Clinical trial · Interventional
Narrative Exposure Therapy to Reduce Symptoms of Traumatic Stress in Cancer Survivors
Investigating the Application of Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) to Reduce Symptoms of Traumatic Stress in Cancer Patients Not in Active Treatment: a Naturalistic Single Case Study Series
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
The main purpose of the study is to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of NET in reducing symptoms of traumatic stress (e.g., hyperarousal, avoidance, and intrusion) in cancer patients who are not in active treatment. Further aims include: * Can NET be effective in reducing symptoms of existential anxiety, anxiety, and depression in cancer patients who are not in active treatment? * Can NET improve the Quality of Life (QoL) of cancer patients who are not in active treatment? And are improvements in QoL associated to reduction of traumatic stress? * Can NET lead to post-traumatic growth? * Does the NET protocol need to be adapted to meet cancer patients' needs?
Conditions
Conditions (2)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer | Malignant Neoplasm | ALIAS | 0.90 |
| Traumatic Stress Disorder | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Narrative Exposure Therapy | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (1)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Narrative Exposure Therapy
- description
- This is a single case series design which focuses on assessing whether Narrative Exposure Therapy could reduce symptoms of traumatic stress in cancer survivors; no comparator will be included.
- interventionNames
- Other: Narrative Exposure Therapy
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Change in PTS symptoms between the baseline, NET intervention, and 1 month and up to three months follow-up phases - as assessed by thePTSD Checklist - Civilian (PCL-C; Weathers et al., 1994)
- timeFrame
- Throughout the study, for approximately 31 weeks
- description
- The PCL-C explores items related to individuals' past stressful experiences using a 17-item self-report checklist (Weathers et al., 1994). The PCL-C has been widely used in cancer research (such as DuHamel et al., 2010; Levine et al., 2005; Lleras de Frutos et al., 2020; Ochoa-Arnedo et al., 2020) and was assessed as a screening instrument by Andrykowski and colleagues in their study with breast cancer survivors in 1998. The PCL-C has shown good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha \>.75) (Wilkins et al., 2011) and good test-retest reliability with scores ranging from 0.68 and 0.92 (Hahn et al., 2015). Scores above 29 are indicative of clinical concerns; the US Department of Veterans Affairs recommends a cut-off score of 30 to 38 for diagnosis of PTSD (www.ptsd.va.gov).
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Adults (18 and over) * Diagnosed with cancer in adulthood * Able to provide informed consent * Able to communicate verbally and speak English * Not in active treatment (at any stage post-treatment) * Suffer from symptoms of traumatic stress caused or triggered by the cancer experience. A diagnosis of PTSD is not required (PTSD Checklist Civilian, PCL-C cut-off score: 29 and above). * No specific form of cancer Exclusion Criteria: Participants have a known diagnosis of Intellectual Disability (ID) * Participants must not be receiving other forms of psychosocial support whilst engaging in NET * They are substance dependent * They are actively psychotic
References
Publications (0)
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