Online CBT and EMDR for traffic accident survivors

Online cognitive behavioral therapy and EMDR as a treatment of posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms in traffic accident survivors - Online CBT and EMDR for traffic accident survivors

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

NL-OMON

Registry ID

NL-OMON58487

Enrollment

Registered

2025-04-03

Start date

2026-04-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-04-14

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

posttraumatic stress disorder trauma

Interventions

This investigational treatment is an online CBT+EMDR treatment targeted at people with clinically relevant levels of PTSD who have been involved in a traffic accident. It consists of 6 sessions that c

these are offered via the bona fide platform of Therapieland. Therapist-guidance consists of providing feedback on assignments and sending an encouragement to log in and complete assignments once a we

In session 1, participants get an explanation about the online platform (Therapieland), are instructed to write down goals they pursue for therapy and, more broadly, in their lives, and are instructed

Eligibility

Age

18 Years to 99 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: To be eligible to participate in this study, a subject must meet all of the following criteria: - Have experienced a traffic accident at least one month earlier; - Being =18 years of age; - Reporting clinically relevant symptom-levels of PTSD based on self-report questionnaires. PTSD will be assessed with the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5; Blevins, Weathers, Davis, Witte, & Domino, 2015). Clinically relevant PTSD is defined as a total score of 31 or higher (Krüger-Gottschalk et al., 2017; Weather et al., 2013) on the PCL-5 or meeting the diagnostic criteria as defined in DSM-5 (APA, 2013) based on the PCL-5.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: A potential participant who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study: - Does not master the Dutch language; - Does not have access to Internet; - Cannot participate in an online intervention due to medical complaints (e.g., neck complaints due to the accident). - High suicidal ideation; - Ever been diagnosed with a psychotic disorder

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
PTSD symptoms according to DSM-5 (APA, 2013) will be assessed with the 20-item PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5; Blevins, Weathers, Davis, Witte, & Domino, 2015). Participants rate how often they were bothered by each symptom (e.g., “In the past month, how much were you bothered by repeated, disturbing, and unwanted memories of the stressful experience?”) on a 5-point Likert scale (0 = “not at all”, 4 = “extremely”). The PCL-5 has shown high reliability and validity in previous studies (Blevins et al., 2015).	—

Measure

Time frame

PTSD symptoms according to DSM-5 (APA, 2013) will be assessed with the 20-item PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5; Blevins, Weathers, Davis, Witte, & Domino, 2015). Participants rate how often they were bothered by each symptom (e.g., “In the past month, how much were you bothered by repeated, disturbing, and unwanted memories of the stressful experience?”) on a 5-point Likert scale (0 = “not at all”, 4 = “extremely”). The PCL-5 has shown high reliability and validity in previous studies (Blevins et al., 2015).

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Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Secondary measures: Depression symptoms will be assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9; Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, 2001). The PHQ-9 consists of 9 items (e.g., “Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by feeling down, depressed, or hopeless?”). Participants select an answer option on a 4-point Likert scale (0 = “Not at all”, 3 = “Nearly every day”) describing how often he/she was bothered by each symptom during the past two weeks. The PHQ-9 has shown high reliability and validity in previous studies (Kroenke et al., 2001). Rumination will be assessed with the brooding subscale of the ruminative response scale (RRS). The brooding scale of the RRS is a 5-item subscale of the 12-item RRS short-form (Treynor et al., 2003). Respondents rate to what extent they engage in the responses represented by each item (e.g., ‘I think “Why do I always react this way?”’) on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = “Almost never”, 4 = “Almost always”). The RRS has shown high reliability and validity in previous studies (Treynor et al., 2003). Self-efficacy will be assessed with the general self-efficacy scale (GSES; Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995). The GSES is a 10-item measure. Participants are asked to rate their agreement with each item (e.g., ‘I can solve most problems if I invest the necessary effort.’) on a 4-point scale (1=completely not true, 4=completely true). The GSES has shown high reliability and validity in previous studies (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995). Anger will be measured with the Posttraumatic Anger Questionnaire (PAQ Orth & Maercker, 2009). This is a 20-item measure tapping five domains of anger, including anger at (i) the justice system (e.g., “I was angry at the police, courts, or administration because they dealt with me without comprehension”), (ii) other people (e.g., “I was angry at other people because they did not prevent the accident”), (iii) the self (e.g., “I was angry at myself because I still feel	—

Measure

Time frame

Secondary measures: Depression symptoms will be assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9; Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, 2001). The PHQ-9 consists of 9 items (e.g., “Over the last 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by feeling down, depressed, or hopeless?”). Participants select an answer option on a 4-point Likert scale (0 = “Not at all”, 3 = “Nearly every day”) describing how often he/she was bothered by each symptom during the past two weeks. The PHQ-9 has shown high reliability and validity in previous studies (Kroenke et al., 2001). Rumination will be assessed with the brooding subscale of the ruminative response scale (RRS). The brooding scale of the RRS is a 5-item subscale of the 12-item RRS short-form (Treynor et al., 2003). Respondents rate to what extent they engage in the responses represented by each item (e.g., ‘I think “Why do I always react this way?”’) on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = “Almost never”, 4 = “Almost always”). The RRS has shown high reliability and validity in previous studies (Treynor et al., 2003). Self-efficacy will be assessed with the general self-efficacy scale (GSES; Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995). The GSES is a 10-item measure. Participants are asked to rate their agreement with each item (e.g., ‘I can solve most problems if I invest the necessary effort.’) on a 4-point scale (1=completely not true, 4=completely true). The GSES has shown high reliability and validity in previous studies (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995). Anger will be measured with the Posttraumatic Anger Questionnaire (PAQ Orth & Maercker, 2009). This is a 20-item measure tapping five domains of anger, including anger at (i) the justice system (e.g., “I was angry at the police, courts, or administration because they dealt with me without comprehension”), (ii) other people (e.g., “I was angry at other people because they did not prevent the accident”), (iii) the self (e.g., “I was angry at myself because I still feel

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Countries

Netherlands

Contacts

Public ContactL Reitsma

Universiteit Utrecht

l.reitsma@uu.nl06-22299573

Outcome results

None listed

Source: NL-OMON (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Apr 17, 2026