scale consisting of 10 positive and 10 negative affect items. In the present study, Cronbach's alpha coefficients were α = .86 for Positive Affect and α = .82 for Negative Affect.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Zahide Betül Baydar

Other

Collaborators

  • Istanbul Rumeli University

Registry information

Official study title

Psychological-Cognitive Reprocessing Procedure for Recent-Onset Severe Post-Traumatic Stress in Adults: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial

Acronym: P-CRP

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Jan 22, 2026
Registry last updated
Jul 14, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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