Brief Imagery Rescripting vs. Usual Care and Treatment Advice in Refugees with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder – A Multi-Center Randomized Controlled Trial

Conditions

F43.1

Rueger MS, Nehler KJ, Lechner-Meichsner F, Ehring T, Preiss H, Morina N, Kip A, Mewes R, Giesebrecht J, Weise C, Steil R.

2026-03-11

10.1080/15299732.2026.2641642

Dissociative Symptoms in traumatized treatment-seeking Refugees: Rate of the dissociative Subtype of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Associations with complex PTSD Symptoms

Mirjam Sophie Rueger, Kai Jannik Nehler, Franziska Lechner‐Meichsner, Thomas Ehring, Hannah Schumm et al. (11 authors)

2025-12-04

10.31219/osf.io/te6ps_v2

Prolonged Grief in Refugees Seeking Treatment for PTSD: Comorbidity with Post‐Traumatic Stress Symptoms and Network Structure

Franziska Lechner‐Meichsner, Mirjam Sophie Rueger, Kai Jannik Nehler, Thomas Ehring, Hannah Preiß et al. (11 authors)

Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy2025-05-01

10.1002/cpp.70097

Brief imagery rescripting vs. usual care and treatment advice in refugees with posttraumatic stress disorder: study protocol for a multi-center randomized-controlled trial

Regina Steil, Franziska Lechner‐Meichsner, Johannes Johow, Antje Krüger-Gottschalk, Ricarda Mewes et al. (10 authors)

European journal of psychotraumatology2021-01-0116 citations

10.1080/20008198.2021.1872967

Interventions

Group 1: Imagery Rescripting (ImRs) consists of ten 100 min sessions within 10 weeks of manualized treatment. The standard session length of 100 min accommodates the need to use interpreter services i

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. having entered Germany as a refugee, 2. primary diagnosis of PTSD, 3. ability to communicate with therapist with/without interpreter, 4. having health insurance that covers psychotherapy costs, 5. being able to stay in the location of the study center for at least another six months, 6. willingness and readiness for trauma-focused treatment

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. life-time psychosis or bipolar disorder as assessed with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for DSM-5 (MINI) 2. acute suicide risk or risk of harm of others 3. substance dependence as assessed with the MINI 4. start of new medication within one month prior to the study (medication used for longer periods can be continued; pausing or ending medication during the study is allowed)

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Diagnosis of (Complex) PTSD assessed via the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS; Weathers et al., 2013) and the Complex PTSD Item Set additional to the CAPS (COPISAC; Lechner-Meichsner & Steil, in preparation). The CAPS is a structured clinical interview assessing a diagnosis of PTSD based on DSM-5 criteria, PTSD symptom severity, as well as the onset and duration of symptoms, subjective distress, and functional impairment. The CAPS has very good psychometric properties and is widely considered as the "gold standard" in assessing PTSD. COPISAC has been newly developed and psychometric properties are currently under investigation. Data will be collected by trained assessors at baseline, after treatment ends and at 12-month follow-up. Remission is defined as not meeting DSM-5 criteria for PTSD or ICD-11 criteria für CPTSD.	—

Measure

Time frame

Diagnosis of (Complex) PTSD assessed via the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS; Weathers et al., 2013) and the Complex PTSD Item Set additional to the CAPS (COPISAC; Lechner-Meichsner & Steil, in preparation). The CAPS is a structured clinical interview assessing a diagnosis of PTSD based on DSM-5 criteria, PTSD symptom severity, as well as the onset and duration of symptoms, subjective distress, and functional impairment. The CAPS has very good psychometric properties and is widely considered as the "gold standard" in assessing PTSD. COPISAC has been newly developed and psychometric properties are currently under investigation. Data will be collected by trained assessors at baseline, after treatment ends and at 12-month follow-up. Remission is defined as not meeting DSM-5 criteria for PTSD or ICD-11 criteria für CPTSD.

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Secondary

Measure	Time frame
1. Severity of PTSD and Complex PTSD symptoms according to CAPS (Weathers et al., 2013) and COPISAC (Lechner-Meichsner & Steil, in preparation) 2. Symptoms of PTSD and Complex PTSD (International Trauma Questionnaire;ITQ; Cloitre et al., 2018) 3. Psychiatric symptoms (General Health Questionnaire; GHQ-28; Goldberg, 1978); 4. Health-related quality of life(Euroqol-5D; EQ-5D; EuroQol Group, 2019); 5. Dissociative symptoms (Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale; ADES; Martínez-Taboas et al., 2004), 6. Quality of sleep (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory; PSQI; Buysse, Reynolds, Monk, Berman, & Kupfer, 1989); 7. Costs (Client Socio-Demographic and Service Receipt Inventory; CSSRI; Roick et al., 2001); 8. Satisfaction with treatment (Client Satisfaction Questionnaire; CSQ-8; Hasler et al., 2004; Larsen, Attkisson, Hargreaves, & Nguyen, 1979)	—

Measure

Time frame

1. Severity of PTSD and Complex PTSD symptoms according to CAPS (Weathers et al., 2013) and COPISAC (Lechner-Meichsner & Steil, in preparation) 2. Symptoms of PTSD and Complex PTSD (International Trauma Questionnaire;ITQ; Cloitre et al., 2018) 3. Psychiatric symptoms (General Health Questionnaire; GHQ-28; Goldberg, 1978); 4. Health-related quality of life(Euroqol-5D; EQ-5D; EuroQol Group, 2019); 5. Dissociative symptoms (Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale; ADES; Martínez-Taboas et al., 2004), 6. Quality of sleep (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory; PSQI; Buysse, Reynolds, Monk, Berman, & Kupfer, 1989); 7. Costs (Client Socio-Demographic and Service Receipt Inventory; CSSRI; Roick et al., 2001); 8. Satisfaction with treatment (Client Satisfaction Questionnaire; CSQ-8; Hasler et al., 2004; Larsen, Attkisson, Hargreaves, & Nguyen, 1979)

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Countries

Germany

Contacts

Public ContactFranziska Lechner-Meichsner

Abteilung Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie, Institut für Psychologie, Fachbereich Psychologie & SportwissenschaftenGoethe-Universität Frankfurt

meichsner@psych.uni-frankfurt.de069 798 23909

Outcome results

None listed