Islamic Trauma Healing: Feasibility Study

This study will examine the initial feasibility of a program called Islamic Trauma Healing by conducting a small feasibility study (N = 26) of Islamic Trauma Healing in Somalia on key targets of PTSD, depression, somatic symptoms, and quality of life. The hypothesis is that those in Islamic Trauma Healing will show a reduction of PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, and somatic symptoms and show improvement in quality of well-being. Feasibility will also be examined by examining at retention, satisfaction, and community feedback.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Islamic Trauma Healing

Detailed Description

Islamic Trauma Healing is a lay-led, small-group intervention specifically targeting healing mental wounds of trauma within mosques. The six-session intervention combines empirically supported exposure-based and cognitive restructuring techniques with Islamic principles. A lay-led, group program promotes community building, acknowledges trauma's impact in the community, and facilitates wider implementation. The program is not referred to as "therapy" or "treatment" for "mental illness." It incorporates community building (e.g., shared tea, supplication), integrated Islamic principles that utilize cognitive restructuring through discussion of prophet narratives (e.g., faith during hard times, Prophet Job [Ayyub]), and exposure therapy through individual prayer, talking to Allah about the trauma. Ultimately, the program will follow a self-sustaining train-the-trainer model, led by group leaders, empowering lay leaders to facilitate healing in their communities. Further, training time is dramatically reduced to two, 4-hour training sessions, focusing on teaching skills of group discussion leading rather than training as a lay therapist or mental health counselor. Preliminary data from a community sample and from initial men's and women's groups show a strong perceived need and match with the Islamic faith, with large effects obtained for pre- to post-group across measures (g = 0.76-3.22). Qualitative analysis identified the intervention as operating on potential mechanisms of connectedness to the community, faith integration, healing, and growth. The preliminary data point to the program being well-received and offering a promising model for delivery of a trauma-focused intervention to Muslim communities. The next steps are examining Islamic Trauma Healing in low and moderate-income Muslim countries, examining the feasibility of implementing this lay-led program.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 28
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Somalia
  • Borama, Somalia
    • Borama Mosque
  • Hargeisa, Somalia
    • Hargeisa Mosque

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Experienced a DSM-5 trauma at least 12 weeks ago
• Report current re-experiencing or avoidance symptoms
• Islamic faith
• 18-65 year of age

Exclusion Criteria:

• Immediate suicide risk, with intent or plan
• Cannot understand consent/visible cognitive impairment

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: PTSD lay-led group treatment program; The group will go through the Islamic Trauma Healing Program	Behavioral: Islamic Trauma Healing; 6 session behavioral intervention program designed to reduce PTSD and related symptomatology

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
PTSD Scale - Self-Report for DSM-5 (PDS-5; Foa et al., 2016)	PTSD symptoms will be measured using the PTSD Scale - Self-Report for DSM-5 (PDS-5; Foa et al., 2016). Twenty items comprise the PTSD severity scale, with scores ranging from 0 to 80 and higher scores indicating higher PTSD severity. A total score is calculated.	Last 1 Week

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9; Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, 2001)	The PHQ-9 is a self-report measure of depression symptoms with each question rated from 0-3. Higher scores indicate greater depression severity, with scores ranging from 0 to 27.	Last 1 Week
Somatic Symptoms Scale-8 (SSS-8; Gierk et al., 2014)	The Somatic Symptoms Scale is an 8 item version of the PHQ-15; self-report assessment of somatic symptoms (e.g., stomach pain, headaches, dizziness). The current version scored items on the original PHQ-15 scale from 0 to 2, with a range from 0 to 16.	Last 1 Week
Quality of Well-being Index	The WHO-5 Wellbeing Index (WHO-5; Bech, Olsen, Kjoller, & Rasmussen, 2003) will be used to measure well-being. This five-item measure assesses emotional well-being on a 0-5 scale, with higher scores reflecting better well-being. Range of scores is from 0 to 25.	Last 1 Week

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Washington
• Collaborators: Case Western Reserve University; Seattle Pacific University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Lori Zoellner, PhD, University of Washington

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Zoellner LA, Bentley JA, Feeny NC, Klein AB, Dolezal ML, Angula DA, Egeh MH. Reaching the Unreached: Bridging Islam and Science to Treat the Mental Wounds of War. Front Psychiatry. 2021 Jun 2;12:599293. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.599293. eCollection 2021.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 15, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 6, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): February 6, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 14, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 30, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): December 3, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 21, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 20, 2023
• Last Verified: February 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00005522

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No