NCT07360990

Effectiveness of a Brief Psychological Intervention (P-CRP) for Complex Trauma and Loss

First Pilot RCT of Episodic-Buffer-Oriented P-CRP for Adults Complex Loss and Trauma

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 43 (actual)
• Sponsor: Zahide Betül Baydar · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

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.

Conditions

• Trauma and Stress Related Disorders
• Grief (Traumatic Grief and Existential Grief)
• Stress Disorder - Post-traumatic (Acute)

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Psychological-cognitive reprocessing procedure (P-CRP).	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.
BEHAVIORAL	Expressive Narrative and Symbolic Drawing (ENSD)	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.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-03-05
• Primary completion: 2025-06-11
• Completion: 2025-07-11
• First posted: 2026-01-22
• Last updated: 2026-02-25

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Turkey (Türkiye)