Program for Alleviating and Resolving Trauma and Stress 1

The primary aim of this study is to examine the preliminary efficacy of a live-online version of the PARTS program on PTSD symptoms measured by reduction in CAPS-5 over 24 weeks. The CAPS-5 is a 30-item questionnaire administered by a trained interviewer and is considered the "gold standard" assessment for PTSD diagnosis and symptoms as defined by the DSM-5. This measure also assesses the duration of symptoms, impact of symptoms on aspects of the participant's life, and if the participant meets criteria for the dissociative subtype of PTSD.

A secondary aim is to evaluate feasibility by demonstrating at least 50% of participants are retained in the program at 16 weeks..

Participants will complete a satisfaction survey and rate their likeliness to recommend the program to a friend, on a five point Likert-type scale. An average greater than 3 out of 5 represents acceptability.

Participants will be sent a link to complete the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), which is a self-report measure with 20 items, which is designed to measure PTSD symptom severity over the past month as measured by the DSM-5, in combination with additional diagnostic tools.

Participants will be sent a link to complete the CAT-MH (Computer Adaptive Testing for Mental Health) interview on a computer, tablet or phone. This outcome refers to the CAT-PTSD severity score

The International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ) is the first instrument designed to capture the ICD-11 PTSD and Complex PTSD (CPTSD) diagnoses. The last 6 items measure DSO symptoms characteristic of ICD-11 CPTSD. Each set of items have 3 severity of impact on functioning questions. The ITQ-DSO-9 includes just the 6 DSO items with 3 severity questions. The ITQ-DSO-9 will be used monthly for self-report of changes in DSO symptoms.

The DERS is a 36-item self-report scale designed to assess emotional dysregulation. The scale assess 6 aspects of emotional dysregulation: non-acceptance of emotional responses ("When I'm upset, I become embarrassed for feeling that way"), difficulties engaging in goal directed behavior ("When I'm upset, I have difficulty thinking about anything else"), impulse control difficulties ("When I'm upset, I lose control over my behaviors"), lack of emotional awareness ("When I'm upset, I take time to figure out what I'm really feeling (reverse-scored)", limited access to emotion regulation strategies ("When I'm upset, it takes me a long time to feel better"), and lack of emotional clarity ("I have no idea how I am feeling").

The Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self Measure (PRISM) is a visual method to assess the global burden of illness, measuring the participant's "self-trauma fusion". Using the iPrism Lite ipad app, the user places a disk representing the illness in relation to a disk representing the self.

The MDI is a 30-item self-report inventory measuring frequency of dissociative symptoms (e.g., depersonalization, derealization, emotional constriction, identity dissociation, etc.)

Participants will be sent a link to complete the CAT-MH (Computer Adaptive Testing for Mental Health) interview on a computer, tablet or phone. This outcome will assess depression severity with the CAT-DI.

The SCS-SF is an abbreviated 12-item form of the original 26-item Self-Compassion Scale. This scale evaluates 6 different aspects of self-compassion: Self-Kindness (e.g., ''I try to be understanding and patient toward those aspects of my personality I don't like''), Self-Judgment (e.g., ''I'm disapproving and judgmental about my own flaws and inadequacies''), Common Humanity (e.g., ''I try to see my failings as part of the human condition''), Isolation (e.g., ''When I feel inadequate in some way, I try to remind myself that feelings of inadequacy are shared by most people"), Mindfulness (e.g., ''When something painful happens I try to take a balanced view of the situation''), and Over-Identification (e.g., ''When I'm feeling down I tend to obsess and fixate on everything that's wrong.''). The scale is scored on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Almost never; 5 = Almost always), and negative subscale items are reverse scored.

The PSS-4 uses 4 items to measure the degree to which situations in life are stressful, evaluating how overloaded, unpredictable, and uncontrollable one finds one's life. Each item is scored on a 5-point Likert scale from 0 (Never) to 4 (Very often).

The TMS is a 13-item scale evaluating mindfulness factors of curiosity and decentering.

The MAIA-2 is a 37-item self-report scale designed to assess multiple aspects of interoception and interoceptive awareness (e.g., body trusting).