Telephone-administered early psychological intervention for depression and anxiety following serious injury

The intervention trialled in this study is telephone-administered cognitive behavioural therapy (TCBT). Participants in this study will either be offered this treatment at 4-6 weeks post injury (early intervention condition) or usual care. The active intervention (TCBT) is delivered on a session basis (one per week) for 6-10 sessions. Each session has a duration of 90 minutes. Trauma focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT) involves psychoeducation around psychological symptoms and trauma, anxiety management, exposure to feared thoughts and situations, cognitive therapy for identifying and challenging maladaptive thought processes around trauma, activity and positive event scheduling, and relapse prevention. The administration of these modules in the therapy are tailored to the particular presentation of symptoms. For example, if the presentation is primarily comprised of depressive symtpoms, emphasis on activity and positive events is made. Likewise if the presentation comprises primarily posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, an emphasis on prolonged exposure is made.