Culturally Adapted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Syrian Refugee Women in Turkey: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Eskici H. S., Hinton D. E., Jalal B., Yurtbakan T., Acarturk C.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, vol.15, no.2, pp.189-198, 2021 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 15 Issue: 2
  • Publication Date: 2021
  • Doi Number: 10.1037/tra0001138
  • Journal Name: Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Psycinfo
  • Page Numbers: pp.189-198
  • Keywords: cognitive behavioral therapy, cultural adaptation, psychological trauma, randomized controlled trial, Syrian refugee women
  • Istanbul Medipol University Affiliated: No

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to determine for Syrian refugee women in Turkey the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of culturally adapted cognitive behavioral therapy (CA-CBT). Method: Participants were randomly allocated to receive either CA-CBT (n = 12) or treatment-as-usual (TAU; n = 11). We used the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist–25 (HSCL) to assess posttraumatic stress symptoms and anxious–depressive distress. CA-CBT was delivered through seven weekly group sessions. Results: CA-CBT had a large effect on PTSD (HTQ d = 1.17) and nearly medium effect sizes for anxious–depressive distress (HSCL d =.40). There were also low drop-out rates and an absence of adverse events. Conclusions: Because CA-CBT greatly reduced PTSD symptoms as compared with TAU and had a low drop-out rate, no adverse events, and was deliverable in a short treatment frame (seven sessions) and in a group format, we conclude that the treatment is effective, acceptable, and feasible and has the potential for scalability.